North State Parent magazine

Our adventure began at five a.m. on July 7th at the San Francisco International Airport. Jack, Storm and myself met our delegation and we set off for Paris! Jetlagged and hungry, we stumbled off the plane and met our European delegation manager.

From the instant we set foot outside the Paris airport, our grumpy attitudes and hunger immediately vanished. Our tour bus was filled with "oohs" and "ahhs" as we took in the novel culture of Paris. Excited and enthralled, we disembarked and gazed in awe at our first destination, the Eiffel tower. From that moment the trip took off and never slowed down.

For the next twenty-one days we deepened our understanding of European culture at an exhausting pace. From the Louvre Museum to the canals of Venice and culminating in a Roman scavenger hunt, our horizons were permanently expanded.

The five countries that we explored were France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. One of the most powerful aspects of the program was the home stay in Germany, where I lived with a host family in Laufkirchen for three days. My host sister Laura and I compared the teenage life in America to that of teens in Germany. I attended high school with Laura and lived her lifestyle for three days. I ate authentic German meals, played handball and hung out with her friends, immersing myself in the German lifestyle. Despite language and cultural barriers I discovered we are more alike than different.

Although we saw ample evidence of the greatness of human endeavors from Mozart to Michelangelo, we also witnessed the evidence of the cruelty man is capable of. This was brought home in our experience at Mauthausen Concentration Camp. This camp is located in Austria and is open to the public for educational purposes.

Following the beauty of European art, music and culture, our visit to the camp was shocking. From the moment we stepped into the rain and approached the prison entrance we were silent and somber. From my journal: "Today was a very emotionally challenging day. Being in an enclosure that was designed for the murder and torture of thousands of people was appalling and made me physically sick." Human beings are capable of great wrongs.

As student ambassadors we enjoyed interacting with people of all ages and representing Northern California. I would encourage any interested teens to jump in to this wonderful opportunity. I truly believe that through our interactions we demonstrated to other cultures that we are more alike than different. We all have something to contribute. I feel that we presented a positive view of American teens.

Our summer spent in Europe is an experience I will never forget. I hope that our presence in Europe has brought us all one step closer to reaching Eisenhower's dream of a peaceful world.

For more information about People to People, visit www.ptpi.org and www.peopletopeople.com

16-year-old Mount Shasta High School student Tenaya Miller enjoys singing, tennis, volleyball and travel.