New! London, Baby!

New! Oxford, Punting, and Disco

Thursday July 30 - Oxford and Punting

So this morning we woke up in Warwick, packed our bags and headed towards the city of Oxford (ask your delegate how this town got its name). We took an awe-inspiring walking tour around Oxford University, England’s oldest, founded in 1167. Ask your delegate how many colleges are considered a part of Oxford. Did you know that, if you apply to Oxford, you have to apply to a specific college or colleges? You can’t simply apply for all of them in one application.

It was easy to see how so many writers were inspired, just by experiencing the architecture of the buildings around us. Ask your delegate about Oxford Press and how many books are contained in the Oxford libraries. We had about 30 minutes of free time to explore the town further and (what else?) go shopping. Who doesn’t want a purple t-shirt that says, “Oxford University,” on it, anyway? Pretty much anything you could put “Oxford” or “Oxford University” on… there was a shop with it! Then, with little warning, it began to rain again (a lot)! Luckily, we had decided to meet up in front of Starbucks coffee shop, so it was a great place to settle in and have something warm to drink.

Lunch was a 20 minute walk away, but we made it in good time - even though most of us were experiencing some consistent (are we there yet?) foot tiredness. We went to a Mexican restaurant named, “Iguanas,” and had some tasty chicken wraps and curly fries. What is it with Europe and French fries?!

Our next stop was at the Cherwell River to give our feet a rest and ride on punting boats. They are similar to the gondolas one might see in Venice, but not as intricately designed. The funny thing about our ride, was that the punters tied 3 boats (and with the other group they tied 4) together parallel to one another and pushed us along the river that way. Our punter described some of the wackiest “traditions” of the different colleges in Oxford… some were pretty silly! Our leisurely tour lasted about an hour and was nice and relaxing. We returned to the starting point of our tour and met for a quick count off , and then boarded the coach, heading towards the heart of England... LONDON, baby!

NEW! Stonehenge and Warwick Castle

Wednesday July 29

We got an early wake up call via the ferry intercom system and were up and off the ferry by 8 a.m. We boarded our coach and were off to see Stonehenge. Unfortunately, we were all so used to sunny weather, that most of us packed an overnight bag with shorts and t-shirts for the ferry ride. The weather was quite a bit colder… and windy! We had a few minutes to grab a jacket our of our packed luggage, but still… it was pretty cold!

Our coach took us straight to Stonehenge. Interestingly enough, it is NOT out in the middle of nowhere. It is right next to two busy roads that come quite close to it. It was truly amazing to see the prehistoric assemblage of rocks in person, though. It dates back to 3000 B.C. Each of us had our own audio guide equipment so we could listen to the history of Stonehenge and all the hypotheses about how it came to be. We had a limited time amount of time, but once it started raining steadily, most of us were ready to get back onto the warm coach!

Because we had a 2 hour ride ahead of us, Michelle put the movie, “The Other Boelyn Girl,” on the coach TV and we were able to get a sneak preview of our next destination… Warwick Castle!

It was still raining a bit when we arrived, but the skies were bright and we all felt optimistic as we headed through the gates of William the Conqueror’s massive castle to begin our exploring. We were able to climb into the towers and saw a beautiful view of the Avon river. There was a special hallway that had been restored / preserved to resemble how it looked in the 9th century. We tried to imagine what life would have been like to walk the halls on a rainy day in the middle ages in the attire of the time. I know I would have been extremely uncomfortable - especially after seeing the clothing (and the bathrooms) common for that time period. After the first 45 minutes or so, the rain started coming down harder… and harder. It was tricky getting from wing to wing in the castle, hopping over puddles and getting wet in the process. BUT it was worth it! There was a hallway that displayed the contents of the armory - very long rifles, intricately decorated swords and bow and arrow sets.

We moved inside for dinner and were soon back outside to learn about combat techniques used in the middle ages. Were you wondering if it was still raining? Nope… It was pouring! We watched a medieval bows man demonstrate the proper technique and he was a riot! We were lucky, though, because we were standing outside underneath tents and the rain poured over us. HE was in the open for his demonstration (at least 30 minutes) and he was SOAKED. He was wearing clothing appropriate for the 9th century (wool), too. Needless to say, he got a roaring round of applause at the conclusion of his demo.

He was SO funny!

OK, so because it was pouring on us, and had been raining all day long, our medieval “trainers” decided to bring us inside for the rest of our combat technique instructions. We each were given a (real live) sword and we jogged up the hill back to the dining area. We spent at LEAST an hour learning the tricks of the trade when it comes to sword fighting… not only how to do certain moves, but WHY they are done. “It is nearly impossible to drive a sword through your opponent’s chest,” on of our trainers explained. “It is much easier to get him unbalanced and drive the butt of the sword into his nasal area, breaking the bones in the skull.” Gruesome, but true!

Dusk was upon us and the culmination of our day at Warwick was about to take place… We brought our swords back to their storage tent and walked down to the river where the re-enactors had prepared their most diabolical battle weapon, a trebuchet (sort of like a catapult, but WAY cooler) for a fire ball launch. The preparation schedule was described (in detail - ask your delegate what types of disgusting things were added to the trebuchet to wreak havoc inside the opponent’s castle walls), and we watched (from across the river) the fire ball launch into the distance. It was really a sight to see. Evidently, the trebuchet at Warwick is the largest in the world and even has a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.

It was a spectacular way to end the evening (even though it was STILL raining)!

NEW! Caen & Normandy

Tuesday July 28 - Day 11

Today was an amazing educational experience that opened our eyes to even more of what happened during World War II. We began at the Caen Memorial Museum to view in depth the events that led up to WWII. We learned about Hitler’s rise to power, the uncertainty of war time, and how we can look back on the events and value the vision of peace. We stopped for lunch at the cafeteria and drove to the coast of Normandy.

It is difficult to imagine such a serene, lush, and peaceful place being the site of our D-day landings. The beaches were tranquil and calm. We had watched Saving Private Ryan on the bus yesterday, so we were already aware the this was where they actually did their filming the of landings... We walked through grassy mounds and hills (created by the bombings) and saw first hand how intricate the German structures were. There were underground tunnels, thick cement walls, and huge areas for their large guns, capable of turning a full 360 degrees.

Soon after this contemplative experience, we visited the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. This cemetery contains the remains over 9,000 American soldiers who died during the landings and ensuing confrontation. As a group, we lined up next to the large memorial at the front of the cemetery. We participated in a simple ceremony recognizing our fallen soldiers and four of us had the honor of placing a large wreath at the foot of the monument. We then turned to the flags on our left and we listened to “American, the Beautiful,” over the loudspeakers of the memorial area.

We then had a short walking tour (of sorts) at the cemetery. Our guide showed us where Theodore Roosevelt Jr. is buried and explained how the cemetery is laid out, why all the markers face west, and where to go to find other important features of the cemetery. Off in threes we went to spend some time in the cemetery, contemplating the effects of WWII.

This long day filled with information seemed to fly by. We arrived early for our dinner reservations and had a bit of free time at the shore. There was a small carnival going on and a few of us went on a ride, had some snacks, and played games. After dinner we took a five minute drive to the ferry building to wait for our overnight voyage to England.

Here are some “hellos” from a few of us:

Bonjour Everyone! We are waiting for the ferry (from France to England) and have some free time. Here are some words from the Ambassadors…


This is Kari! Hi we are at the ferry waiting for it to take us to Europe and its really boring bc we have to wait for 2 hrs…fun! Oh well its been great so far I’m really glad we all got to come!

Hey mom it’s Brittni. Yeah, well today was pretty cool. Uh, I will message you sometime soon. It’s my birthday in such a few amount of days.

Hello it’s Codi! Having some free time…. And a blast!! Currently listening to Shelby singing…again J

Heyloooo! Now it’s Shelbys turn!
I don’t exactly know what to write about, so I’m going with my favorite part of the trip so far. MY BIRTHDAY! On the 26th we went to the Eiffel tower. It blew my mind! We managed to fit about 20 people in a little orange elevator and rode that to the top. It was insane, you could see on forever! The side stacked buildings contrasted with the dark streets and made it all stripe-y. All the big monuments we had previously drove by were visible but really tiny! I took some UH-MAZING pictures, and I’m really excited to show everyone. There are sales men everywhere, and I mean everywhere! They were at the Palace of Versailles and basically everywhere else. Did I mention they were everywhere? So they walk around with millions of Eiffel Tower figurines and key chains. When they flood around you like hungry seagulls the sound of all the product clinking together sounds like a bunch of prisoners running rampantly in chains. They’re such pests!
I really love everyone here. I didn’t know I could make such strong friendships in such a short period of time. All of us are getting along great! Last night we played a hardcore football game in which I feel the need to tell everyone that THE OTHER TEAM CHEATED J. And after that we played an even more hardcore game of Red Rover, I don’t know one person that’s not covered in bruises. Patrick got completely clothes lined and almost flipped over their arms. Seriously, I’m going to be really sad when I have to leave all my new buddies L I think I’ve rambled on enough, someone else's turn. Toodles.

Once we settled into our tiny rooms on the ferry we all went to the “disco” part of the ship and danced with people from two other People To People delegations until it was time for bed. The DJ played some popular songs and kept the energy up so we were sufficiently exhausted and hit the hay.

Travel Day - UPDATED 8/1

Monday July 27 - Day 10

Today shall be known as "Travel and Recuperation Day." We slept in until 8:45 a.m. today - thank goodness! We packed up all of our gear, loaded the bus, and were on our way to Rouen (pronounced roo-on). Michelle (our Delegation manager from London) let us sleep for a couple of hours, then had some trivia games for us to play. She is such a blast - and very creative!

Our driver took us through the beautiful French countryside from Paris into the small town of Rouen. The skies were dark and it was a bit chilly. Our walking tour took us to two of the numerous cathedrals in the historic town. Most of Rouen was destroyed by the bombings that took place during World War II and it was a humbling experience being in a such a beautiful place, once ravaged by war. We strolled through the (almost) empty, quiet streets and meandered through the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen. It was absolutely stunning! (No wonder it took 400 years to complete.) We also saw where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

Our lunch was fabulous and a great opportunity to chat about what we've learned so far as Student Ambassadors. We had free time after lunch to explore on our own (always staying in groups of 3 or more, of course!) And enjoyed the cooler, but a little rainy weather. At least we had the glorious sunshine for our last two days in Paris!

Ask your delegate about the clock in the center of town - what was unique about it?

Once we were back on the bus, we worked on our journals and reflected back on our intentions for the trip. What does it mean to be a student ambassador? How do I SHOW that I am an ambassador? Our ride continued through the countryside and we arrived in Caen for an early dinner. A bunch of us played cards and even a bit of Twister in the hotel lounge until it was time for bed at 10:30.


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Did I mention that we were on the Champ Elysees for the Tour de France final stage? OK, we weren't there when the cyclists finished (we were on top of Mont Martre at Sacré Coure (sp?) but we were there in the early afternoon with tons of fans in the midst of all the exuberant hoopla!

Anyhow, we are now in Caen getting a GOOD night's sleep while Christine tries to type out our blog on a french keyboard. The a, q, w, m, and the punctuation marks are located in slightly different spots making it a challenge!

Tomorrow we are off to the beaches of Normandy - for some of us it may be a bit tough / sobering / emotional, but our friendships are strong and we shall make sure everyone stays focused on the sacrifices made at that location so many years ago. Tomorrow night we will be traveling to London on an overnight ferry so I doubt there will be a blog. Please keep us in your thoughts and know we are all having an educational, beautiful, amazing time and realize how lucky we all are to be in this beautiful country!

Bon Soir (good night!)