By BAKANG KOMANYANE

Ravi Chugh '02 was supposed to be attending UPenn as a freshman last year. Instead he taught and played the marimba in Botswana. Tiffany Franke '02 was supposed to be hitting the books at Yale, when in fact she was directing social programs in Peru.

These are just two recent Deerfield graduates who are taking a "gap year," a year off between high school and college that allows for volunteer experiences, paid jobs or pure recreation.

Deerfield, like most schools, has seen a dramatic increase in alumni taking a year off-from just one in 1997 to nineteen in the class of 2003. Colleges see gap years as opportunities for students to broaden their horizons and discover their interests.

Kat Benesh '04 is devising an itinerary for next year that includes the United Arab Emirates, Southeast Asia and New Zealand. She intends to spend the fall and winter of next year as a full time student at the American University in Dubai, where she will study Arabic and Islamic culture. She hopes to work for three months on an archeological dig in Petra, Jordan. "To me the Middle East is and will continue to be an important hotbed of international, religious and social conflicts. . .and I want in," said Kat.

At the beginning of this year Franke was directing an art program for children in Urubamba, Peru. The group, named ProPeru, is concerned with domestically abused women. "The Andes hold a mystical wisdom-as the clouds whisper through the lush green valleys," wrote Franke from an internet café in Urubamba. "What I have seen, the new people who have become a part of my life, have opened doors down paths I have always envisioned myself traveling."

Chugh went to Maru-A-Pula Secondary School in Gaborone, Botswana, where he served as a teacher's aide and learned to play the marimba. He was often seen in a grey Deerfield T-shirt and khaki shorts, and defied the African heat on his way to the marimba practice rooms on the other side of campus. Ravi also helped to stage entertainment shows and student dances. He has draped the blue, black and white Botswana flag on the wall of his UPenn dorm room.

Students interested in taking a gap year or have any questions should contact Assistant Headmaster Martha Lyman.