Photo courtesy of Sherri Hwang

Sasha Dickinson ‘26 and Max Lim '25

REPORTER + EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The 2024 International Trip was both hectic and bonding. This past summer, the high school’s international club took a trip to Berlin, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. There were around fifty students on the trip, making it chaotic from the start. All of the travelers started off their trip at the Philadelphia airport. 

This was where the first hiccup occurred. The first flight of the trip was delayed. As all of the travelers sat there waiting for the plane to come, a man was taken off the plane in handcuffs. Some from the trip believe he caused the plane’s delay. Eventually, their plane arrived and took them to Frankfurt airport in Germany, where they learned they had missed their connecting flight to Berlin. 

There weren’t any more flights that could fit all fifty travelers and no trains they could take. This unfortunately left only one option: the bus. Everyone piled on double-decker buses, and the group shared music and games on the long trip. Students on the trip said that as horrible as road travel was, the ride to Berlin began to form an unbreakable bond among the group.

As they arrived in Berlin, many students realized that they had to share a room with five other people. Luckily, for the rest of the trip, logistics ran relatively smoothly. The group went from Berlin to Prague, Prague to Krakow, and finally, Krakow to Budapest.

Looking back on the trip, students cherish the memories of countless bus rides, gas station stops, and taking pictures of those sleeping. Derek Hall, a junior at Unionville, was informally in charge of handling song requests and playing sing-along music throughout the trip. In the various cities, many loved the sightseeing and the history behind culturally significant places. In Budapest, the travelers explored the market and finished their journey on a cruise on the river that separates Buda and Pest.

As the group looked to return home, Mrs. Keeley Lannon delivered the news that their flight had been canceled. The reception was mixed; some were excited to spend more time with each other.

When flights were finally arranged, the travelers had to be split up. Some travelers would go from Budapest to Germany, Germany to Chicago, and then Chicago back to Philadelphia. The rest of them would be going from Budapest to Germany, Germany to San Francisco, and then San Francisco back to Philadelphia.

For the one group's flight home to Philadelphia, the travelers waited on the plane for around half an hour until they finally deplaned and heard the news. The CrowdStrike software had globally blown up, leaving them stranded in San Francisco.

At 2 A.M., the chaperones had to find a hotel for everyone to stay at. Mrs. Heather

Biddle, a chaperone, made the most of the situation and took a group of students all over San Francisco, trying In-N-Out and biking to the Golden Gate Bridge. Biddle had described the trip as “definitely having some ups and downs when it came to our travel, but those situations enabled [the group] to have some different experiences and

persevere.”

Eventually, all the travelers got homesafely, and while the 2024 International Club

trip may not have gone as planned, it still created lasting memories that the travelers

on it say they will always love and be reminded of.