TRI DUC ENGLISH - Learning Vacations TRI DUC ENGLISH Reading Practice: Learning Vacations A couple spends a week in Thailand learning to cook in the local style. A group flies to Turkey to join an ongoing archeological dig for the summer. A history professor leads a tour of historical sites of Europe. The participants in these trips are all enjoying a different kind of travel: learning vacations. Rather than spending their vacations relaxing on a beach or taking a bus tour of ten cities in eight days, they have opted to enjoy their time off by learning something new. From attending summer camps for adults to studying botany in the rain forest, people everywhere are experiencing the value of a vacation with a purpose. According to surveys, close to one-third of travelers each year choose learning programs over other types of vacations, and their numbers are growing. In the past, these types of vacations were generally considered to be for young people still in school. A student of French might spend the summer studying that language in Paris. A marine biology major could learn to scuba dive and spend a few months at sea assisting researchers. Now, it has become common for adults, too, to spend their vacation time in educational endeavors, and various types of travel programs have grown up around this interest. Art schools and writing programs sponsor trips to interesting parts of the world. Trip participants hone their creative skills under the supervision of professional artists and writers while at the same time enjoying, for example, the warm breezes of the Caribbean islands or the colorful villages of Spain. Cooking is a popular hobby, and tour companies have developed trips that focus on the cuisine of different regions of the world. Travelers may learn all about how traditional meals are prepared and what ingredients are used. Or, for those who want to improve their abilities in the kitchen, they may actually receive hands-on lessons, acquiring new skills that they can take hom...