By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

Three Scarborough teenagers have returned from their ambassador trip around the globe.

Scarborough High School students Kelsey Schild, Hannah Yerxa and Kelly Najarian recently completed at trip to Greece and Italy with People to People, a student ambassador program.

The People to People program, established in 1956 by former United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, gives students an opportunity to experience the cultures of different countries.

During the three-week trip, Schild, Yerxa and Najarian had the chance to experience the sites, food and people of the two southern European countries, separated by the Mediterranean Sea.

Najarian said they were invited to participate in the program, as each of them had good grades in school. The trip was not the first out of the country experience for Najarian or Schild, as they have traveled to Costa Rica and France, respectively, while it was the first time Yerxa had been outside North America.

Before the trip, Schild, Najarian and Yerxa had to take part in four orienteering sessions. The students, along with their parents, are introduced to the People to People program, and are taught about the culture of the country they will travel to. The students are also told what items to pack and bring with them, and also gives the students and parents an opportunity to ask questions before the trip.

Schild said the students were also taught about the behavioral code of the program, which had specific instruction on how students had to act and what to wear.

“It got annoying,” Schild said. “We had a dress code. We had to have really good manners.”

“We couldn’t wear bikinis, we had to wear one piece swimsuits,” Najarian said. “We had to wear khakis and People to People shirts and lanyards.”

The students also had to raise $7,000 for the travel, hotel and food expenses for the trip. Schild raised her $7,000 by asking local companies, such as Pat’s Pizza, Ace Hardware and Eastern Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning for sponsorship and also held a bottle drive.

During the trip, Schild, Najarian and Yerxa said they got to see some of the important sites in the area.

“We saw Pompeii, the Parthenon, the Coliseum and the Vatican,” Najarian said. “It was very pretty.”

“The buildings were very intricate,” Yerxa said.

Schild said in Italy, the students ate a traditional meal on a regular basis.

“We had bread and pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” she said.

In regard to people, Najarian said people in Italy were friendly.

“In Greece, people weren’t very nice,” she said. “People were nice in Italy.”

“They’re a lot more open,” Yerxa said. “There’s no personal space.”

Schild said the language barrier between the students and residents sometimes made things difficult.

“A girl was trying to ask to go to the bathroom, but she had to act it out so people could understand,” she said.

The students were also able to participate in community service activities. Najarian said a highlight was helping some of the local wildlife.

“We made fences for baby sea turtles to get to the ocean,” Najarian said.

Overall, Schild said they had a fun experience on the trip,

“We got to do what we wanted to do,” she said. “It was very well organized.”

For more information on the People to People student ambassador program, go to www.studentambassadors.org.

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219