Leaving North Carolina behind for South America

Iguassu Falls, one of South America's most awe-inspiring natural wonders, was one of the stops for students during the trip. There they experienced the more than 275 cascades covering a span of almost two miles.

Six students at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy traded uniforms for walking shoes and their classrooms for a much larger learning experience in March.

David Bond, Sully Carpenter, Gabbie Gray, Will Kirkpatrick, Bradley Lloyd and Max Teddy, along with several of their parents, friends of the school and Spanish and French teacher Kimberly Lloyd departed for a two-week tour of South America through GoAhead Tours on March 21.

"Thomas Jefferson tries to plan trips with a four-year slate so students can see if one interests them so they can plan and budget for it," Mrs. Lloyd said. "This one was different because it was two weeks - just Brazil is larger than the U.S., so we really had to have a longer amount of time."

The group began the trip with a nine-hour overnight flight to Rio de Janeiro, which was tough, said Sully Carpenter, a junior.

"That was the hardest flight for me, because when we arrived we pretty much hit the ground running," he said.

Their first stop was Sugarloaf Mountain, where they took a cable car ride up to the top for a panoramic view of Rio. From that vantage point, the poverty of the many favelas - slums - stood out.

"Here areas like that are more separated," Mrs. Lloyd said. "In Rio you had a Sheraton, and across the street was a flavela."

Carpenter said seeing the flavelas was eye-opening. "They are much more impoverished than us."

While in Brazil students also visited the Metropolitan Cathedral, Corcovado Mountain to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer and took part in shopping and volleyball at the Copacabana. At Brazil's border with Argentina, students visited Iguassu Falls, where more than 275 cascades cover a span of almost two miles.

Following visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina, the last country the students visited on the tour was Peru. This stop was the one Gray most looked forward to.

"Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list forever," Gray said. "It was really incredible, especially when we could see the iconic ruins."

Seeing historic sites wasn't the only experiences the students were afforded. They were also immersed in the culture.

"Our tour director arranged some pick up games of soccer for students," Mrs. Lloyd said. Students also witnessed the agrarian lifestyle of many South Americans. And, they ate traditional South American foods.

"At one restaurant they showed us guinea pigs in a cage, and then we were served guinea pig," Gray said.

Favorite foods among the group was fresh ceviche and quinoa, papaya juice and purple corn juice.

The students said they chose this trip abroad because it represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Europe is similar to America," Lloyd said. "This was a whole new world."