When: July 15 – August 22, 2013
Where: Italy
Who: 10 students (ages 14-19) plus trip leader Blake Boles & assistant leaders Morgan & Hannah Roddy
How Much: $4500 plus airfare (and possible extra refund or fee)
Priority Application Date: April 1, 2013.
An Exciting Immersion Adventure
Other trip-leading companies pay lip service to “immersion learning.” But here at Unschool Adventures, we’re serious about it. On this trip, you’ll go deep into Italian culture: perhaps deeper than you’re comfortable with!
New Feature: The Immersion Point System
Immersing yourself in a new culture can be scary. That’s why we’re instituting a brand-new incentive system for this trip: the Immersion Point System. As we travel around the country, students will have the opportunity to do various activities that have cultural value. Each activity that you complete, you receive points. The more immersive the activity, the more points you get.
Refunds for High-Achieving Students; Extra Fees for Low-Achieving Students
Of course, if we just tallied up points without any reward, how motivating would that be? To give our students a real incentive to immerse themselves, we will award program fee refunds to the highest-achieving students and collect extra fees from the lowest-achieving ones.
Bonuses for high-achieving students:
- Highest point score: $4500 program fee refund
- Second highest point score: $2250 program fee refund
Penalties for low-achieving students:
- Lowest point score: Extra $4500 charge
- Second lowest point score: Extra $2250 charge
Parents, keep your pocketbooks handy—if your student doesn’t immerse his or herself enough in Italy, you’ll be paying!
Stomping grapes in Italy
The Immersion Activities
Here’s a list of possible cultural immersion activities and their point values.
5 points: Chat with an Italian shopkeeper
5 points: Learn 10 words in Italian
10 points: Tour a Roman ruins site
20 points: Prepare an Italian dinner
25 points: Steal an Italian dinner
30 points: Make an Italian soda
35 points: Make an Italian cry
50 points: Climb the leaning tower of Pisa
55 points: Increase the angle of the leaning tower of Pisa
60 points: Stomp grapes at an Italian vineyard
65 points: Try a glass of wine at an Italian vineyard
70 points: Try two bottles of wine at an Italian vineyard
75 points: Spent a night in an Italian jail
80 points: Tour the Vatican City
85 points: Snap a photo of the Sistine Chapel
90 points: Carve your name into the Sistine Chapel
95 points: Get a cute Italian boyfriend/girlfriend 
100 points: Bring your cute Italian boyfriend/girlfriend back to the states, legally
150 points: Bring your cute Italian boyfriend/girlfriend back to the states, illegally
Everyday Activities
- Daily group meeting and check-in
- Internet access (including e-mail and Skype) available in most locations
- Helping with group meal preparation, clean-up, and packing.
- Free/unstructured time for exploration, photography, journaling, R&R, and spontaneous fun
- Negotiating with Italian police or other authorities for release of our students
Have More Questions?
Contact us via e-mail or phone and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.