Types of people on a field trip

Study tours come and go every year. By the time you are in high school, more likely than not, you become tired of the very idea. The romantic veil is lifted, the spell of specialty surrounding them is broken. But just when you are deep in the bowels of high school and are starting to lose hope, you are presented with a mysterious new toy – an educational field trip.

The trips usually centre around visits to factories, laboratories, and other places of employment to observe how professionals work. While some people find these infinitely interesting, others treat them as just another day in prison. You might find your classmates in the following types of people if you have ever been on a field trip.

The Tiktokers/Instagrammers

A group of young adults attending a place outside the repetitive cycle of their life not having at least a couple of individuals who cannot resist endlessly taking pictures of themselves and their friends? An absolute impossibility. The aesthetic lighting, sleek interior, and lack of rules on the use of a device mean that these people are going to be chasing opportunities to capture themselves and their experience at every turn. There is also a high probability that these people will break away from the group to sneak up onto the terrace (which is explicitly off-limits) to capture the golden hour.

The Chronic Inquisitor

Teachers' pets know no boundaries when it comes to seeking validation by asking questions. They just have to make their presence known to the person in authority. During the professionals' descriptions of their work, they are likely to stand straight as an arrow in the front of the crowd, yielding their pens as swords over their notepads. And if any crack in the information provided needs to be filled? They are more than happy to point them out and seal those cracks with their ceaseless questions.

The Houdini

The trick that Houdini pulled by making a 10,000-pound elephant vanish from the middle of a stage might have been impressive. But was it as impressive as a student entering a building with a group, pulled a disappearing act for the five odd hours everyone is being bored to death with lectures and then turning up a minute before the group is about to leave? And all of this without a single teacher or other member of staff noticing? Nope, it wasn't. These students are channelling Houdini.

The Nuisance Nancys

Every class has one group of students who cannot help but create a ruckus wherever they go. During field trips, the rowdiness they display in regular classes usually translates to near-constant chatter, criminally loud laughter and an attitude that hanging at the back of the group makes them look "rebelliously cool." There are also going to be some people who cannot resist touching every piece of equipment they are not supposed to or making jokes at the professionals' expense, usually in loud and deprecating tones. These ones are likely to come from this bunch too.

The Dazed and Confused

Seeing a new place, experiencing a new sensation, learning about the ins and outs of an office ecosystem and picturing a life like that for yourself in the future – there is a lot to take in during a field trip. It is understandable to be awestruck or to feel like you are out of your depth. However, there are some who take their mesmerisation to the next level. They are usually stumbling and fumbling all over the place, getting left behind by the group because they are too busy gawking at a particularly shiny thing or staring without comprehension at the professionals while they are lecturing.

 Zaima is a struggling student, a failed guitarist and a poet in need of better poetic ideas. Send her your sympathies at zaima2004adrita@gmail.com.