As Ohio University Bobcats finish their finals and wrap up fall semester courses, most are looking forward to the relaxation and coziness of winter break. Many students are working to clean their dorm rooms and living spaces before returning to their hometowns to celebrate holiday festivities with family and friends.
Some OU students and staff are packing their suitcases and overnight bags to travel for the holiday season, seeing sights and loved ones before classes resume. Bruce Martin, a professor in the department of recreation, Sport Pedagogy and Consumer Sciences, is traveling to Curitiba, Brazil, to visit his wife's family and friends.
Martin said his wife is from Brazil, and although they don’t visit as often as they would like due to expense, they tend to travel down to see her family every two or three years.
Martin said his family is focused on catching up with their loved ones, but also thinking about going to Iguazu Falls, a waterfall formed 200,000 years ago from a volcanic eruption. Martin said the Iguazu Falls are about an eight-hour drive from Curitiba and “put Niagara Falls to shame.”
“We have two daughters who are Brazilian-American, and it's a chance for them to catch up with cousins and to see some of their friends from down there,” Martin said. “We'll be doing some day excursions down to the coast. And there's a lot to Curitiba itself. It's considered the ecological capital of Brazil from an urban design standpoint, lots of cool parks and museums and things like that.”
Martin said the holiday celebrations in Brazil are festive, and he is anticipating the fireworks for New Year's. He said he is looking forward to “warm weather and long days at the other end of the world,” and traveling with his family is always an adventure.
“It's one of the reasons my wife and I fell in love with each other,” Martin said. “It's just a sense of adventure that we represented to one another, coming from different countries, different cultures and speaking different languages. It's just sort of an adventure together, where we get to celebrate different aspects of our identities.”
Martin said he plans to check emails while away, but is trying to get a jump on preparing for spring courses before taking his journey.
During winter break, some students are also getting ready for their new classes. Matilda Brown, a sophomore studying psychology, is traveling back to her hometown in Cleveland for winter break. She said she will work at a daycare and also visit family in Sandusky.
Brown said she uses the break to look over syllabuses for her spring courses, but is eager not to worry about schoolwork. She said her family tradition is for everyone to fall asleep after Christmas festivities, but they might go see the beach in Sandusky if it isn’t too cold.
“Sometimes we do hiking or anything on the beach,” Brown said. “One year, the beach was frozen over. We still went because it looked cool.”
Jessica Arquette, assistant clinical professor and the Ohio Athletics sports dietitian, is staying close to Athens for the majority of winter break, but certainly has lots to celebrate. Arquette said she is celebrating three of her five children's birthdays this winter. They are turning 12, 15 and 22 years old.
Arquette said along with birthday celebrations, she intends on bringing her kids to a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and would like to take them sledding if it snows. She said because of the birthdays, they tend to stay local for the holidays, but they may visit family in Toledo a few days before Christmas.
“Although I do have to work, it's not super stressful, busy or frantic,” Arquette said. “I always put a puzzle table out … just trying to chill out during break instead of doing all the things. Just trying to rest and recoup and bring the energy for the spring semester.”
Several Bobcats worked hard this semester and deserve the chance to relax. OU will be quiet during the wintertime, missing the daily buzz and rush of students throughout campus. Once classes resume Jan. 12, students will hopefully be refreshed and ready to return to the hustle and bustle of academic life.
