People to People

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Dec 2008

My 7th grade daughter was recently nominated by one of her teachers to attend a People to People World Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. next spring. She is very interested in attending and the program sounds good, but I would like to hear from anyone who has had a recent experience, good, bad or otherwise. (Someone else recently posted a similar question on a different newsletter, but I don't think it got any responses.)
Want to Know If It's Worth It.

I went on a quite interesting People to People trip to Russia in October with a group of adult professionals. I don't usually enjoy group travel, but this was worthwhile. It was *very* expensive, but meticulously organized. The PTP organization provided all the accommodation, transportation, and tour logistics, as you'd expect on a group travel trip. But they also arranged lots of meetings with Russians in our field and got top-notch historical guides and translators, which enabled a series of meaningful personal exchanges, giving us glimpses into aspects of life in Russia that would have been difficult to get without the PTP resources. Also, of course, we had great sightseeing and a thorough grounding in Russian history and culture. I don't know what their trips for kids are like, but my experience with them was very positive. Their planning included setting up and adjusting the itinerary, getting visas, giving country-specific orientation information, getting medical assistance, enabling post-trip communications with our fellow travelers. All in all, a great experience. sb

Sept 2008

Does anyone have a teen who has participated in the People to People program? What was their experience? Received an invitation

My daughter went to Washington DC with People to People last spring. They are well organized and the tour was extensive. She met nice kids and perhaps because of the venue (DC) and the upcoming election there was much political discussion ---tho she did say she'd never met so many Republicans at once before. The prep work was good to familiarize them with site on the itinerary but high school credit doesn't seem to apply. I was happy to send her on what was her first flight across country alone to travel with this group because I felt the supervision was well organized. My only regret is that she came home so tuckered out because the days started early 7am and finished late 10pm. She had fun got to see lots of historical sights and met nice kids. carolyn

The question was asked about a teen's experience with the People to People Program. I'm not a teen, I'm a parent, but I'm about to embark on a People to People trip to Russia at the beginning of October. I haven't gone yet, of course, but P2P are very organized and thorough in the preparation for the trip. They've provided useful information with detailed hotel and travel itineraries, a carefully arranged schedule of activities and tours, contact information. They have facilitated the obtaining of visas. There will be a P2P trip coordinator traveling with us to handle any issues which come up during the trip, plus one member of our professional organization is serving as trip leader.

We are a group of professionals, and they've arranged several opportunities for us to meet and exchange information with Russian people in our field so that we can have substantive and meaningful encounters, something that would never occur if we were traveling as regular tourists. I'm not a ''group travel'' person, but this kind of trip offers opportunities I couldn't have gotten on my own.

I don't know what their trips for teens are like, and I'm sure they'd be different than mine, but I would imagine they'd have all the details well thought out in a responsible and engaging way. I'd ask them for a prospective itinerary and schedule of activities, which they'll probably have and would provide to you.

If you want post-trip follow-up from me on how it actually turned out, email me, and I'd be glad to provide it. Sarah

My son went 2 summers ago when he was 13 to Australia thru P2P and had a fantastic time. In his words, he came back a changed person. In my words, more mature, self confident, independent, social, willing to try new things on his own. It's a wonderful experience. It is expensive but the trip is so well planned out and the access these kids get that is not available to the general public makes it worth it. Also, the family home stay was a very positive and heart felt experience. Go to the meeting to learn more. max