People to People
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People to People
Dec 2008
My 7th grade daughter was recently nominated by one of her
teachers to attend a People to People World Leadership
Forum in Washington, D.C. next spring. She is very
interested in attending and the program sounds good, but I
would like to hear from anyone who has had a recent
experience, good, bad or otherwise.
(Someone else recently posted a similar question on a
different newsletter, but I don't think it got any
responses.)
Want to Know If It's Worth It.
I went on a quite interesting People to People trip to
Russia in October with a group of adult professionals. I
don't usually enjoy group travel, but this was worthwhile.
It was *very* expensive, but meticulously organized. The
PTP organization provided all the accommodation,
transportation, and tour logistics, as you'd expect on a
group travel trip. But they also arranged lots of meetings
with Russians in our field and got top-notch historical
guides and translators, which enabled a series of meaningful
personal exchanges, giving us glimpses into aspects of life
in Russia that would have been difficult to get without the
PTP resources. Also, of course, we had great sightseeing
and a thorough grounding in Russian history and culture. I
don't know what their trips for kids are like, but my
experience with them was very positive. Their planning
included setting up and adjusting the itinerary, getting
visas, giving country-specific orientation information,
getting medical assistance, enabling post-trip
communications with our fellow travelers. All in all, a
great experience.
sb
Sept 2008
Does anyone have a teen who has participated in the People
to People program? What was their experience?
Received an invitation
My daughter went to Washington DC with People to People last spring. They
are well organized and the tour was extensive. She met nice kids and perhaps
because of the venue (DC) and the upcoming election there was much
political discussion ---tho she did say she'd never met so many Republicans
at once before. The prep work was good to familiarize them with site on the
itinerary but high school credit doesn't seem to apply. I was happy to send
her on what was her first flight across country alone to travel with this group
because I felt the supervision was well organized. My only regret is that she
came home so tuckered out because the days started early 7am and finished
late 10pm. She had fun got to see lots of historical sights and met nice kids.
carolyn
The question was asked about a teen's experience with the
People to People Program. I'm not a teen, I'm a parent, but
I'm about to embark on a People to People trip to Russia at
the beginning of October. I haven't gone yet, of course,
but P2P are very organized and thorough in the preparation
for the trip. They've provided useful information with
detailed hotel and travel itineraries, a carefully arranged
schedule of activities and tours, contact information. They
have facilitated the obtaining of visas. There will be a P2P
trip coordinator traveling with us to handle any issues
which come up during the trip, plus one member of our
professional organization is serving as trip leader.
We are a group of professionals, and they've arranged
several opportunities for us to meet and exchange
information with Russian people in our field so that we can
have substantive and meaningful encounters, something that
would never occur if we were traveling as regular tourists.
I'm not a ''group travel'' person, but this kind of trip
offers opportunities I couldn't have gotten on my own.
I don't know what their trips for teens are like, and I'm
sure they'd be different than mine, but I would imagine
they'd have all the details well thought out in a
responsible and engaging way. I'd ask them for a
prospective itinerary and schedule of activities, which
they'll probably have and would provide to you.
If you want post-trip follow-up from me on how it actually
turned out, email me, and I'd be glad to provide it.
Sarah
My son went 2 summers ago when he was 13 to Australia thru
P2P and had a fantastic time. In his words, he came back a
changed person. In my words, more mature, self confident,
independent, social, willing to try new things on his own.
It's a wonderful experience. It is expensive but the trip
is so well planned out and the access these kids get that
is not available to the general public makes it worth it.
Also, the family home stay was a very positive and heart
felt experience. Go to the meeting to learn more.
max
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