2nd Lunch Meeting 4/22/10

April 22Lunch meeting:
Today's meeting brought a group of listeners who mostly listened to Miss Ty and Veyas explain how important it will be for them to listen to, and follow, directions when in Europe!

Actions that took place:

Greeted new sign-ups: Marcella Ablaza and Alex Gelber.
Met first time lunchers: Tim Mahoney, Jennifer Miskabi and Lauren Harbour.

Group Name:
The group also turned in their choice for group names, which will be voted on next Thursday.

Movie Night:
Mandy is hosting a movie night this Sunday.

Group Leaders:
Reza and Lexi are going to be the "leaders" of the group.

Cities Discussed:
London Optional Tours were discussed. A day trip to Stonehenge costs 29 lbs and a day trip to Stonehenge, Stratford-upon-Avon and Bath is 68 lb. Students must decide which one they want to do and if they want to asap.

Venice hotel is located near the Piazzo San Marco! But it will cost 6 euro one way to get there 12 euro both ways. OR buy the 36 hour pass for 21 euro and be able to cruise the water busses the whole time you're on the island (which is ultimately better and cheaper than an 80 euro half hour gondola ride)and saves on time.

Showcase Night
Mandy Arami, Misakabi and Jennifer Cohenmehr are going to take turns "manning the booth" to announce that the trip has 9 spots available, and help discuss next year's trip: Madrid, Barcelona Spain, Venice, Florence, Rome Italy and Athens and 3 Islands in Greece.

Thank you ALL for showing up, being responsible and participating!
See ya all next Thursday

First Thursday Lunch Meeting 4/14

The first lunch meeting brought a wild and excited group of travelers to room A202. All were on time, and only 2 came and left as they had other club meetings to be at. Everyone else surrounded Miss Ty berating her with their enthusiasm and questions. Questions such as rooming, tours, train sleeping arrangements and the number one topic: night life! Miss Ty tried to answer all questions, with emphasis on traveler's professional social conduct while on the trip.

Mrs. Haskins, Pali's amazing principal, stopped in and praised us all for stepping out into the world with the joy of seeing the excited faces. She also, as everyone else, was not understanding how we can travel with such small suitcases for 17 days!

Reza has offered his home to host a movie night, where we plan to watch Hostel, Taken and Hangover.

There was only one assignment given and that was to think of a group name that we can use on the dog tags, for hotel and restaurant check in, and also for Miss Ty to scream on the street cars so all Pali kids exit on the right stops.

Please plan to come to the next meeting Thursday April 22nd to discuss the group name, and decide upon a bike riding on the beach bike path ride date and an evening date for movie night.

Please invite a friend, (no boyfriends and girlfriends though LOL) as there are 14 spots still available.
It looks to be a lively group, and a wonderful adventure for all!

WELCOME LETTER!

Bon Journo! Benvenuto! Welkum!
I welcome the following students to the TRIP OF YOUR LIFE!
Mandy Arami
Parker Chenoweth
Jennifer Cohenmehr
Charlotte Dadbin
Sayeh Forantan
Nicki Haghani
Reza Hajisanje
Kimberly Hamilton
Lauren Harbour
Bennett Hirsch
Roxanne Houman
Amy Mahoney
Tim Mahoney
Devorah Mehrzadi
Jennifer Miskabi
Yasmin Mossanen
Dylan Palladino
Lexi Rubaum
Julian Teixeira
and
Ashley Wald

It is very important that you read the blog updates, as new information will be given to you as needed. I will refer to these directions as "steps" towards our trip departure.

First Step of the trip: if you have any questions, ever, about any possible area of the trip, please contact Miss Ty, or Veyas immediately, before you forget the question, so please put our information (found below) in your cell phones right now! Do a test text right now to Miss Ty, saying Hi, with your name. I will check your name off that you can follow directions. If you fail to follow more than 3 directions before we leave, there is a possibility that you cannot follow directions, and Veyas and I will discuss if you should accompany us on this trip. It is imperative that you can follow directions, as little or stupid (in your opinion) that they are, in Europe as many times to meet, or train tracks numbers, or making lefts instead of rights, are made at the last minute and we like to practice changes with you before we leave, to help you get used to working in a group, and following directions. Listen for announcements on the PA, flyers, emails and Blogs. (Bev Hill's girls, you are exempt from Pali PA announcements..lol..) In any case, text Miss Ty. HELLO, THIS IS (insert name) so she can put your name into her phone. RIGHT NOW, so we know that you are receiving these updates.
Chaperone Info:
Tylene DeVine Room A202 tdevine@palihigh.org 323-394-6678
Veyas Anaya Room U118 vejas34@yahoo.com 310-487-1170

Second Step of Trip: Read the following and text Miss Ty your opinions where applicable.
Rooming: Please start thinking about who you will room with in variations of 2, 3, 4 and 5 beds. Each hotel will have a different amount of beds, and you will be asked to give Miss Ty this information before we depart for Europe.

Hotels: Although I am expecting more sign ups, I have put in our reservations at the hotels for 20 and should have the hotel names and addresses listed soon, so that you may look at the addresses and get acquainted with the area using Google maps satellite.

Flights: Veyas is setting up our flights, and should be locking in our dates soon. There is only one traveler who has notified me that they will be needing a different return flight. I NEED TO KNOW ASAP if this is the case for you and you have not notified me.

Itinerary: I am also thinking about adding one more day to either Prague or Amsterdam, as I made a date error on the itinerary, so it is possible we can stay one more day, to make it a 17 day trip, as the itinerary suggests! Please tell me what city you prefer to spend more time in; Prague would be cheaper, but there are more events to do in Amsterdam, such as boat rides and finally shopping, as it is our last stop and you can fill up your suitcases with souvenirs! As it is I figured out the hours we have in each town before any changes: London 48 hours, Paris 54 hours, Venice 36 hours, Budapest 58 hours, Prague 36 hours, Amsterdam 47 hours. Please, please, please let me know where you would like more time. Maybe another option is a day between London and Paris as that is a day train, and we can split time between those two. If you have an opinion, text Miss Ty now with your opinion.

Third Step of Trip: You must attend all meetings, or speak to Miss Ty prior to meeting.

Thursday Meeting Updates: Please make it a priority to stop in with Miss Ty in room A202 on Thursday's at lunch. I will keep a check sheet of travelers checking in, as it is important to learn to check in at appointed stops in Europe. I will not require you to stay and chat (as Seniors like to leave at lunch) but if you can check in before you leave campus, or before lunch ends, I will be able to see that you are a worthy traveler. Veyas and I HATE to wait for travelers to check in, say in front of the Eiffel Tower to get tickets, or at the restaurants to sit down to eat. There are 10 Thursdays before we leave, so I expect you to check in 90 percent of these.

Meet and Greet Party: A group meeting for 2010 travelers to meet and discuss the trip with 2009 travelers is scheduled for June (when they come home from college), which will be held at Veyas Anaya's home in Venice Beach. Exact date is not yet known.

Parent and Traveler Meeting: The second parent meeting is scheduled for June 5th, travelers are asked to come so that all parents may meet all travelers. However, if parents would like to add a meeting before then, please let me know. Parents may call Miss Ty or Veyas at any time for answers to their questions.

Suitcases and Packing: Travelers should walk into an REI or STA travel store and become familiar with traveling options. All of our hotels provide sheets and towels, however, travelers might want to buy washable socks or underwear, travel size Tide wash tablets, ear plugs, Plug adapters, fanny packs etc. Start looking at options and reading travel blogs to help you get a sense of how LITTLE you need to pack. I am SERIOUS when I say bring a SMALLER size suitcase and only fill half of it up.

Fourth Step: Please subscribe to this blog site, create a profile and have your parents sign up as well.

FYI. Only buy ONE travel language book per group of friends that has all European main phrases, and ONE Europe book which has all countries, otherwise, just your travel tour books will take up half of your suitcase, you will be able to share these books on the train before arrival to next city.

YOU ARE GOING TO EUROPE IN 74 DAYS!!!