Students get trippy on Feb Break

As spring semester approached, Middlebury College students held on to the last vestiges of Winter Term relaxation and freedom, culminating in those precious final few days known to them as Feb Break.

It is a brief yet wonderful time when work can be tossed to the wayside and play becomes the full focus of life. While some returned home to recharge before resuming their regular courseload, others spent their vacations a little differently.

Unable to leave school, Omar Carmical ’12 and Tracy Borsinger ’13 spent Feb Break with their teams — diving and basketball, respectively — taking advantage of an empty campus and more free time to explore the surrounding area.

In an attempt to branch out from the daily dose of dining hall food and maybe catch a movie not playing at the local Marquis Theater, the divers took trips to Burlington and relaxed on campus, watching TV and bonding as a team. “In my case, [that meant] sleeping until 11:30 everyday,” quipped Carmical.

However, the vacation was also a time for productivity, as the swimmers and divers practiced for the upcoming NESCACs and, looking even farther into the future, filled out applications for internships.

While Carmical and the team prepped for NESCAC glory, Borsinger and the basketball team worked on their philanthropy with Stride Foundation’s Sisters in Sport, a season-long program designed to encourage young girls to play sports.

After practicing several times with the Middlebury Union Middle School seventh-grade team, Borsinger and her Middlebury teammates spent their Monday afternoon cheering these younger players on and celebrating their newfound relationship with a pizza party afterwards.

“It was nice to be able to cheer them on and hopefully help them to enjoy the sport,” said Borsinger.

Borsinger also used her Feb Break freedom to support the men’s hockey team as they battled it out against Norwich and St. Michaels.

Other students chose to take the opportunity to see the world, or at least the parts not covered in ice. For their very first Feb Break, Jared Smith ’13 and Nate Brown ’13 hopped a plane down to Honduras, land of warmth and low-cost travel.

“Nate is an experienced traveler and I speak Spanish, so we thought we’d make a good team,” said Smith.

With only nine days before them, Smith and Brown used it to see and experience as much of beautiful Honduras as they could.

“We took on Honduras backpacker-style, carrying few belongings and planning only the outline of the trip beforehand,” recounted Smith.

From shore to inland Smith and Brown ventured off the beaten path to the island of Útila in the Caribbean Sea, where they snorkeled and journeyed through the forests to see the remains of a 2009 Venezuelan plane crash.

After that, they took a jungle excursion “where we hiked, saw waterfalls, and swam in mountain streams,” said Smith. “And we took plenty of naps in hammocks. If I were to offer advice to travelers, I would tell them not to be afraid to travel to developing countries. The cultural immersion and education make the trip worth it.”

While no rookie to the Feb Break experience, Catherine Lidstone ’10 had done everything but look south on her breaks.

As a first-year, she stayed for Feb orientation; as a sophomore, she went up to icy Toronto to visit friends; and as a junior, she had already left for her semester abroad.

This year, Lidstone took an exciting new vacation, venturing down into the land of Mexico.

“We stayed in a really nice villa with amazing views of the water and surrounding cliffs,” said Lidstone.

By day, they let out their energy in badminton, paddleball and wave jumping, and explored a variety of water sports in a nearby lagoon. By night, they hit the clubs, including one of the oldest clubs in a town called Baby O.

“It had very Flinstone-esque architecture on the inside and a pretty cool crowd,” said Lindstone.

Lying under the rays and breaking it down under the bright city lights, Lidstone and her friends took advantage of both party time and relaxation time, which, as Lidstone said, “is what breaks are all about.”