People to People Ambassador Programs?

Question

I am 16 about to enter my junior year in high school. I received a letter last summer asking if I wanted to go to China this summer. I never went, but today I received a letter from them asking about next summer if I wanted to go to Italy, Sicily, and Greece for 19 days. I think I would be living with a host family, which I am nervous about since I don't speak Italian. Any advice from people who have gone on these People to People trips? Or people who have gone to Italy? How much do they cost? Was it worth it? I need tons of information before I make my decision. Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

I went with them to Scandanavia and England.  I did have to do some fundraising, but I did it with a friend so it wasn't too bad.  You have to go on an interview and get accepted before you can go.  And once you are accepted, you have to take "classes" before you leave to get acquainted with your group and to learn about the customs and things of the countries you will be visiting.  The homestay is a toss-up.  I had mine in Denmark.  You don't stay alone; you are with one other person from your group and all the families are checked out by the organization to make sure they are good.  The people I stayed with were old so they didn't plan a lot for my friend and I to do, so it was kind of boring, but everyone else had really good ones.  They did a lot of exciting things with their families.  And it was cool to experience Denmark from the Danish perspective.  I don't recall how much it cost; I was 15 and my parents paid for it.  I definitely recommend it though because instead of just putting on a resume "vacation to Italy" you can put "student ambassador to Italy."  You don't really have to do anything special but it looks good on a resume because they see you represented the US in a positive way at such a young age.  It's also fun if you run into other People to People groups like we did; you make a lot of good friends.  Plus it's just fun to be a on a trip without your parents for a few weeks.  :)  If you have any other questions feel free to email me.

Answer 2

I have a friend that went to europe about two summers ago and another friend that went to australia last summer. They really liked it. My friend that went to Europe had to fundraise a lot of money and even take out a bank loan to go, so I think it's rather expensive. However, it is probably worth it in the end.