After two years of
fundraising, Isabella Rosborough’s dream became
reality this summer as she spent an exciting three weeks traveling in Europe as
part of the People to People Ambassador Program.
While Rosborough’s group from the
Southern Maine area had only 11 students, they travelled with a group of six
students from Bangor, and in New York, they met up with another four from
Staten Island. When they arrived in Rome, they were joined by a large group of
students from New Jersey, as well as one German student, to form the group of
39 students and five adult leaders.
The group began their explorations in
Rome, where they visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and took a tour of the
city.
After Rome, their travels took them to the
small mountain town of Assisi. “Assisi was probably one of the most beautiful
places out of everywhere we went,” said Rosborough. “It was just a quaint
little town.” Here, they saw how olives were grown, and also visited a monastery
and had the opportunity to speak with a Friar.
Every People to People trip includes a
“full-on” experience. For Rosborough’s group, this meant rappelling down a 100-foot
castle wall, along with other group games. From the wall they could see for
miles, including views of other castles in the area. Rosborough said that
although some participants were fearful, she was not. “I enjoyed it a lot. I’m
a thrill seeker for things like that,” she said.
After their full-on, the group met the
families they would be staying with. Students were either by themselves in a
home stay family, or with one other student, for three nights and two days. Rosborough
stayed in a family of four with two daughters. The parents spoke broken
English, she said, but the older daughter Agatha spoke English clearly, and
served as their translator for the stay. In addition to her home stay family,
there were two neighbor kids that spent the whole time with her as well.
While with the family, Rosborough went
to a lake, explored the town she was staying in including shops selling
artwork, pottery and jewelry. The family also took her to Perugia, which is “the
Italian chocolate capital” she said. And much like teenagers do in America, she
and the teens she was visiting ordered takeout pizza one evening, watched a
movie, and played WII.
Rosborough said that one of the biggest
things she learned was that no matter where you go, things are still the same. While
she realized there may be bigger differences in other countries, in Europe
there were many similarities to home. The family dynamics were very similar to
those in America, and there were lots of tourists everywhere they went.
She did notice a lot of small
differences throughout her travels however. Some of the more notable
differences, she said, were that kids go to school one year longer before going
to university, and also they cannot drive until they are 18 years old. The
universities are also much more specialized, focusing only on one trade, she
said.
Other cities visited included Venice,
Florence, Pisa, Paris and London. One of her favorites, said Rosborough, was
Florence. In Florence, there weren’t many cars, but lots of moped and tourist
buses. The streets were lined with artists, each with a different type of art,
but all really detailed and amazing, according to Rosborough. She purchased two
pieces of art in Florence, including a painting of Ponte Vecchio, the only
bridge in Florence not bombed during WWII. While there, the group had the
opportunity to visit the bridge.
Other highlights of the trip included a
glass blowing demonstration in Venice, walking around the Vatican city,
visiting the Sistene Chapel, the Statue of David, the Louvre, the Effiel Tower
and Normandy. The trip to Normandy was very sad, Rosborough said, and there was
a special ceremony there, where people thanked the students and their ancestors
for helping them during the war.
In London, the group of students met
with a former member of British Parliament, went up the London Eye, saw Big Ben
and the changing of the guard, and went to see the musical Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory. London was full of statues, said Rosborough. In one square,
there were four huge lion statues guarding the square, and a different statue
in each corner. Because they couldn’t decide what to put in one corner
permanently, the statue there changes every 18 months, and a vote will occur to
choose the permanent statue. When Rosborough’s group visited, she said, the
statue there was a giant blue rooster.
Rosborough said her favorite parts of
the trip were rappelling and the home stay. While she doesn’t have plans to
formally share her experiences, she talks about it a lot wherever she goes, she
said. “It’s definitely worth the money,” she added. She funded her trip by
selling peppermint bark, using money she had saved, holding a clock raffle, and
she also had some family members who contributed to the trip.
Alison Rosborough, Isabella’s mother,
said “It was amazing – and a lot of work. She worked really hard to get there,”
she added. While on the trip, “She did things that you wouldn’t be exposed to
if you were doing it as a family,” said Alison. The trip moved beyond sightseeing
and allowed them to meet people and become a part of the culture. The only
drawback, Alison said, is that Isabella can’t wait to go on the next one. “It
took us two years to raise the money – so I’m thinking it will be another two
years before she goes again,” she said.
Isabella agreed – she is eager to go on
more trips like the one she took this summer. “I want to do more European
countries, and I really want to do Japan. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan,”
she said.
Photos are Isabella with Emma, her
homestay sister, and the other one is with the all the kids - the girls she
stayed with and the two neighbors - from left to right Emma, Linda, Nicola,
Agatha and Isabella.
“When I joined primary, I wanted to have
a way to introduce myself to families in a less formal way than just the school
year starting. Having fun on the playgrounds and sharing popsicles seemed
like a good fit!” Rhoads said. 
