The Archive Series: The 1976 USSR Trip

Introduction: For this collection of writing, students in Ms. Johnsonʼs Upper School journalism class explored the schoolʼs historical archive of yearbooks, magazines and newspaper publications like “The Pine Needle.” Through research and interviews, they crafted and developed stories around a topic that piqued their interest. The writing both tells past stories and incorporates the modern-day perspective of the author. Enjoy!

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While combing through the shelves of ancient literature within the St. Christopher’s archives, I stumbled upon what I believe to be the most ambitious school trip in school history. On the back page of the spring 1976 newspaper (The Pine Needle) is a picture of a group of students next to their young Russian teacher, Mr. Simon Sibelman. The caption under it states that it’s a photo of Mr. Sibelman’s Russian class before they leave for a 16-day school trip to the USSR. From what I can tell, this is the only documented information within the school’s archives of the trip. 
 
One of the most anticipated parts of the school year is always X-Term, the weeklong program during which students get to go on faculty-led trips around the country and world. Although it’s an incredible experience for many, every year there is ultimately something that goes wrong on one or more of the trips due to the inherent risks of traveling with a large group of people. With this in mind, it’s definitely easy for teachers and students to look at upcoming X-Term trips and think of all the possible obstacles that the chaperones and students might face. I went on one of those “risky” journeys in 2024, and it turns out that the nervousness associated with international trips isn’t just widespread pessimism. 
 
Before I summarize the grueling trip that was the 2024 Galapagos Islands X-Term, it’s important to mention that it was an amazing experience regard- less of the difficulties that we faced. That being said, the trip was not exactly bound for success. Months prior to the start of our trip, a gang overtook the Ecuadorian government while our travel group simultaneously grew. It became a 40-student horde to be led by five chaperones in a country plagued by civil war. Although we were set up for failure to some extent, the trip was still on, and once X-Term week rolled around, we left for Ecuador regardless.
 
The first couple days were fine despite the hours of walking, bus rides and intense Ecuadorian heat. However, about halfway through the trip, many members of our group began to succumb to the harsh conditions. Around a third of students boasted a staggering 103° fever or higher, and almost no one felt healthy. By the time the trip was over and all that was left was a vicious 36-hour commute home, group morale was low and the trip felt like more or less of a failure. 
 
So, what does that have to do with my archives discovery? Needless to say, my confidence in the success of a school trip to the USSR was incredibly low. So low, in fact, that I began my search for more information regarding the trip with the intention of discovering some sort of catastrophe or disastrous event that would make my 2024 trip to the Galapagos Islands look like a cakewalk.
 
Finding information about the long-forgotten school trip to the USSR was immensely difficult and incredibly time-consuming. The archives quickly turned out to be a dead-end, as it became increasingly obvious that the trip had gotten no coverage in any yearbooks, newspapers or Pine Needles. It was starting to seem like something really did go terribly wrong on the trip. Feeling the pressure from my upcoming interview deadline set by my journalism teacher, I decided that going straight to the source (Mr. Sibel-man) would be my only option.  
 
My first attempt at reaching out to him was shady at best, as I found his university email through truepeoplesearch.com, a website that harbors personal information on almost everyone in America. This was to no avail however, as the email was no longer in use. This led me to an unsolicited text to him, which explained the nature of my project and how he could help.
 
After I waited on the edge of my seat for a hours, he finally responded. To my surprise, Mr. Sibelman seemed more than happy to allow me to interview him. So, we set a date for the phone call (a few days later) and I began to prepare my questions.
 
After what felt like a month of waiting, the day finally came. I eagerly anticipated his call, until eventually it was 15 minutes past the time we had set. After 15 additional minutes, I got a text saying something wasn’t working with his phone and we wouldn’t be able to talk until the next day. What a cliff-hanger. After another 24 hours of agony, he finally called. 
 
The interview lasted around 45 minutes, and mostly consist-ed of a summary of his three trips to the USSR and how they came to fruition. Despite the fact that it was very interesting to learn about his experiences in Russia and the difficulties that came with them, Mr. Sibelman made it clear that there were hardly any problems during any of the trips. Overwhelming information and underwhelming troubles.
 
My first thought was that maybe I was pessimistic. After some critical thinking (hours of scrolling and Block Blast), I realized how significant the outcome of the trip turned out to be. Mr. Sibelman started an after-school Russian class for students curious about the language, and after a successful year, he said that they decided to “visit the Soviet Union and see what it’s all about.” By the time Mr. Sibelman had gotten it approved, everyone in his class was extremely excited to go and group morale was high. These factors, combined with the students’ general knowledge of Russia, proved to be an excellent starting point for a great school trip.

This leads me to the conclusion that the intention behind X-Term trips and the passion the students have for the destination are extremely fundamental to the success of the week. The handful of USSR trips were destined for success because of the connection the students and teachers had with the location. In the word of Mr. Sibelman, it also helped that “the individuals who determined what you would visit happened to be very much on our side.” This differs drastically from the school trip system St. Christopher’s has today, where students scramble to sign up for the trip they think sounds the most fun instead of being led by passion and prior knowledge.
 
Although the school’s past USSR adventures were not what I expected, they can teach us valuable lessons about the importance of educational intent behind X-Term trips, proper planning and student interest in traveling.