Kevonna Philibert
Western Skies 1

I appreciate being able to take part in this program. The first few days was rough, but after getting to know everyone and making some friends it became easier. It felt odd being away from my family for so long and missing my birthday but it was all worth it. The places that we visited kept my mind off of being away. There was different restaurants that we visited that I never heard of. It was a great experience to have because I am able to see the world in a different way now. Being apart of this program really opened up my eyes, I am able to see that there is so much more out there from as little as seeing so many stars in the sky at nighttime to seeing the hollywood stars. I never thought that I would have the opportunity to do something like this and I am glad that was able to participate.

The first couple of days we were in a desert and it was hard to adapt to such hot weather and not always having service on our phones but being that we were having so much fun we didn’t look at our phones often except to take pictures. The hardest days of this trip was day 1 and day 14 because day 1 we are coming in and most of us not knowing anybody and day 14 we are leaving knowing everyone and have gained a connection with them. Day 1 we did some icebreakers to get to know everyone and become comfortable. We randomly got assigned our rooms so we were in rooms with people we barely knew the names of. After a while we were able to build friendships with everyone including the consulars. The consulars were very welcoming and helped with whatever struggles we had during the trip. On day 14 we stayed in this big room so we can say all of our goodbyes and share out what we enjoyed most about the trip. Everyone was fine until it was the very end and the people flying back to New York had to leave. Saying goodbyes was the hardest part of this trip because we never knew when we would be able to see everyone again.

Thank you so much for accepting me into this program , I am thankful that i was able to experience this trip. Being on this trip helped with team building and making new friends. This program isn’t only an experience to see new things but it is also a learning experience. For example when we go off to college we will be away from our friends and family but this program teaches us that we will make new friends and how to cope with living with a stranger that will eventually turn into a friend.