Reminders....

Today is my day to double check everything I am taking...then do the weighing of my bags. Tomorrow - Tuesday - I'll be taking off for the bay area. I'll be staying at Lindsey's.

Some reminders...
Remember to bring... *your JOURNAL, *your PROGRAM GUIDE, *things to write with, *your swimsuit, *a watch, *gift for host family, *notecard for a thank you note for the homestay family, *any medications in their original wrap, *hat, *sunscreen, *water bottle, *snack/sandwich for the SF-JFK leg of the trip

You may want to consider...
*games/books for traveling time, *book light if you're not able to sleep and don't want to disturb your roommate, *phone card, *addresses/email addresses, *camera, *adaptors for any electronic items you're bringing (check the voltage to see if you need a convertor), *small umbrella (it is suppose to be raining in Paris on Thursday...although we don't land until Friday morning, Paris time)...

What am I forgetting?

Remember to be at the airport at the American Airlines check-in counter about 9 a.m. Wear your People to People POLO SHIRT, KHAKIS, NAME TAG & LANYARD.

Remember to tie your red ribbon onto the handle of your checked luggage. Double check the size and weight of your bags too...leave room for souvenirs!

FYI...when we land in Paris at 10:55 a.m. Friday - Paris time - our bodies will be on 1:55 a.m. west coast time. Our itinerary has a full day in Paris for that Friday...so prepare yourself to get some sleep on the plane so you'll have plenty of energy for our first day in Europe!

Oh boy...the time is about here! Paris, here we come!

Countdown

Our Last Orientation Meeting

It's hard to believe we've been together 5 months...since first getting to know each other in January! Saturday, June 17th, we had our last Orientation meeting at Fresh Choice restaurant. This was a meeting to collect passports, and other papers that had not been turned in. We discussed where we would meet at the airport - by the American Airlines check-in counter - and the time...9 a.m. There were reminders to wear the People to People polo shirts, khakis, and of course, the name tags and lanyards. We passed out red/white polka dotted ribbon to tie on the handle of checked baggage. Vicki told us Andy's luggage tag had torn when they were putting it on his luggage...so be careful when attaching it to your luggage. Program Guides were passed out. Be sure and bring it with you on the trip. Also...don't forget your journals. There's quite a few other things I've thought to remind you of...that will come later since the list is still growing.

Before we left, we took a group photo. Unfortunataly, Jasmine and Raquel weren't there. Raquel did get there, but after everyone had left...so she didn't make the photo.

Meet Karina

Yesterday I received an email from Karina, introducing herself as our delegation manager! We will get to know her well since she will meet us when we land in Paris and stay with us until we depart from Malta!

Karina is from Austria...she was born there and still lives there. She studied and graduated in 'tourism business'. After graduating from college, she lived in Switzerland for one year, London for about six months, and then spent two years traveling all around Austria. She said she has always worked at resorts...summer and winter. She has also traveled in France, Italy, Germany, Greece, and the Caribbean. The United States is one place she hasn't been to...but she just found out she has relatives in California!

I have written her back to ask the specifics of the Sistine Chapel...plus, two of my nieces are in Rome as I write this. I read their Rome entry on their blog yesterday and have written them about what the dress code was in the Sistine Chapel. I'll pass the information along as soon as I know!

Potluck in the Park

What a wonderful day for a picnic/potluck meeting in the park! There were a little over 40 of us there...all but one of our delegates, and lots of parents and friends. We now only have one meeting left!

After collecting some papers and a few announcements, Lindsey and I handed out the polo shirts, lanyards, name tags, and luggage tags. We also had magnets and People to People pins to distribute.

Our first cultural presentation was by Emily (who was sick with the flu) and Lea. Their topic was Italian cooking and to give us a great visual, they actually made pizza...Once that was cut, we ate all the wonderful food that had been brought. Next up: Andy and Anne gave us lots of information about the Louve. That, of course, is in Paris which is our first destination. They told us about the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo...and many other works of art we'll see.
From the Louve, we went through the history of the French Revolution via Stephen's great storytelling. I don't ever remember being so entertained learning about that part of history in school!

Shaylin, with her mom's "Vanna White" assistance, gave us some instruction on the Italian language. She gave us each little cards we can carry around with important phrases to know! Raquel was going to give us a presentation on the French language, but she was home sick with the stomach flu...hope you're better, Raquel!! We missed you!

Rikka then took us way back in history to the days of the Colliseum. It is amazing HOW old things are in Europe...especially when you compare to the relative newness of America!

Lillian, Richele, and Connie then took us through the Feast Days of Malta. It is amazing how many feasts they have. They explained how the Catholic Church is central to the culture of the Maltese and the intense preparation the people put into their feasts! I hope one is going on when we're there!

Tiffany, Jasmine, and Rachel then did a presentation on the Eiffel Tower. Tiffany also constructed a miniature of the tower. The tower is one of the first sites we see and explore upon arrival in Paris.

We had a discussion about dress...what is TOO short for shorts, how wide can tank tops be on the shoulder (about 3"), do toes need to be covered in the Sistine Chapel? We've heard two different answers. Gifts for our home stay families was revisited. Remember, it doesn't have to be anything expensive...plus remember to bring a notecard to write them a Thank-You before leaving.

As a reminder to parents: If you would like to write a letter to your daughter/son and have me give it to them sometime during the trip, put it in a sealed envelope with their name on the outside and give it to me at the next meeting. (June 17th at Fresh Choice).

People to People

Traveling to France, Monaco, Italy, and Malta with 40+ high school students is not something I ever thought I would be doing...but in 27 days, that's exactly where I'll be.

We're traveling with an organization called People to People which is a student ambassador program. President Eisenhowser started this back in 1956 during the Cold War and directly after WWII. He felt that the people of our world could solve their differences and live in peace if we could communicate, learn about each other's cultures, and talk face to face about the issues. So that's what we're going to do. We'll be staying with families while we're in Malta and we'll be in hotels everywhere else. First stop....Paris, France.

Our 'delegation' started in January with the prospective delegates attending an information meeting. From that point, those interested in pursuing this, went through an application and interview process. Lindsey and I were impressed ... and excited...from the beginning.

Our first "orientation" meeting was February 25th. That was exciting for us as the delegates met each other and we started learning about the countries we would visit, etiquette for traveling, and the history of People to People. Unfortunately, for various reasons, we had a few of our delegates drop out of the program. I understood their reasons but was saddened at the same time.

Each of the delegates receives high school credit for this trip. Since it is educational, there are assignments to go along with it. One of these assignments is to give a cultural presentation related to our travel. Chad started us off with a remarkable power-point presentation set to music of many of the places we will see. I watched it three times, giving me chills each time. It was wonderful and a perfect overview for all the other presentations.

Kasey came next with a lot of great information about the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is located in Vatican City. One of our Andys followed with a presentation on foreign sports. That topic fit Andy just perfect. Actually when they were initially signing up for their presentations, Andy hadn't put his name on his topic (they were on post-it notes). Lindsey and I both looked at the topic and knew instantly that it had to be Andy's!

My hope is to be able to post to this as we travel, sharing stories and photographs as we go. I don't know how often we'll be in places where we have internet access...or the time! Keep checking back...and we'd love to hear your comments!
Ciao!