I [think People to People will] be a good opportunity to see how other kids live in different countries and to experience their cultures
The youth will participate in this summer’s People to People program, which will visit Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany.
“When I first got the letter saying I was nominated to go on this trip of a lifetime, I knew I wanted to go,” Andrew said.
The People to People Student Ambassador program offers students in fifth through 12th grades educational travel opportunities designed to foster friendship, build a foundation for personal success and offer unique access to people, places and activities. The program begins locally enabling students to make friends in their surrounding communities before traveling globally.
Accommodations, transportation and food are all included in the price of the program. Andrew and Shannon will travel with approximately 45 people and will stay in many different places including hotels and a home stay with a family.
Despite traveling at a young age without their parents, both the King and Wallace families trust their children are in good hands.
“It is a bit scary to think of my child, who will be 15 at the time of the trip, visiting other countries without us,” said Lisa King, Andrew’s mother. “However, we have been so impressed with the People to People organization and have a comfort level about how structured the program is and how responsible and experienced the adult leaders are. It is a tremendous opportunity for Andrew, and [his father and I] are proud that he will be able to participate.”
Andrew also looks forward to the trip and how it will help him better understand other cultures.
“I think this will help me work well with other people,” he said. “I can’t wait to visit other countries and talk with people so I can better understand our similarities and differences.”
Shannon also sees great opportunity in her upcoming trip.
“I [think People to People will] be a good opportunity to see how other kids live in different countries and to experience their cultures,” she said. “I'm hoping it will make me better understand new and different things.”
“Hopefully she will gain a new perspective on the world around her by being exposed to different cultures,” her mother Jennette added.
Families were recently invited to the Baldwinsville Public Library to learn more about the People to People program. There, Louisa Gurgel, an exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, shared informational tidbits about her homeland with participants.
Jennette and William Wallace (Shannon’s parents) were impressed with Gurgel’s presentation, specifically with the girl’s maturity level and how differently her culture treats education. Andrew noted how lunch is considered the most important meal of the day in Germany.
“Kids of Germany leave school at about one o’clock to go home and eat lunch with their families,” he said. “They also have about three to four hours of homework a night.”
His mother found Gurgel’s description of differences between German youth and United States youth intriguing.
“They live with their families in relatively small homes or apartments with little to no yard, spend little time watching TV or playing video games, and they mostly get around via mass transit systems and seem to have a very active cultural lifestyle,” she said. “They are focused on the environment and spending time outside.”
The group will embark on their journey July 7 and return July 25.
Shannon Wallace, foreign exchange student Louisa Gurgel (from Hamburg, Germany) and Andrew King are pictured during a recent People to People meeting held at the Baldwinsville Public Library.
