Well, it’s that point of the semester where reading week has passed and classes are slowly coming to an end. During this past reading week, I was in Punta Cana with 12 others, and it was definitely the most memorable trip of my life.
This trip was eventful before it started. Our flight leaving Toronto was at 10:00am, which meant that we had to be at the airport for 7:00am. And can I just say, I’ve never seen that many students at an airport at 7:00am in my life. I recognized some people who went to Queen’s, even though I’ve never met them before. I’m so grateful to have left when we did, as a snowstorm occurred later that day, resulting in the delay and cancellation of flights. Â
A typical day in Punta Cana involved us getting breakfast and heading to the beach straight after. We’d usually go to the closest bar for the first stop of the day around 11:00am. Since it’s usually $8 for one drink in Kingston, we had to take advantage of the all-inclusive aspect of the resort. Pina coladas, strawberry daiquiris, Miami vices, banana mamas, tequila sunrises, mango tangos, mojitos and tequila shots were constantly on rotation for double fisting the entirety of that week (minus the shots, those were consumed in moderation). We would spend a few hours on the beach tanning and swimming, then go for lunch and return to the beach, before eventually making our way to the main pool. I loved going for dinner together every night; we would all get dressed in cute outfits and go to the buffet (or a restaurant if we made a reservation) and go to one of the bars to grab drinks afterwards.
The trip consisted of so many special moments. On our first night, there was an event that took place on the stage called Battle of the Sexes; four men and four women were selected from the audience to participate in various challenges, one of them being a musical chairs game, five seconds of a song would be played and whoever knew the name of the song first would sit in the chair at the front of the stage. The game eventually opened to everyone in the audience, so if you knew the song you could run up and sit in the chair. One of my friends knew a song that was playing and ran up, but unfortunately, she was running faster than her legs could carry her, causing her to fall on the stage. One of the best memories. You simply had to be there to experience it.
Another major highlight of the trip was when we went on a party boat for the afternoon. This was $40 US per person and included 30 minutes of snorkelling, fun music, and LOTS of free drinks (which we all took advantage of). It seems that everyone from the group had their designated drunk day (the party boat was mine), which is fun to laugh about looking back on it. On the day of our departure we all met at the beach at 7:00am fully dressed in white to take group sunrise photos. It was such a beautiful and wholesome moment to spend together at the end of our trip, and I’m grateful that we captured so many stunning photos to remember it.
Upon returning to Kingston I had an extremely rough week back in classes. All I could think about was how badly I miss lying on the beach in my swimsuit, drink in hand, listening to the waves while laughing and talking with my friends. It was so nice to have a few days where all you had to worry about was how to prevent the sunburn from getting worse, and how to carry as many drinks as you can fit in your hand. I still miss the trip so much to this day. I wish I could just go back and do it all again, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to!
If you have the opportunity to go on a trip with your friends during reading week, I highly recommend it. While it’s more typical to book a trip like this as a grad trip, it made more sense for us to do it in third year when we knew we were all available, as some people from the group may be doing internships in their fourth year and wouldn’t be able to come. Visiting Punta Cana in 2025 was probably one of the best and most memorable trips I’ve ever been on. I’m so glad I have so many amazing photos to be able to reminisce weeks later. This trip has kickstarted many future plans my friends and I are looking forward to, despite many of us living far away from each other; we’re all hoping to meet up for a cottage trip during Canada Day weekend, and spend more time together over the summer. Going on vacation with your friends is a great way to unwind, spend quality time together, and take a deserved break from schoolwork. It’s safe to say that this trip not only gave me unforgettable memories, but reminded me how grateful I am to have friends I cherish so deeply.