People-to-People MD06

Delegate Reports on July 26

Jul 28, 2006

What seems to be working:
He has a Cingular GSM phone, and for 5.99 we added international calling, and they charge .99 a minute. Simple as that! He can also text me -- text messages are 50 cents each to send and 10 cents each to receive. I just hope there are no hidden charges!

And more on communication:
He can't seem to get the P2P phone cards to work over there, so he's been one of those borrowing a cell phone that works. And he's buying postcards, but apparently the post offices are not easy to find, so he's planning to mail them when he gets home! He does seem to love the faxes [like getting mail at college -ed.] and wants to hear from us again!

One delegate's report on the trip so far:

She is enjoying her trip immensely and is not at all homesick. She also didn't find the food in Spain very agreeable, but France was much better. She had a blast at the homestay with her three fellow delegates. Their hosts were empty- nesters who spoiled the girls like their own granddaughters. They spoke very little English, which gave her an opportunity to use her three years of French. They were taken to a local fair celebrating the "bull festival." She really sounded happy and couldn't believe the trip would end in a week.

Except for the homestay, there doesn't seem to be much diplomatic exchange on this trip, just a touristy vacation. She hasn't met any other foreign students yet. The time spent in Nice and Cannes was just a quick bus tour. The Connecticut delegation was allowed to wear shorts and tank tops. So they have worn their official PTP uniform only once, during their flight to Madrid. She is looking forward to visiting Pisa and the Vatican. She had to go, dinner was at 8pm in the hotel which "looked like a motel".

And another, from two calls in one week:

He said they are having a good time. They have been visiting a lot of churches. He liked Spain the best so far, but thought France was boring! The homestay was ok, but he did not provide any details; his two semesters of French came in handy, but he realized he has a lot to learn!
They are in Italy now, and the scenery is beautiful -- he has almost used up a 1MB photo card. He has been trying new foods and only had McDonalds once! He has made a bunch of friends, and says everyone is getting along very well; he says the group from Connecticut are "cool". Our delegation is very busy, but he says a lot of them are looking forward to coming home. Also, they have not had much time for shopping at all -- so maybe they will come home with some cash!

And from another delegate:
She is having a great time, and enjoyed the home stay -- she was in the town, and could walk to everything. Her only complaint is walking in the heat, and they walk a lot! She didn?’t like the food in Spain either, especially since she doesn?’t eat any sea food!

They swam in the Mediterranean today and she said it was beautiful. She tried to sleep on the two boat rides because she is sooo tired. However, she was afraid that she would be left behind if she didn?’t wake up every time she heard the guide speaking Italian!

And one more:
She called me yesterday for the first time, and she was very excited about the home stay. They stayed with the Mayor of the town in a 300 year old house which was really cool, except she couldn?’t sleep -- she was sure the bed had no mattress, only springs. She said that the couple treated them like spoiled Grandchildren. She loved the Bull Festival! I asked her if she was tired of traveling, and was looking forward to coming home. She said no!