European Holiday
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ The People to People Student Ambassador program packed a lot of activity into a recent European Odyssey trip. Jacob Hagston, 15, son of Jean and Matt Hagston of Pinckneyville, was one of the 19 student ambassadors who saw the sights in France, Italy and Greece between June 9 and June 28.
His group from the St. Louis metro area met a sister group from Georgia and took the tour together.
"I would really like to thank my family who supported me through everything, all the people who donated money to help pay for the trip and Linda Klingenberg for nominating me to go," Hagston said. "My dad worked a lot of overtime to pay for this trip. I could not have gone without his hard work."
There are some big differences between Europe and the United States, Hagston noticed, notably, the driving, the food and the plumbing.
The drivers in all three countries he visited are crazy. They drive on sidewalks and motorcycles weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. Also, Europe is full of 'squares' that aren't square, but round. Automobiles circle the squares then exit onto side streets at random. There seem to be no 'lanes' around the squares, he said.
Hagston's group witnessed a hit and run in France. A French driver backed into a car as he was leaving a parking spot, grinned at the group, then put his finger to his lips in the universal sign for 'don't tell' as he drove away.
Hagston said the Greek drivers were a little less terrifying than those in France and Italy.
A notoriously picky eater, Hagston found some of the European food to his liking, including the gelato in Italy. "I'll never eat ice cream again," he said.
Surprisingly, the best pizza was in France.
The group spent half of their time (10 days) in Italy. Even those who like pasta were a bit tired of it after the first five days, he said. It wasn't all bad, though. The Italian desserts were a hit.
He also brought back some Italian cookies called Ringos. They are similar to a miniature vanilla Oreo.
European bathrooms are unisex. Men and women use the same public restrooms at the same time. There are stalls for privacy, but it's very different from home. Also, several of the bathroom facilities they visited were little more than holes in the ground, he said.
The language barrier was not insurmountable. Most Europeans speak some English. "We need to start learning languages in elementary school like they do in Europe," Hagston said. He said that many in his group picked up a little French and Italian, but nobody understood Greek.
Other than the language difference, later dinner hour and crazy driving, Europeans are just like Americans. However, there are fewer overweight Europeans, he said.
That may be attributed to the walking. "We walked at least 10 miles a day," he said. "If anyone ever asks you to go on a 'short Austrian walk,' say no," Hagston said. "A short Austrian walk is six or seven miles."
The People to People group hit the major tourist attractions, including the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Vatican, the Murano Glass Factory, the Guggenheim, Mt. Vesuvius, the Epidaurus Theater and the Acropolis.
While in Italy, each of the student ambassadors stayed with a different host family for three days. There was a bit of a language barrier, but it was fun experience. Hagston's host family knew some of the other host families. They got together to tour Venice.
Some of the highlights of the trip were the view from a convent near Naples, Italy. The convent overlooked a shipyard, the sea and Mt. Vesuvius.
The group also completed two community service projects while abroad. They visited the SOS Orphanage in Italy and helped clean up a Greek village, including painting the curbs.
The best hotel was in Greece. "It had basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, soccer fields, a pool, cool balconies and three foot tall chess pieces," Hagston said. "It also had internet service."
Overall, Hagston said he liked Greece the best. "Athens was very cool," he said. "The weather was nice and the food there was the best."
Each of the student ambassadors was encouraged to keep a journal during the trip. There is a reunion planned for August. At that time, those who took the tour will receive video of their trip.
Hagston's family worked so hard to send him abroad because he has expressed a desire to be an international tax attorney since he was in Grade School. The trip to Europe reinforced that desire, but did inspire a second dream.
"I'd like to be a taxi driver in Paris," he said. "After you see it you just want to try it."
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