"Don't get killed"

These were the exact words of one of my teachers when he heard that my friend and I would spend our Spring Break in South Padre Island. I was really surprised. Until then, everybody — or every student, to be more accurate — had told me how beautiful the beaches were in South Padre Island, how great the weather would be and how cool the nightlife was down there. Nobody had said anything about getting killed!

However, we made it there. And, more important, we also made it back.

So, for your own safety for next Spring Break, here it is, the ultimate South Padre Island Survival Guide:

Don’t forget your sun block...

This is self-explanatory. You don’t want to end up like this poor guy we saw at the beach. He had probably fallen asleep there after a wild party the night before. The color of his face made his cherry-red sleeping bag look really pale. Ouch.

Others, including us, soon resembled the American flag, with alternating red and white stripes all over their bodies. That wasn’t patriotic at all; it was just painful.

Don’t lose your way...

...like the two lost girls who we met in Corpus Christi on our way back from South Padre. Some explanation is needed here: There is a street or a square in the Corpus Christi downtown area named after your favorite Spring Break spot. This is where these girls got stranded. One of them was desperately trying to figure out what was wrong and where the heck the beach was. The other one was busy looking for the MTV camera crews. "We somehow feel kind of misplaced," they admitted after we ran into them in front of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Don’t expect much sleep...

Believe me: You won’t get it. Even if you try very hard. First of all, the nightlife is just too cool to be missed. Unfortunately for minors, most clubs require a minimum age of 21 to get in. This is the second reason why getting rest during the nighttime is almost impossible - denied access to the clubs is no obstacle for most students. They will have their party. According to Murphy’s Law, that place will be the motel room next to yours.

Don’t drive your car on the beach... There have been many others before you who failed miserably. We spent one morning in the dunes, just sitting there, drinking soda, watching the cars disappear in the quicksand. Admittedly, we were having a good time. That is, until we realized that the front part of our own car was nowhere to be seen.

The usual sequence of events in such a case is as follows:

A car is stuck in the sand. Another car comes, and the drivers join forces and try to pull the first car out. Now we have two cars stuck in the sand. This goes on and on. Then, out of the blue, a band of locals will show up, claiming that they happened to be in the area (and they also happened to be carrying a bunch of ropes and driving a four-wheel drive truck...). They accept a variety of things as their payment, but most prefer beer. It seems like it has almost become a part-time job for some people down.

Don’t stay at the crowded beaches near the hotels...

OK, there may be bars around, there may be restrooms nearby, and there may be people who need this cozy atmosphere and body contact with their neighbors whenever they just move their small finger. But the fun stops when your next-towel neighbor has had garlic for dinner the previous night or just happens to be an unpleasant person.

The beaches north of the town are much more beautiful and less crowded — don’t miss them.

Don’t try to cross the Padre Island Bridge when the traffic is dense...

I have talked to people who spent over 4 hours jammed in the traffic. There are reports of others who never made it but starved in their cars. Fortunately enough, a traffic jam seems not to keep people from partying and sunbathing at all. On our way home we met a group of tanned college students who had obviously had a lot of fun: "Yes, we had a great time. Oh, South Padre Island? No, we got stuck in the traffic and never set foot on the island itself..."

Well, as you see, we survived Spring Break in South Padre Island despite my teacher’s warning.

So when you consider spending your break in South Padre Island - don’t take your teacher’s words too seriously... Enjoy your time and take care!