Parent Trip a Must do!

Should your daughter decide to do another semester abroad with the Traveling School and you find yourself vacillating about doing the Parent Trip, don't think about it...just say yes! Jennifer and Dawn will, I'm sure, make it another unforgettable adventure. I believe I can speak for all of the parents that we would not have done it any other way. Wendy and I have traveled more than some and certainly less than others, but on more than one level this really was one of the best travel experiences we've ever had. As most of you know, Jennifer is the Traveling School chief liaison and administrator in Bozeman and Dawn was the team leader on last years Africa trip who is very fluent in Spanish. I cannot say enough good things about these two women. They absolutley bent over backwards to accomodate us and make this trip meaningful. Our accomodations were ALWAYS amazing and different and fun. They made this a MUST DO.

It was not just all about the girls, though of course seeing our daughter and your daughters was a wonderful roller coaster of tears, laughter, hikes, bikes, kayaks, food, shopping and oh yeah, finally back to tears again. The way Jennifer planned this trip allowed all of us parents to experience some of what the girls have experienced but on a manageable level. I cannot speak for any one's daughter but my own but I can assure you she is not the same girl we sent out 8 weeks ago. I can say without reservation that no way, no how would Merritt have wanted to/been able to shoulder a backpack as big as she is and hike 42 miles in 4 days. I of course wasn't there but I understand from the guides, they did it without complaining and I think a great deal of what carries them through is the support of the other girls with them. They have forged a really close bond with each other that I'm sure will survive for some time to come.

A last minute change to our itinerary was one of the highlights of the trip for me . Originally we were to stay, I believe, in a B and B in Antigua. Instead, we went straight to the Earth Lodge, the same place your daughters stayed for 2 weeks. Already, we were walking in their footsteps which will make it so much more fun to share stories when the girls come back home. Earth Lodge is both rustic and luxurious...in it's own way! Yes, there is a sauna, heated by wood no less. Some of the parents and, I believe maybe Jennifer and/or Dawn, enjoyed it that first and only night after a really wonderful vegetarian dinner. In the evening the volcanoes were mostly obscured by clouds but we were treated to the one active volcano periodically puffing smoke the following morning while we drank coffee and shivered (yes, it was quite chilly in Central America in the mornings and evenings at 6000+ feet). I can't talk about the Earth Lodge without mentioning lugging my roller bag down a half mile of rocky trail (though Jennifer kindly stepped in and carried it the last 12 steps as we entered the lodge grounds! Thanks Jennifer!) OK and then there was lugging it back UP that same rocky trail with a little help from Wendy (she had her own bag to carry but I think she figured it would be easier to help carry my 30 pound bag rather than my 200 pound body!) Jennifer forgot to add defibrillator to the packing list.

We spent the second evening in Xela (_____________) before we got to The Language School where the girls were winding up their home stays. I hear there were tears all around, even the girls whose parents didn't make the trip. I say "I hear there were tears" because Dawn, Wendy and I chose to go by "Chicken Bus" which is the local mode of mass transportation, converted school buses garishly decorated with chrome, bright paint and usually highlighted on the rear door with either a silhouette of Jesus or an occasional silhouette of a shapely pin-up girl! The one consistency however is they are all driven by NASCAR wannabes trained to drive roller coasters at Six Flags.

The packages you sent your girls were like manna from heaven. By the time we got there (an hour after the first group of parents arrived) they were still poring over the letters, pictures, etc., still a few tears. That's a lesson I have learned should Merritt or my other daughter Cammie decide to do a future semester, bring some goodies from back home. Wendy and I just really didn't think about it since we were bringing US! Merritt would have loved to have gotten some things from her friends back home. Oh well, next time.

Just about everyone has had a gastro visitor of some sort during this trip. They seemed to be weathering it ok. Their teachers have been vigilant about getting care for the girls when needed, but there's only so much one can do. I guess the girls will slip up occassionaly and use local water or when handling the little ones from the school, etc. It's hard to avoid exposure and they just have not been there long enough to develop any natural defenses against those bugs. To my eyes that's really been the only big hassle. For the most part they have simply persevered and pushed right on through. They are such a strong group of girls. We are SO impressed. You will be too.

We really enjoyed talking to your girls, laughing with them and getting to know some of them. Unfortunately we didn't get to talk to all of them as we would have liked but they really do seem to be having a fantastic time, learning a lot and growing a lot. You should take a few minutes to read in the Traveling Journalism blog (http://www.tts13tj.blogspot.com/) to get some 1st person impressions from a handful of the girls themselves. We tried to get pictures of eveyone but these girls are like gerbils!

I promise I'm not trying to be a cheerleader here but thank you Traveling School for a really good trip. I can't sign off without saying how much we enjoyed getting to know Clarissa's parents, Alan and Amanda and Cheese's ( Charlotte) parents Rob and Kate and of course Jennifer and Dawn. The eight of us traveled so well together it was amazing. Sometimes wedged into a microbus so tight we didn't need a seat belt, taking salsa lessons that we pray won't find its way on YouTube to bicycling circus-style with the handlebars on backwards! Hopefully we'll meet again.

I've attached a couple shots but on another email I'll attach more pictures and try and follow up with a short video where I tried (but failed) to get all of the girls. I'm not sure I can get what I want on this blog entry.

Adios

Cam and Wendy