Vacation Project

 

This was a project done in our Economics class. The goal of this group project was to create a website that showcased our dream vacation. The website included many different aspects of planning a vacation from the places we would visit, to the cost of the food we would eat for each meal. Through this project I learned a variety of interesting facts about Chile (our travel destination), but the greatest way that I grew through this project was in my understanding of all the financial aspects that go into planning a trip.

 

The first step in creating this website was to choose the place we would be going to for our vacation. We could go anywhere except for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. This was so that we had to plan long distance travel, specifically flights. The website had to include a homepage, a “Before You Go” page, a “Trip Plans” page, a “Passport” page, a “Cultural Synopsis” page, a “Phrasebook” page, a “Currency Exchange” page, a “Flight Information” page, an “Itinerary” page, a “Places of Interest” page, a “Trip Map” page, an “Expenditures” page, and a “Works Cited” page. The next step was to divide the work load so each person completed a portion of the work. As each portion of the website’s content was completed, it was emailed to me to put into the website. As the work progressed we modified our original plan, giving the people who were done with all of their stuff other things to do, making sure everyone stayed on task and at work. Once all of the content was put into the website, we went through the website and modified any errors that we found in order to create the best possible product.

 

The biggest way I grew through this project was in my understanding of all of the planning that goes into a trip. The first artifact that showcases this understanding is the “Flight Information” page. On this page are screenshots of the plane tickets for our trip. These are the actual times, airports, and cost of flights from American airlines. Through creating this website I learned how to find and purchase actual plane tickets, which is valuable in the real world (even though we didn’t actually buy the tickets). I knew that plane tickets were expensive, but not as expensive as I found them to be. In addition to flights, we also had to find a car to rent, hotels we would use, and the restaurants we would eat. Although I don’t think I would want to plan out the restaurants I would eat at in real life, I would want to rent a car and make reservations at hotels. As seen in this artifact, the biggest way that I grew through this project was in my understanding of all of the planning that goes into a trip.

 

The other artifact that shows my growth in understanding all the planning that goes into a trip is the "Expenditures" page that I created. In this section, all of the expenses for our trip are laid out in depth, including money designated for minor details such as snacks, entry fees, and shopping expenses. I never realized how many details there can be in a trip, though it really depends on the type of trip you are taking. On our trip, we visited five places of interest; La Portada, Hornitos Beach, Parque Nacional Llanos de Challe, Fantasilandia, and Juncal Glacier Andean Park. Though I don’t know how much planning I would do if I were to go on an actual trip, I think that this experience was definitely valuable by helping me understand all the planning that goes into a trip.

 

Although it may not seem valuable, I think that abnormal lessons, such as this, that are easily applicable in life are an important aspect of education that are often overlooked. This project has introduced me to aspects of other countries that make me want to travel the world. The world is truly an amazing place with many sites to see and interesting people to meet. Someday, I hope to be able to visit those places. For now however, I will be content knowing that I at least have some preparation thanks to this project.