I'm writing this about 6 months after the departure of my trip to Italy, the Vatican, Monaco, France, and Spain. I expected to come home a totally changed person, but that wasn't quite it. I changed, but not right away. After I again became accustom to my American life, I began the change. In relationships with others, in my writing, in my actions, and in my thoughts. Europe was the most eye opening, jaw dropping, thought provoking experience of my life. I met people who changed my life, who gave me memories to reminisce, and jokes to laugh at. I saw things that changed my point of view, led me to appreciate the smaller things, and widen my horizons. I've had people ask me if it was worth all the work. I answer truthfully, even if it were 10x more expensive, I'd work for that same experience. Its hard to describe it, as I've tried plenty of times. I look at my photos at least once a day. I still talk to my friends I traveled with and those I met while in Europe. Its amazing how many relationships I formed. Yes, I met a handsome Italian boy with bright blue eyes, but he knew little English, and I have yet to contact him since I've been in America. I hope to some day have the courage to. I miss the trip. I miss the people. I miss the food, the bread, the mineral water, the bus, the views. I've never really appreciated anything more. When in Rome... we were at the Trevi fountain during a scavenger hunt. At the time, the Trevi Fountain was under construction so there were these ginormous plastic/glass walls about 8 foot tall blocking people from entering the fountain. The saying is if you through a euro into the fountain, you're guaranteed to come back to Rome. Who wouldn't want to go back to Rome? So we faced our backs to the fountain and threw our euros over our heads. CLANK. The euros we had thrown hit the plastic/glass wall and shot back into the crowd on the street. We were SO embarrassed. All I remember is booking it with the rest of the small group I was with until we were far enough away. It was amazing. The hotels: only once did we come across an absolute disturbing hotel in Italy. It was filthy. When we pottied or showered, our bathroom flooded. We ended up using our friends' bathroom everytime after that. The homestay was amazing. I gained another family in Italy. They are beautiful and kind people. I miss them dearly. Maybe I miss them the most. France was gorgeous, but not what I expected. Only the last day in France was what really made me feel as if I were in France. One time, in Cannes, we got lost and I got to ask in French to a Frenchman how to get back to our meeting place. But the last day in Tautavel was absolutely amazing. We got to enjoy the French view and swim in fresh French waters, it was breathtaking. Spain went by too quickly. As we only really got to spend 3 days there. I wish we got more time, but oh well. I enjoyed every minute I was able to receive. On the last night, in Madrid, the goodbyes were very difficult. Saying goodbye to 45 people you spent 19 days with was very hard. We met as strangers and departed as family. We saw each other at our worse and best times, when we smelled and were filthy, while being emotional from something we experienced, when we were the happiest person alive. I got annoyed plenty of times, as I'm sure they also got annoyed with me, but I wouldn't have wanted to travel and see the world with anyone other than them. We had amazing leaders, Evie, James, April, Sara, and Brian (Becky and Pedro too). They taught so much and gave us their all. So I thank People to People Ambassadors for giving the experience of a lifetime. I hope my experience will inspire others, as they have further inspired and motivated myself. Feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you to all who made my trip possible to me, I dearly appreciate it each and every day. Ciao, au revoir, adios.
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Kaytlyn H.Here I'll be sharing my experiences and thoughts of traveling with the People to People organization. I'll be updating this as much as I can, so everyone can stay updated! Archives
June 2015
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