Junior Siobhan Neeson, sophomore Marissa Okamoto and English teacher Chloe Smith spent their summer traveling through Europe.
Neeson visited Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France over the course of three weeks with 39 other students in the ‘People to People Student Ambassador’ program. According to peopletopeople.com, the mission is “to bridge cultural and political borders through education and exchange, creating global citizens and making the world a better place for future generations.”
“There was an application process,” said Neeson. “I first received a letter from the organization, then attended an informational meeting. After that, I got three teacher recommendations and set up an interview with the leaders of the trip. Prior to the trip, we met for 10 months at monthly meetings and were assigned ‘homework,’ cultural quizzes and a project about any topic relating to the four countries we were going to visit. The actual trip consisted of sightseeing, museums and tours of famous cultural sites.”
In Europe for the first time, Neeson was excited but nervous.
“I felt grateful to have visited so many places in Europe. I was nervous because it was the longest time I had ever traveled without my parents and with people I was not too familiar with. I was excited because I knew that this would be the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Smith traveled to Portugal, Spain, France and Sweden for seven weeks with friends.
“My trip was purely for exploration,” said Smith. “ I traveled with a friend of mine from the Big Island for the majority of the trip. I had a small stint in Paris where I traveled alone. I wasn’t nervous about traveling alone, however. I’ve done a lot of travel in less developed countries, so being alone in developed European countries felt exhilarating to me, not nerve-wracking.”
In Sweden, Smith attended a dance camp called Herräng.
“I became involved with a group called the Hawaii Jitterbugs last October and fell in love with a dance called the lindy hop, which is an offshoot of swing dancing. This was a major part of the inspiration behind this trip.”
Okamoto visited London, England and France for nine days with her Girl Scout troop.
“In order to raise the money for the trip, my troop and I sold Girl Scout cookies, said OkamOto. “We had been saving for four years. There were many times that I found myself frustrated, but I kept reminding myself that with each box we sold, we were a step closer to our goal. Now, four years later, our goal was finally reached! ”
“A memorable experience was visiting the American Cemetery in Florence. It was hard to take in that all these Americans were buried in Italy,” said Neeson. “The experience was personal for those in the group from Hawaii because there was a soldier from Hawaii buried in the cemetery.”
Okamoto enjoyed her time in London.
“ I do not really have a favorite moment. It was all just a whole lot of fun: from going to Stonehenge and Oxford University and town, going on the London Eye, seeing all of the historical landmarks, going to the Girl Scout center Pax Lodge, walking the streets of London, tasting traditional English food and seeing Abbey Road.”
Smith recalled a humorous event in France on her first trip to Europe.
“A lovely French friend gave my Big Island friend and me her car for the day. After about a 10-minute crash course in navigating French highways, we set off on our own to find a hike about two hours away on the French Riviera,” said Smith. “We had a spotty navigation system at best, and Mapquest directions that were basically inaccurate. By some miracle, I got us to the hiking spot unscathed. My friend and I were cracking up the whole time. Driving a new friend’s car around a foreign country was certainly not a part of our itinerary, but it was ridiculously fun.”
The three travelers had some advice for those who plan to travel to Europe in the near future.
“Venice was one of the most stunning cities I’ve ever seen. Venice has tons of shops that make nice souvenirs, yummy gelato places and restaurants with delicious food. If you can manage to get a ride on a gondola, I would take it,” Neeson said. “Italy and France are beautiful places to visit, but it gets very hot. In Italy and France, wear light summer clothes, but definitely bring a poncho or rain jacket because it stormed the first few days I was there.”
Okamoto had her favorites.
“I would definitely recommend London and Paris. The atmosphere is very friendly. I would have to say keep your camera ready at all times! Also, pack lightly, keep your bag close to you and exchange money before you go.”
Smith said,“My biggest advice is to just travel if the opportunity presents itself. I loved all the countries I visited, but I would recommend that each individual think critically about what they want most out of any travel experience and plan their destinations based on that.”
If they had the chance to visit Europe again, all three have destinations in mind.
“I would love to have the chance to visit Greece. I loved learning about Greek history and I’ve always been interested in Greek mythology and architecture since it is represented in various ways all around the world,” said Neeson. “I would love to see the Parthenon in person.”
Okamoto said, “I would want to go to England and France again because I feel as though I was not able to spend a whole lot of time in either city. I would also want to go to Italy, Germany, Greece and Austria.”
Smith said, “I am already dying to go back to Europe! The old buildings are incredible, the various languages lovely, and the food is divine. I would love to go back to France as I fell completely in love with the country, people, language and food. I have also wanted to travel along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which is a pilgrimage route through the northern part of the country. There are some new European countries I’d like to visit as well, including Italy, Greece, Croatia and the Czech Republic. But really, the list could go on forever!”
