Perhaps you have always wanted to learn to play an instrument or paint with watercolors. You could, of course, learn to do these things near home at a community college or activities center. Wouldn’t it be more fun to discover a new interest through travel?
Music
People everywhere share a love of music. If you want to learn to play an instrument, sing with a chorus or learn about a particular type of music, consider a music study vacation.
- Music Workshops at Augusta Heritage Center
West Virginia’s Augusta Heritage Center brings Appalachian folk traditions to life. For 35 years, visitors and students have studied music, folk arts and dance at Augusta’s week-long workshops and celebrated them at Augusta’s festivals and jam sessions. People of all ages study at the Augusta Heritage Center, located on the campus of Davis and Elkins College in Elkins.
Augusta’s summer workshops are built around themes, such as Irish / Celtic, Swing or Vocal Week. You can learn to play an instrument or improve your skills. If you don’t play an instrument, you can sign up for dance and vocal classes. Workshop fees include morning and afternoon classes, and evening jam sessions are part of the fun. Participants can stay in on-campus dorms and eat in college dining facilities; some people choose to stay in local motels and buy campus meal cards.
- Music Study Tours With Cornell’s Adult University
Cornell University, like many educational institutions, offers travel study opportunities to continuing education students of all ages. Each year, professors from Cornell’s Adult University lead trips to important musical heritage areas, such as Santa Fe, New Mexico, Vienna, Austria, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
You’ll travel in a group led by a Cornell music professor, and attend performances and lectures. You will visit museums and cultural exhibits related to the theme of your trip. Best of all, you’ll be traveling with people who share your interest in music and learning, so you’ll have plenty to talk about over dinner.
Cornell’s Adult University music tour prices typically include lodging, most meals, performance tickets, educational programs and ground transportation.
Trains
Who isn’t thrilled when a huge locomotive thunders by? Trains have fascinated people of all ages since the Iron Horse revolutionized the transportation industry. Riding historic trains, visiting train museums and seeing steam engines in action are all wonderful ways to celebrate your interest in train travel.
- Historic Logging Trains at West Virginia’s Cass Railroad
West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad dates from 1901. The rail line was built to help loggers bring cut trees down the mountainside. Today, only 11 miles of rail line out of the original 3,000 miles remain, but those 11 miles take you through scenic, historic Appalachia. The Cass Scenic Railroad operates several Shay locomotives. The Railroad also operates one Heisler locomotive on an occasional basis and is restoring a Climax locomotive.
The Cass Scenic Railroad is especially popular during the fall foliage season. If you need to sit down during the ride, plan ahead and arrive early. The passenger cars, originally designed to transport logs, have few seats; most passengers ride standing up. You can ride the rails to three different points: Whittaker Station (four miles), where you can see a re-created logging camp, Bald Knob (11 miles) and Spruce Run, a five-hour round trip from Cass.
The Cass Scenic Railroad has more to offer than pleasant train excursions. You can rent a renovated cottage in the old logging camp, or, if you prefer more unusual accommodations, you can spend the night in a railroad caboose or primitive cabin atop Cheat Mountain. Self-contained RV spaces are available in the Cass Scenic Railroad parking lot.
- Nevada Northern Railway Museum’s RailCamp
If you’ve always wanted to learn to operate and repair locomotives, run, don’t walk, to Adult RailCamp at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, offered by the Museum and the National Railway Historical Society. Not only will you gain hands-on diesel and steam locomotive operations and maintenance experience, you’ll also learn about railroad history interpretation.
The six-day RailCamp program includes classes, motel lodging and meals; transportation to and from Ely, Nev., is not included. RailCamp programs typically sell out, so it’s best to register early for this unique opportunity.
Language Study
Whether you’re hoping to read an old newspaper that you’ve kept safely in a file folder or take part in a cooking class overseas, improving your command of another language can open doors for you. Sure, you can sign up for language classes in your home town or try language learning software, but you can also immerse yourself in another language and culture. You can find language travel / study programs on almost every continent.
- Elderhostel's Norwegian Language Program
If you’d like to learn or improve your Norwegian, sign up for Elderhostel’s six-day program near Bemidji, Minn. You’ll live in Concordia College’s Norwegian Language Village and spend your days and evenings studying Norwegian, eating traditional Norwegian foods and learning about Norway’s culture and heritage. You’ll even learn to sing in Norwegian.
Elderhostel and Concordia Language Villages also offer a Swedish language program.
- Institute Galilei’s Italian Language Courses
Italian is the language of romance, of opera, of Dante. If you’ve always wanted to study this beautiful language, consider private language lessons or a small group class at the Institute Galilei in Florence, Italy. You can take classes for two weeks, a month or longer. Course prices do not include transportation to Florence, meals or accommodations. The Institute can arrange for you to stay in a hotel, apartment or even with a local family, and prices are reasonable.
Institute Galilei also offers cooking, art and history courses, which you can take even if you aren’t studying Italian at the Institute.
