Two groups of Wareham High School students visited two very different countries during spring break, but both groups came back with a broader world view and a desire to keep traveling.

Vice Principal Debbie Freitas took a group of students to Spain, where they learned about the food, architecture, geography, and history of the nation. Their days were jam packed with activities. Over the course of the trip, the students saw the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the more rural Toledo.

"It was a lot more modern than I thought it would be," junior John Brand said of the Spanish cities. Comparing them to Boston and New York, he said: "There's a lot of people but you can —"

"Actually move around," freshman Zariah Lima interjected. "Compared to New York, it just seems quieter."

Freshman Cam Decas said that the buildings stood out to him.

"I wasn't expecting the architecture to be so detailed," said Decas. "I feel like here we just have skyscrapers. … You go to Boston or New York and you're like, 'Didn't I just see this building?'"

"Nothing looks alike," Lima agreed.

In addition to taking in the architecture of cathedrals and other structures in the cities, the students took flamenco lessons, saw a sword-making presentation, and painted pottery.

"There wasn't ten minutes that went by that we weren't getting some kind of information," said Freitas.

The students agree that traveling internationally has given them all a broader perspective, and inspired them to travel more in the future, with Italy, Greece, and the Azores on the list of places the students expressed a desire in visiting.

"I feel more experienced, maybe more mature," said Brand. "It's not the only way to do things — the way we do things" in the United states.

Meanwhile, in Cape Verde, Wareham High School's Global Ambassadors finally had the chance to see the country and meet students they've been video chatting with for years.

Teacher Henry St. Julien has said that he believes everybody should see how people in the third world live, because that's how most of the world lives. St. Julien helped to make this experience possible for a group of students.

The students agreed that in general, the high school students in Cape Verde were smaller than their American counterparts.

"A lot of them, I noticed, didn't have a lot of facial hair," said junior Mason Vasconcelos. He said that he inferred from this that perhaps the students they met didn't receive proper nutrition.

"I saw Enrique on the Skype session and I was like, 'Oh he's this cute little kid," but it turns out that he is15-years-old, said junior Malange DePina.

DePina has family in Cape Verde, and while this wasn't her first time visiting the country, she saw the poverty-stricken side of things that she previously hadn't.

"It was different this time," said DePina. "I've never seen this side of Cape Verde."

DePina said she saw one girl's home and where she slept, and was a little shocked, saying, "I can't believe people actually sleep [there.]"

Junior Amber Filkins said that the experience of visiting a third-world country gave the students a chance to see things from a different perspective.

"It definitely opened my eyes to how fortunate we are," she said.

Senior Zachery St. Julien has traveled to Jacmel, Haiti, with his father, Henry, and the rest of the family, to work with the locals to build their community. He observed that the two third-world nations are very different, but said they had at least one thing in common: "They both are so happy."