just can't wait!

I can't believe how quickly this semester has ended and how close I am to the freedom of summer. This summer is going to be special. I won't be exploring just any old random country on the other side of the globe as usual....

This summer I'm Rediscovering America.

Actually, I'm mostly just going to be discovering...I don't really have anything to rediscover because I haven't traveled very extensively within our borders. But hey...isn't discover what I do best!?

Each of the 10 students on the trip chose three or four cities/sites to host. As a "host," our job is to research the historical significance of the city, landmarks, cultural trends and legacies, economic role, etc., as well as design a guidebook for the group's day in that city--including activities, museums, festivals, farmers markets, places the locals eat, transportation...anything that communicates the essence of the city.

I was automatically assigned Portland and Seattle since I'm the only one in the group that's a Pacific Northwest native, but I was able to choose my other two sites: the Grand Canyon and Boston.

I wasn't quite prepared for the amount of research that was going to go into this....I was expecting another "scholarly program for students who excel in academia and want a more well-rounded education," which really means: a vacation for kids who have parents that don't trust them to travel alone, but will stand by ignorantly and allow for the rich uncle to pay for their children's wild drunken nights in some back alley club in Barcelona or wherever the tour goes.

(FYI Parents: Your kid would be better off with two or three friends and no interpreter....the world is more scary that way and they'll make better choices.) But I digress.

What I mean to say is that, Rediscover America is not one of these phoney educational scams. It's the real deal. And although we will spend hours of research in preparation; hours of walking in the sun; hours of class discussion at 11pm when we'd rather be sleeping; hours on a bus trying to sleep over, around, and under 11 other people; and hours wishing we could take a shower when we can't---despite all that---this is going to be the best roadtrip ever.

The bus leaves June 6, 2009. First stop: Memphis, TN. More updates to come.