Now that students are back from chilly Breckenridge, its time to focus on warmer destinations. Here’s a preview of spring and summer trips available to students.

St. Petersburg, Russia: While this trip might not bring warmer weather, a trip to “The Venice of the North” will certainly keep your mind off the cold. Students will spend spring break with English speakers attending Whitman’s sister school, as they will attend classes and participate in other cultural activities. A side trip to Moscow is also planned. “It is an opportunity to explore a place and political system quite different from our own,” trip leader Laurie Safran said. The trip will run Apr. 11-21.

El Salvador: Members of las Manos Unidas club will be traveling to El Roble, El Salvador on a service trip. Students will work to rebuild a school destroyed during the Civil War in El Salvador. The club will begin supply drives for March, and the trip will run Apr. 12-19.

Israel: Students will have the opportunity to explore the unique community of Mate Yehuda. The trip will focus on Jewish and Arab tension and the community’s coexistence of both groups. The Israeli group visited Whitman last September and stayed with several students. But when Whitman students visit this summer, they will see these two religious groups living together first-hand. Students will earn SSL hours for community service and visit Jerusalem as well as other famous cities. This trip will run June 14-24.

Uganda: This equatorial, land-locked and extremely beautiful country is going through rapid changes, and Whitman students will help to stimulate its growth even more as they work in the small village of Buyobo. Students will perform community service as they teach, help local businesses and work on other development projects for the school. During the trip, students will have the opportunity to white-water raft and go on safari. Students will also be able to earn 80 SSL hours. The trip will run June 25-July 16.

Japan: The longest of Whitman’s trip offerings, this voyage will provide students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in Japanese culture. Students will stay with host families at Whitman’s sister school in Kanagawa and learn about different aspects of Japanese culture such as food, dance and high school life. “If a student goes to Japan, they become aware of of a whole different culture and set of values,” trip leader Yukiyo Moorman said. “It is especially important for western students to get first-hand experience of Asian culture.” The trip, which also includes visits to Tokyo, Hiroshima and different temples, runs July 2-26.