First PTP Orientation Meeting

January 25 ,2003

  Today began the first of three People to People (PTP) Student Ambassador Orientation Meeting. This was not only the first meeting for PTP but also the first time we got to learn about our delegation for the European Heritage trip with other students in the program We met our delegation leaders who were very nice and some of the participants too. We started by handing in all our needed forms and our shirt size and then began with our assignments. Among these were our Bon Voyage and Reunion picnic, our community service project, and began to set up our phone tree.We tossed around some ideas for locations of the picnics and the type of project we would like to do. Next, we discussed the trip itself. We had twenty different topics to talk about from preparing for the trip to conduct to be followed. Our homestay, money for the trip, information about the airports, school credits,mail, laundry, and PTP items we would be recieving. We stopped for a quick snack and finally progressed to the last part of the meeting. Here we were taken to another part of the room where we were individually matched up with another student to get to know them. Our first meeting progressed very well and taught me alot of which I needed to know. It felt good to learn about each other and the program we would be attending together. Before we were dismissed we were assigned with a current event and write a report about it.

Second PTP Orientation Meeting

April 3, 2003

  Today was the third of the delegation meetings for the People to People Student Ambassador Program (the second of which I did not attend). After the introductions we turned in any information and/or paperwork we might have left. We then moved into the assignments. We discussed the picnics we are supposed to attent which are the Bon Voyage and the Reunion. Soon after this we were seperated from the adults once again and moved to another room where we watched a movie. This movie was very exciting to watch because it not only included instructions and suggestions for the voyage but also included various interviews from previous student ambassadors. They talked of their own experiences on their trips and were all very positive of every aspect of their times. The video also included a history of the PTP program from when Dwight D. Eisenhower first began the organization to current chairman George W. Bush. I learned alot of helpful tips from packing to rules of conduct. After the video we were to come back to the classroom. The assignment was to find two customs from one of the countries we will be visiting and compare their similarities and differences in contrast to our own. Finally we had our snacks and departed utill we would meet one more time at the Bon Voyage picnic on June 8th.