North Callaway art teacher Jeremy Divers is inviting area residents to join him on a journey halfway around the world this spring.
Divers is putting together an educational trip to China March 28 to April 5, 2015.
This is not the first time Divers has led such an expedition - he has previously taken students to destinations such as Australia, Italy and Greece - but it will be the first time the trip is open to community members.
Highlights of the trip will include The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Legends of Kung Fu Show.
"A lot of it is education-based. There will be a martial arts lesson, a tea-making ceremony, we're going to visit the terracotta warriors of Xian, the Yu Yuan Gardens and the Jade Buddha Temple, we'll be taking a rickshaw ride around Beijing," Divers said. "Once we get there it's six full days of non-stop stuff."
Divers said he enjoys taking students on these international trips and expanding their horizons.
"I believe in bringing cultural awareness. I like to travel myself, and as a teacher being able to show kids the world is something not every teacher has the opportunity to do, and I appreciate that," he said. "I like experiencing a new culture every year and trying new things - getting out and seeing the world."
Divers said his previous trips had been organized through People to People and were usually cost-prohibitive to many. This year, he said, he "wanted to do something less expensive." The cost of the nine-day trip, organized through EF Educational Tours, will cost approximately $3,500.
The deadline to sign up for the China trip is Oct. 31. Interested travellers can pay with one lump sum or on a monthly plan. Divers said he is going to try to do fundraisers for students who want to go.