Spring Break Secrets
“What happens on Spring Break stays on Spring Break”, or so the story goes. As a Brit I’ve never been exposed to the American spring break tradition. My American friends assure me that this is a good thing and having watched several TV shows about the infamous college spring break while living in the US I tend to agree. But even as a spring break novice it seems clear to me that the last thing you want to happen is for the folks back at home to know what you got up to on your vacation in Mexico or on the US coast.
Which is why the concept of One Bad Trip is such a strange one. A reality TV show in the finest trashy tradition of the genre, the show sends a ‘lucky’ person on an all-expenses spring break, informing them only that they are being filmed as part of a show for MTV. What they don’t realise is that the producers have invited their nearest and dearest (usually parents but in some cases girlfriends and boyfriends) to observe their wild antics at first hand. These shocked onlookers are then revealed to the subjects at the end of the episode. Cue looks of horror, extreme embarrassment and the odd break-up.
Party in Cancun
Given what appears to be a winning recipe it’s a wonder that One Bad Trip had such a short life, being shelved after only one season in 2004. Cancun and Playa del Carmen were featured as popular Spring Break destinations and despite changes in Americans’ vacation patterns the Yucatan peninsula has remained a favorite destination for young college kids to fly out and let their hair down. The miles of sandy beach, available alcohol (Mexico has a lower minimum age than in the US), and plenty of bars and clubs that cater for the younger crowd have kept Cancun and the nearby resorts top of the list for that all-important spring break.
No More Secrets
With the demise of the show those taking a Cancun spring break are probably relieved to know that that they can now get up to all the things that they would not want their parents to know about without fear of them suddenly appearing with a camera crew at the end of their trip. Then again, perhaps parents no longer need to go to such extreme measures to find out the truth. All they need to do nowadays is log into their son or daughters’ Facebook accounts!
Photo: by Funchal via Wikimedia Commons
The Yucatan peninsula has remained a favorite destination for young college kids to fly out and let their hair down. The Iberostar Hotels are family oriented, so if you decide to go this time a year you wont run into the spring breaker’s!
