Today I got up, had a cold shower just like I had the night before, because our hotel doesn’t have hot water. After that we went to breakfast and got our first experience of European style breakfast. It was ok. Lots of cheeses, meat, bread, fruit. I stuck to the bread and fruit.

After breakfast, we went to the Peterhof, the summer home of Peter the Great. It took some time to get there because it is quite a distance St. Petersburg. It is a beautiful place. The fountains are very ornate and amazing considering they are driven by gravitational force. We walked though part of the massive gardens at the Peterhof. In the gardens there is a bench next to a bust, in front of a bed of rocks that you have to walk across to touch the bust. If you step on a certain rock it triggers water to shoot out from tiny fountains around the edge of the bed of rocks. I walked across it twice, the first time I made it the second time I got soaked, but it was nice considering it was hot out that day. There were also a lot of statues in the gardens. There was one of Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the sea that you place money at the feet of and touch after you walk around it once for good luck. There is another statue that is of Peter the Great, where people throw money at one of his boots to try to get it in at the top of his boot for good luck.

After the Peterhof, we went to lunch. For lunch we had dumplings filled with a meat. Dessert was a pastry with sweet and sour berries. It was a great lunch! Following lunch we went back into St. Petersburg, while there we took pictures at an area next to the Newa River. Then it was off to the Peter and Paul fortress, situated on Rabbit Island. It is called Rabbit Island because there is a small statue of a rabbit there, that people throw money at for good luck. The Peter and Paul fortress is significant because that is where all the Russian Czars and their families are buried. Peter the Great, a Russian Czar (who founded St. Petersburg, and tried to westernize Russia), Catherine the Great, and Nickolas II, the last czar of Russia, are all buried there. Nickolas II and his family have their own room in which they are buried. I assume it is because of the significance of them being the last of all the czars. The entire family is buried there, because as some of you may know, about six months ago they found the remains of Maria and Alexi, one of Nickolas II daughters and his only son. Before the discovery it was widely believed that they had escaped being killed by the Bolsheviks (Russian revolutionaries). There was even a Disney movie made about it “Anastasia”.

After seeing the final resting place of the royal families, we went back out side and walked through the remaining part of the Peter and Paul fortress. After the fortress we headed out to see more sites through St. Petersburg and do some shopping. During our sight seeing we stopped by the one of the most ornate and beautiful churches I have ever seen. It was massive in size and awe inspiring as we gazed at the beautiful onion domes.

For Dinner we had fish soup, stroganoff and cake. It was a great meal except for the fish soup. We had the dinner at a restaurant which is in the lower level of the place were Nickolas Tchaikovsky used to live. Nickolas Tchaikovsky was a famous Russian composer who wrote the Nutcracker Ballet. Afterwards, as we headed towards the hotel, our leaders decided to go see a soviet era train station that was still decorated in the soviet style. We walked to a different train station so we could get on a train to go the station. On our train ride, another person in the delegation was almost pick-pocketed. Someone on the train had opened his back pockets and gone through them. Thankfully he had nothing in them. When we arrived at the train station, I was in awe of the beauty of the station. It is all in white marble and at the top of the support pillars there are detailed statues of proletariats, soviet soldiers, and model citizens. There are countless sickles and hammers that are carved into the marble and I think there was even a large one at the end of the station that was made of gold. While I walked around and looked at everything, I couldn’t help but laugh because of the irony. I laughed because the soviets didn’t believe in “decadence” and the styles of that sort, and here I am standing and looking at detailed statues of what was expected of you by the soviets in white marble! I wish we were able to take pictures, but in train stations in Russia you are not allowed to take pictures. While looking around the train station, a drunken man got off of a train and started yelling at people in my delegation in Russian. He was visibly drunk and angry. Let’s just say he was not a happy camper and he was directing his anger at us. Our leaders had us get into a tight group as we waited for a train to take us to the station that we could get out of. Note: Not every station has an exit to the outside world. When we left the station we walked to our hotel and ended our first full day in Europe. Back to our hotel for another cool shower and a little bit of sleep!

Hello everyone! I go back in the states on the twenty-second of July. Besides the trip I have been very busy this summer (i.e.: workshops, camping, summer reading for school, etc…), so this is the first chance I have gotten to write about the trip.

We started off on the 2nd of July. That and the next day were traveling days, we spent all that time in planes and at airports (the days were shorter though because of the time-zone changes and such). It took longer than we expected to leave Buffalo because we were delayed because of rain in Chicago, but after a few hours of delay we went back to the gate and were given time to roam about the airport. It wasn’t more than 10 minutes till we were instructed that we were to go back on the plane to leave. After that we left buffalo (finally!) and went to Chicago, were there was another delay and then after that delay we got on the plane and made our way towards Europe. We were on that plane for 8-9 hours (I am not sure what the exact time was because after watching a few movies I fell asleep) till we landed in Frankfurt, Germany. After some food and looking around we got back on the plane for St. Petersburg, Russia. After a 3-hour flight we arrived in St. Petersburg. After the check in that you have to do with your visa and passport, we got our luggage and met Thomas, our delegation manager. Thomas is a great guide, explainer and a great person. Then we got our luggage to the bus and met Alexander, our bus driver for the whole trip. He is an awesome driver! Then we made or way to the hotel and went to bed (this is about 3 in the morning Russian time).

Jordan got back home after 20 days of bouncing all around Europe. He has done nothing by sleep and talk since he has been back. Keep an eye out on this blog as he will be writing updates from his trip, and putting up pictures.

NOTE * The following update is from the Delegation Leader*

Hello from Latvia.

We had a FABULOUS time in Estonia. We were greeted by PTP International Student Chapter members who added in an extra for our group. They brought students to town for an extra evening event that allowed them to see the city in small groups and explore sites not included in a traditional tour. They had a scavenger hunt, shopping opportunities, great meals, and of course the most important, an amazingly HOT shower!

Getting along really well, everyone has become fast friends, and the quiet ones aren't so quiet anymore. We ran across a delegation from Chicago, who shared exciting stories about what we will be seeing in the near future, adding to their excitement.

We're proud to say 23 students braved the cold waters of the Baltic Sea -- the smart ones played on the beach. They said the water was warmer than the Russian showers. Our drive through Estonia brought us to a small sea side village and as we patiently waited our 3 seconds at the Latvian border the students were shocked in comparison to the 3 hours at the Russian border into Estonia.

We are in an amazing 5 star hotel this evening, with pool, sauna, an exercise room, but STILL NO PHONE ACCESS! So no worries, it's just extremely difficult and expensive to gain access to even use our own phone cards. You need an additional local phone card in this country.

Tomorrow is a city tour, shopping, and bowling with Latvian students.

NOTE* The following update is from the Delegation Leader*

Hi Everyone!

It's 4:30 AM here in St. Petersburg and it's STILL daylight! Since this city is so far north, it is light almost all day. It's often referred to as the White Nights of Russia! Our wake-up is at 6:00 AM, but since I got up early I thought I'd send a quick update. We had two fabulous days here! We spent the yesterday visiting a couple gorgeous baroque Eastern Orthodox churches, being in awe of the Hermitage Museum (I believe the most fabulous in the world), shopping, having lunch, taking a boat cruise on the Neva River enjoying the canals, bridges and architecture of this amazing city, shopping/bargaining, traveling two hours outside of the city to visit the Dacha's (summer cottages of the Russian people), seeing their vegetable gardens, having a delicious home cooked meal and playing soccer in their yard. After driving back to the hotel we said our sad good-byes to Tanya, one of the best guides I've had in all my years of travel. She actually told me it was one of the best groups she's ever worked with in nine years!

Today it is 6 AM wake-up, load the luggage on the bus, a buffet breakfast at 7:20 AM, and travel to Estonia at 8:00. It's about 250 mile drive so we will arrive this afternoon. Your children have had a wonderful chance to have a peek at this breathtaking city on the Gulf of Finland! It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world which is often referred to as the Venice of the North!

The JOURNAL CREW will be sending out Journal #2 soon, but we've hardly had time to breathe, never mind time to write! Phone calls were expensive, so we encouraged them to wait until Estonia to call home.

Have no worries! They are all making friends by changing seats on the bus, at breakfast, lunch and dinner! I think you'd be shocked to see them in action using their bargaining skills and spending those last few rubles!

I'm never sure about internet access, but until the next time have confidence that your children are having the time of their lives! And the leaders are too! As always, no news is good news!

NOTE* The following update is from the Delegation Leader*

It's 5:30 AM here! Have no doubts that I check the halls in the middle of the night! I decided to write a brief message to update you from my perspective. If you have any doubts in your child is getting along, fitting in or having a good time, let me put your mind at ease! They are having a blast! They changed seats on the bus about 5 or 6 times yesterday so they're getting to know everyone very quickly! Nathalie from Hong Kong was waiting at the hotel when we arrived. Our Delegation Manager Thomas is fantastic! Tanya our beautiful Russian guide is truly an expert on the city. We almost forgot it was 4th of July!

Our last message forget to mention that at the end of the night we decided to take a ride on the famous Russian Metro! We took the 1/2 mile escalator ride down to the underground, got on the train and visited the beautiful metro stations with their artwork and sculptures. It's certainly nothing like the subways in the USA!

One important thing I forgot to mention! On Ginine's and my first visit to Russia when we entered the hotel there was a sign, "NO HOT WATER"! We thought they were joking! But some things never change! When we entered this hotel the first night, there was the sign! NO HOT WATER FROM JULY 2 - 7! No worries! They are really appreciating the hot water, air conditioning and ice cubes at home!

The following is from an update that Jordan's delegation leader sent us. I have several more updates I will be posting soon.- Troy

Russian time: 9:05 am / July 4th
New York time: 1:06 am / July 4th

!!!!Happy 4th of July!!!!

As we left Buffalo we were delayed multiple times due to thunder storms in the "Windy City." We were even asked to wait back in the gate in total we waited for 2 hours, but arrived in Chicago at 8:50 pm (New York time: 9:50 pm).
>From Chicago we had a "enjoyable" flight so says Alexandra. Ross says the chicken was "good despite having to wake Dane up for every meal." After a 7 and a half hour flight we finally landed in Frankfurt at 4:30 pm Frankfurt time (New York time: 10:30 am).
After a little gate confusion in the Frankfurt airport we were delayed our flight to St. Petersburg was delayed by an hour. To pass the time we listened to stories of Barb and Ginine's past excursions to Russia, and some helpful advice from a "beautiful" Russian women as dubbed by Barb. We eventually left Frankfurt at 7:30 pm Frankfurt time (New York time: 1:30 pm)
We touched down in St. Petersburg at 11:50 pm Russian time (New York time: 3:50 pm) we cleared the "scary" St. Petersburg customs as quoted by Theresa. We finished the inspection at 1:15 am (New York time: 5:15 pm the day before). After collecting our luggage and meeting our delegation manager Thomas, and bus driver Alexander we headed to the "a3NMYT" hotel (don't worry about pronunciation we still can't) after arriving to our rooms we all came to the chilling conclusion that the hotel had NO HOT WATER as in all the student ambassadors were forced to take as Jordan says a "Russian twist on the hot shower."
The next morning us student ambassadors headed through the city of St. Petersburg to Peter the Great's summer home "Peterhof." On our way to "Peterhof" we once again saw the massive bronze statue of Stalin. When we first saw the impressive array of fountains that "erupted like volcanoes into the heavens" according to Dominic were struck with awe. The large gardens of "Peterhof" were a real site to behold. But after falling for a few water traps us ambassadors headed back to our bus and headed for lunch at the restaurant named "Tri-Peskarya" where we ate a typical Russian dish that was similar to won-tons. After finishing our meals we headed to the "Peter-Paul Fortress." Upon our arrival we headed to the cathedral located inside the fort and were guided around the "large and shiny" golden interior of the church. As our tour guide Tatiana described the history behind each piece of artwork that adorned the halls of the church. Soon thereafter we headed to a nearby souvenir shop named "Bazaar." After a quick stop at the "Church of Spilt Blood" for some more photo ops we finally headed toward our last stop of the day; the restaurant where we had our dinner. Our appetizer was a bowl of Borsche which was followed by our main course Chicken Stroganoff, and finished off with a delicious slice of cake. We concluded our day by heading back to our extremely difficult to pronounce hotel, and called it a night.

Alright well we will be sure to update everyone on our European excursion the next chance we get.

>From Russia with love.
-The People to People News Team

Well we took Jordan to the airport yesterday, said our goodbyes and wished him well. In true Steward fashion, Christine had been up late the last few nights trying to get everything ready. There are many things that someone has to do in order to get ready for a 7 country trip across Europe. As I told Jordan the day before he left, this would be hard for an adult, much less a kid. We had to have many different types of currencies, have his meds packed and marked, gifts for people over there already wrapped, snacks packed, plenty of batteries for electronics, cards (business card style) printed up with his contact info on them, etc. etc.

Also in true Steward fashion, we were the last to get to the airport and while we were there Jordan realized he had left his journal at home. It is a special People to People journal that he must use to document his trip in. This is what he turns in to get college credit for the trip. So as the trip leaders were talking to us, Christine flew home, grabbed it and flew back. We held Jordan at security until she got back and we could say our goodbyes. There was so much frantic panic that we really did not have time for tears.

We have a busy weekend planned, but I am sure once next week gets here and this house is quiet some the emotions will hit, especially on Hunter. He already misses Jon dearly, and will no doubt miss Jordan as much if not worse. The poor little guy will be lost without his brothers. As Christine noted yesterday, this will be the first time in his young six year life that he will be an only child.

So the journey has started, and Jordan is off and running. Today he is in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Troy

Well, today was my last meeting till I depart. When I got to the meeting place I received my polo, P2P pin, ID card, luggage tags and lanyard. Once the meeting got started, we found out all the last-minute details of our trip, and got the answers to our last-minute questions. After that we found out more about some of the activities we are doing. Some of the stuff we are doing is really cool, like a home stay dinner in Russia, going to a beach in Latvia, going to an international conference in Warsaw Poland, or help in building a playground for local children in Berlin. After that we watched a video about safety and all that jazz. Following the video we broke up into groups of parents and students. We went into a different room and asked any questions that we didn’t want to in front of our parents. After that the meeting was over, but my excitement for the trip was not. It probably has something to do with the fact that there is less than 3 weeks before we go. Due to this ‘trip fever’ I’ve been looking up the places I’m going on Google maps and checking out exchange rates. All the countries were going to have different currencies. Some of the exchange rates are insane though. For example $20.00 American translates into 475.86 Russian Roubles, the same amount translates into 9 Euro though. Well that’s all for now. The next item that will be posted on here will be after I get back from Europe so be sure to look around July 22nd/23rd. And I would like to just say thank you to all who have donated to trip, every penny counts.

Hello everyone, last Saturday I had my third meeting and at that meeting I learned that filling out an application for a Russian visa is not an easy or stress-free thing to do. Although it was quite interesting, the visa certainly asked some questions that I never thought I’d be asked. Not that the even apply to me but I never thought that I would be asked whether or not I have training in nuclear arms or if I have ever been in a military conflict with Russia. Just did not expect to be asked some of the questions that I was. Besides the whole visa experience it was a very easy meeting. After filling out the forms and having our break we talked a little and we all introduced our bio-boxes, which was a container of our favorite food filled with little things/trinkets/knik-knaks that represented something about us. I brought in a little Asian food container with a jar of sand from Hawaii, a guitar pick, a episode guide from the T.V. show lost, the cocoanut prop from the musical Monty Pythons Spamalot, a playbill from a show I went to go see and a picture of me and my older brother Jon. It was nice to learn that a there people with similar interests as me, such as, guitar, harmonica, sand-stealing, and snowboarding. The next day I found out that my day-by-day agenda is already posted. It really made me realize that it is not long before I leave. I can’t wait till I go, but at the same time I am kind of nervous, but the closer it gets to the departure date the less nervous I get.

Sorry for not writing in so long, I had a broken wrist so typing was a little difficult. Last Saturday I had my second meeting for the Europe trip. As I walked into the area where the meeting was I realized everyone was sitting at tables together and most of the tables had only one or no open seats. It was a lot like that first day of high school when you go to lunch and you have no idea where to sit because all of your friends are in a different lunch period or are at a full table. I finally found a table to sit at and we started the meeting. The first thing we did was an activity where we found someone we didn’t know and asked them questions and wrote/drew their answers on a large piece of paper and then presented them. My partner was the person who I sat next to at my table, Allie. She’s very nice and friendly. Afterward the delegation leaders talked about the trip. Then we got into groups of people we didn’t already know and we were told to think of something bad that could happen on the trip and turn it into something good, then present it. My group had some pretty funny ones. After that we had a break and got to try some foods native to where we are going. I had this kind of sweet raisin bread; it was a lot like Irish soda bread, except this was moister. It was delectable. After our little break we got into new groups again, and created nine questions pertaining to Russia, Poland, and being a student ambassador. My group had some hard ones, like who is the Russian composer of the nutcracker? (The answer is Tchaikovsky). After creating the questions we put all of the group’s questions together and played a little trivia game. My group may have come in last but we had a lot of fun. Before we knew it the game was over and so was the meeting. I made a lot of new friends and even met someone I already knew through my hockey league. I cannot wait till my next meeting in May.

Back in the fall I received a letter in the mail that I hoped would one day come. It told me that I had been selected to possibly go on a 20 day trip to 7 countries over the summer. My first reaction was “Wow, how lucky am I”. I realized then I could be a part of something great just like my brother was years ago. After I received the letter I went online and reserved my spot for the meeting. In the weeks following getting the letter I thought about the meeting constantly. Finally the day of the meeting came and that night when we went there I was quite surprised to see so many people there. I was then very nervous when they said this was the second meeting (in each meeting there were approximately 300 people) for the one delegation that would have only 30-40 people. They told us we would have to do a bunch of paper work and get recommendation letters. I was exited to get all that stuff in order seeing as they said it was a first come, first serve basis. On the day of the interview I was very nervous because this is a very big thing to be a part of and Jon had told me what his interview process was like. When we got there I found out they placed me in a group of a people who had already gone on People to People trips or siblings of people who had, and seeing as they didn’t know my brother Jon went, I felt a little less nervous. They asked a variety of questions some of which Jon said they would.
About a week after the interview I received an acceptance letter that said I was going to go to Europe. I was so overjoyed I was speechless. I could not believe that I was going to do something like this. I was so exited, it seemed unreal.

Soon after, I started receiving e-mails from my delegation leader about the meetings. Soon enough the first meeting came. When I got there I received a lot of papers and my travel journal (throughout the trip I will write in it to get my course credit). I also met my delegation leaders, who were very friendly. As soon as everyone got settled we got down to business and started watching a bunch of short videos. They varied in topic from the start of people to people, about our delegation leaders, about the trip, how to act on the trip and so on and so forth. Near the end of the meeting we split up into groups and introduced ourselves and met our delegation leaders. I was more nervous than I was the first day of high school. But my nerves eased when I realized everyone was very friendly. After the meeting I went home to complete all of the trainings we have to do for Russia, Poland, and for being a student ambassador. I was very exited for the next meeting.

Hello, most of you know my dad and have followed his blog, but only a few of you know me, my name is Jordan and if you’re reading this you probably know I’m going to Europe this summer. Since I am going to be bloging on here about the trip and all it encompasses I figured first I would introduce myself. I enjoy singing, playing guitar and harmonica, listening to music, playing hockey, and snowboarding. I also enjoy writing and traveling. I feel as though I will gain a lot during this trip due to the fact that it had a profound effect on Jon.

Seeing as this is my first entry I going to introduce the trip. On July 2nd my delegation and I will be leaving Buffalo en route to Russia. After St. Petersburg we will go to Estonia then onto Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and ending in Germany. Along the way we will be seeing some of the best and worst of Europe, from the most spectacular churches in Europe to a holocaust concentration camp. I can not express how fortunate I feel to be a part of something like this.

This is a new blog that we have created in order to allow people to learn about, track the progress of and eventually share in the experience that Jordan will have as he embarks on a 7-nation, 20-day tour of Europe this summer. People to People is an awesome organization that is sponsored by the State Department and has been around for 51 years. You can read all about People to People, its history, what it does and what is stands for at http://www.studentambassadors.org/.

Jon actually went back when he was 14 after going through the rigorous and tough nomination and acceptance process. He was able to visit Hungary, Italy (including Vatican City) and Austria. It was an awesome experience for him and something that we still feel to this day helped enlighten him and make him a much better young man. Travel, especially international travel is an awesome opportunity for young people to help them appreciate what they have here in the USA, educate them about other countries and about history too.

To get an opportunity to go is quite a miracle in itself. First a teacher must recognize the potential in a young person and nominate them. Then if the nomination looks like it may be worth consideration, People to People will send out a notice to the young person and let them know they have been nominated to go. The individual must then attend some orientations that provide more explanation and then be interviewed. Out of the ones interviewed, only a few select are offered the chance to go. To put it in perspective, there were approximately 800 invited to attend the initial orientations, of that about 100-200 decided they wanted to try out for the selection process and were interviewed. From that 100-200 that were interviewed, there were 30 that were chosen to go. This is how Jordan was awarded the opportunity to go. The ironic thing is that once a child in a family goes on a trip (like Jon did), then they are a legacy and their siblings are automatically invited to go on a trip when they reach the proper age. But in our case, because of the move between Alaska and here there was a disconnect between Jon and Jordan so People to People never made the connection and never knew that Jordan was a "legacy's" sibling. Not until he was selected and then we mentioned it to the local director. So that in itself says a lot as Jordan made it on his own accord and through the same process that Jon once went through.