Written by: Bader Altemane
Capitol trip:
Spirits were high coming out of the orientation programming, but exhaustion may have also been just as high, some time off campus was in order. The first trip we did with the international students of this year’s class was the classic opener: The capitol building in downtown Harrisburg. It is a building with major historical importance to the state, a history that the majority of the students were not exposed to before, so this was bound to be a very informative experience.
The bus ride there was uneventful, as most people present have yet to get acquainted with everybody else, and we were still struggling with names, but that was bound to change soon. The tour went splendidly as our excellent tour guide provided all the rich history and information about the place, with many curious questions answered, and pictures taken, it was time to hit the market.
The second stop that day was the Broad Street Harrisburg market where we all shared great meals from cuisines from all around the world, a testament to the city’s diversity even outside of our campus, there were plenty of favorite meals and new pallets explored that day (including the infamous whoopie pie). We finished the day by going to the nearby bookstore where we shared favorite genres and authors of books, all while unwinding from the day’s activities, by this point more acquainted with one another.
Indian Echo Caverns/ Mini Golf Trip:
For this trip, we split up into two groups to go about the two main activities in a different order, which made for interesting group dynamics, with my own group going golfing first. I had not gone golfing before, just like many of us present, which made for some out-of-bounds shots… but we also had plenty of hole-in-ones! It was definitely fun to figure out the game and then subsequently how to move through all the holes without holding up the local people playing too much.
We then headed for the caves for yet another guided tour of the insides of the Indian echo caverns, all the natural beauty and history it holds within its chambers. This made for an excellent chance for breathtaking pictures and very imaginative takes on the cave’s structures. We all grouped back up near the gift shop where we exchanged fun anecdotes from the day.
Kayaking trip:
Our welcome week trips concluded with a kayaking trip on the Harrisburg River, an afternoon in the water with both hands on a paddle, what could go wrong? (Thankfully there were waterproof bags for phones, whew), but in all seriousness though, this was a wonderful trip. Most of the students present have not been in a kayak before, me included, so it was a fun time seeing everybody move in ways and directions outside of their control as they got the hang of it. There were many races, and lots of splashing (sometimes intentional) going around until we reached our first mini island. We docked ships, explored the island for treasure (of which there was none, bummer), some slow danced on the shore where others did some – sanctioned- water wrestling, all partaking in the now infamous “how’s the josh??!” chant, gift of our lovely Indian students. We all then headed to the actual island with people on it, where we relaxed on the beach, had some refreshing ice cream and/or food, had fun conversations, and reflected on how a two-person kayak can somehow lose multiple races against a single one. We moved a bit further into the island where we encountered a native American exhibition, with people in all sorts of colorful attire, elders and children, shops all around us, and there even was a giant arena in the middle where the local tribes displayed their heritage through dance. Some of us partook in the dancing, some found trinkets to buy, while others got some fancy face paints. We ended the day off with an ice breaker activity to get us all a bit more acquainted on the tail end of our weekend trips, having enjoyed it all thoroughly, and making many friendships along the way, whether it be through racing or wrestling.
