At around 7:30 PM on February 26th, twenty-two weary students climbed aboard a shuttle bus headed to Hastings High School. Mere hours ago, they had disembarked Flight AA 2902 from Miami and gathered their belongings, traversing the tail end of the 2026 Cartagena Trip with the World Language Department. This trip initially took place from February 15th to 22nd; however, after some of the consequences of Storm Fernando, students were stranded in Miami, Florida. Spanish teacher and trip leader Ms. Bromberg outlined the situation: “the snowstorm resulted in countless flight cancellations throughout the northeast. We were just one of many sets of travelers who were ‘stuck’ at a Miami airport hotel and needed to be rebooked. Since we booked as a group, the tour company intended for us to fly together.” Mr. Lopez, another Spanish teacher and trip leader, said, “over 14,000 flights were cancelled. With a group of 28 it made it very difficult to book something together before Thursday or Friday of that week.”
Despite the following unusual circumstance, many students expressed their delight with how well the Colombia portion had gone. The Rosario Islands, which the group visited on February 21st, proved to be a hit for many: Junior Teddy Carr said the islands were “really relaxing and really fun.” Ms. Bromberg stated how one of her highlights was “the day trip (by speedboat) to The Rosario Islands, where we had the option to go snorkelling.” Luna Contreras, a fellow junior who attended the trip, also commented on the Rosario boat ride by adding how “It was such a fun memory to end [the] trip.”
Ms. Bromberg added another highlight: “The visit to the school where HHS students danced, played games, and bonded with children from Fundación Pescador de Letras.” Hastings High School Students played teamwork-based games with the younger kids, such as sliding through a hula hoop while holding hands with someone, which overall provided a unique opportunity for students to participate in interpersonal language games. Additionally, some students commented on how they enjoyed the freedom to explore and their experiences interacting with local Colombianos like going shopping with friends, using Spanish to talk with shopkeepers, and overall “get[ting] closer throughout the whole trip” according to Junior Grace Smith.
Although many students enjoyed the Cartagena portion of the trip, they had more varied opinions on the travel experience of the Miami portion. Contreras shared, “as much as I liked spending time in Miami with everyone, I missed my home. Miami was great but I was getting sick of all the money spent and sugary IHOP breakfasts.” Smith added, “it felt like they just dumped us in that hotel with nothing to do, stranded there for like 4 days.” The isolation in the hotel was evidently challenging for some students; they felt frustrated with the repetitive food situation and the lack of planned activities. Contreras epitomized the situation by saying how it was “kind of like a free for all.”
Students were responsible financially for their daytime activities and often had to make trade-offs if something was too expensive. For example, Carr shared how they “could’ve rock-climbed but it cost $40,” so instead they “just went to different parts of Miami and walked around.” Contreras expanded on the financial situation by saying, “we were required to spend our own money for Ubers and for food. So that meant a lot of paying each other back with Venmo and cash. We paid for our own lunches, went shopping, and even went go-karting. Trying to make the best out of the worst.” The cost was difficult, therefore, students felt very upset with the situation.
Although missing school was unavoidable, many students also felt frustrated and stressed about the volume of work they had upon return and the lack of communication from some teachers about their missed assignments. When asked whether they would’ve chosen to depart earlier, Carr revealed how he could’ve “jumped ship if he wanted to.” Furthermore, according to Contreras, many students felt as though “the flight rescheduling could’ve been solved but there wasn’t anyone working to get us back home earlier,” leaving them feeling lost and upset in regards to the situation.
However, Lopez felt as though the organization was strong: “Once we were settled in I reassured [students] we would try to find an earlier flight and we could all research fun activities to do. Once we accepted we were going to be spending a few extra days there, we could then begin to make the best of it.” Although IHOP orders might have seemed repetitive for some, Bromberg further detailed the efficiency of the organization: “We worked together to systematically get things done—from contacting families and teachers, to ordering meals, to planning outings.” Grade 11 Parent Faith McFall-Smith also commented how she thought the teachers did a “great job” regarding organization, displaying how the leadership evoked parental confidence in the management of the situation.
Levan appreciated that, in the end, however, Senor Lopez “kept calm, cool, and collected,” as “it could’ve gotten hectic real quick.” Despite the initial frustrations, however, Carr added that he “didn’t blame the teachers for it because they were at the end of their rope, financially and mentally, so [he thinks] they did fine for what it was.” Ultimately, even though the students were fortunate enough to be able to extend their stay in Miami, a few had frustrations about how it was handled; in the end students were able to re-adjust to life in Hastings and put the trip behind them.
