Landed!

Greetings TTS13 parents,
Greta has landed back in Bozeman! I think she is happy to be here. As she walked into the house with her backpack on she went around to each room and looked and smelled. Then she went to the kitchen sink and said, "Ah, water out of a tap, and I don't have ot treat it with anything!" And thus her awarnesses unfold as she looks with new eyes at the same old stuff.
As I was working (as a cashier) at our local food Co-op here comes the staff of TTS through my line and I bowed to them with great thanks for all they do for all our girls but also for all the other girls who have experienced TTS and those who will. An amazing group of people. Thankfulness and gratitude pours from my heart!
I also want to thank you parents that went on the parent trip and sent photos and videos of the kids. I was happy to see Greta on film and see what she looked like after a few months. That was really a gift. All the girls photos are on the fridge and know at any time all or one or two are welcome to our home as they grow and get out on the road on their own. Bozeman is a lovely place with a University, lots of snow,mountains, rivers, etc. So, keep us in mind if you want to come out on vacation. We are only an hour and a half from Yellowstone.
So I hope y'all have a fantastic summer and may our paths cross again and again.
Blessings. Alice Robison (Greta's ma)

Isn't it nice to be home again....

Home and happy. That's all of us. Did the laundry, not too stinky except the shoes. Anna's in great shape, hope all your girls, the teachers and crew have had happy landings. Looking forward to hearing Anna's stories unfold.
Thanks for sharing this incredible adventure. Although most of us parents have not met, I feel we share a deep experience having our daughters become so close. Our home is always open to you for a visit if you head to the southern Maine coast.
All the best, Patty (Anna/Anita's mom)

Well, less than one month to go. As Jennifer told me, what seems to us as slow time seems to them to be warp speed in the final stretch. I met a San Salvadorian teenager who got this longing look in his eyes when I told him about the group surfing on the coast. He said he dreams of surfing those waves. What a gift for the girls to understand Central America, our close neighbors who we, as parents, have not met this closely before. Our 18 year old son spent 10 days in Guatemala on a service trip and I worked in a medical clinic in Dominican Republic near Haiti. We lounged on Caribbean beaches long ago. Other than that, we are learning from our daughter and the group and look forward to their synthesis. Once back, we plan on giving our daughter plenty of space to process this great experience.
Patty

Thank you!

A big public shout-out thank you to Cam and Wendy for taking the time to include us stateside (and abroad) parents by writing about and filming the girls. Thank you also for bringing them some parent energy.
All the best, Patty and Alan, Anna (Anita)'s parents

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

Parent Trip Envy

We tried to fit in to the bubble-lined envelope we sent to Jennifer but we couldn't fit with the candy and news articles,etc. So here we sit at home wishing we could be in Guatemala with the crew and our Anna (Anita) just for one meal or two. Can't wait to hear the reports from the parents who went. Meanwhile, on the History Channel, there is a show about ancient warriors and where was our ex-Marine host but at Tikal playing ball in the very court the girls had had their class back long ago (seemingly) when they were in Tikal. Great to hear the academic reports. The 42 mile backpacking adventure sounded fierce and challenging in a great way. From Anna's email from Xela they are looking forward to the family stays.
Patty

A Voice from San Cristobal!

It was a wonderful day at the Smail house in Fairview, North Carolina! We finally got to talk to Merritt and for a whole 15 minutes! The only other time we heard her voice since they left was on the 2nd day and then only 4 scratchy words in an otherwise inaudible voice mail left on my cell phone. We had also gotten ONE short email from her but we knew she was fine. She had exchanged a number of Facebook encounters with her sister Cammie and that was good enough for us. Between these sisters, absence has truly made the heart grow fonder! And for this we are very grateful.

It would be hard to describe with words the excitement and enthusiasm in her voice. She is without doubt having a glorious time and you can already tell this experience is growing her mentally, emotionally, maturity-wise and physically. Merritt had been away from home for 2 years at boarding school so we knew what it was like for her not to be in the house every day. She was used to being gone and we never really had any worries about her being homesick. But her school was local and we could at least talk to her regularly as well as see her pretty frequently. Being a couple thousand miles away with no possible way to even force a communication was a bit tougher to get used to however! So getting the call today was Chicken Soup to be sure!

She could barely contain herself as she rattled off the many different animals she had never seen in the wild before and the spectacle of seeing not one and not two but THREE volcanoes at once in the same vista and one of them was smoking. Then of course the hike up one of them and seeing the lava flow. The sight of the thousands of fruit bats flying from the mouth of the cavern at dusk was apparently pretty magnificent. Apparently the rafting trip was a big hit. Merritt was particularly glad she was on the raft that turned over, as in "You know I really liked that part, Mom!" She was very impressed with the motorized canoe trip up the river traveling from Guatemala to Mexico.

She absolutely loves the girls she is traveling with and adores her teachers. We got to speak to Cara for a couple of moments and she assured us Merritt was doing absolutely great. She very much enjoys her classes and was crowing about learning time management, a major obstacle in Merritt's academic life. We suspect the absence of text messaging, Facebook, Instant Messaging and the cell phone in general may play a big part here! Really one of the compelling reasons for sending her on this adventure. We have never heard enthusiasm when it came to academics, so this was a welcome first! She announced she didn't even want to come home because she loves being with all these new friends and adventures, except she misses us. At least she's saying the right things!

Probably one of the most interesting observations she made was seeing the Guatemalan and Mexican children exhibit real responsibility. "Mom, you wouldn't believe how responsible these little kids are. They're maybe 5 and 6 years old but they are actually carrying their mom's babies around and taking care of them because they HAVE to. And they do it because they know it's their job and responsibility. Or a six-year old chopping wood with his dad or a little girl washing their clothes down on the river. Not like when you ask me to do something just for the sole purpose of TEACHING me responsibility." A six-year old is teaching my 17 year-old. It doesn't get much better than that!

I've gone on long enough but just want you to hear from us how well our own daughter is doing and bet yours are doing the same. We sure hope you are getting communications from your girls and we'd love to hear their stories too!

Cam and Wendy