The Blonski's - John

Staying with the blonskis was great because the family were so welcoming and amazing, we entered their home as strangers and came out as friends.

I think the entire group had a lot of fun in the house , I really enjoyed watching transformers on the 3-d tv and the food we got was amazing. Unfortunately because of the snow we had no electricity to do anything on Sunday however the family went to another house and made us a meal for us coming back from chapel, overall it was an amazing experience and I definitely recommend it!

Winnacunnet High School - John

In my opinion, the high school was great. I loved the experience of actually going and getting an understanding of school in the USA.We went to the school at 7am which was a big difference from our school time! After we met our partners from the high school, we got a tour of the school which was really big and different to my school. After the tour, we went to Sociology class and we were asked a lot of questions by both the students and teacher.
I enjoyed meeting new people there and I love how everyone is so fascinated by people from other countries. I almost felt famous because of the attention we got! I think this was a vital experience for the group because of the buddy system Sian and Jonny asked us to do. We were encouraged to partner up with people who we haven't socialised as much with and everyone gave great feedback off their partners.
We all thought the experience was great and I could definitely recommend that people on this programme keep visiting this high school because of the warm welcoming we got!

Winnacunnet football rules!

Teen Empowerment Group (Somerville, Boston) - Patrick

After attending Winnacunnet High School and spending the day there, we traveled down towards Boston to visit the Teen Empowerment centre. It's purpose is to meet together and discuss issues that affect their community.
Since we arrived, everyone has talked about how great America was regarding integrating religions in society. Teen Enpowerment showed all of us how similar we are to the Americans however it is race that divides their society and not religion.
After some games to get know each other names we talked about the big issues of both of our communities. We had a lot of similar problems like drugs, racism, poverty and teen pregnancy.
For dinner, we went to an All American diner place called Applebees. I had steak and chips and it was beautiful. It was my first time and I really hope I will be going back again.
Overall, the day was brilliant as we finally saw the reason for being in America, sharing that 'yes, America is good with dealing with different religion but race is a big problem'. Applebees for dinner topped off one of my most favourite days in the USA.

Edgewood Retirement Home - Reece

"Deep in the heart of Edgewood"

Our group of ten young people, two youth workers and one awesome American Chaperone experienced a life changing trip to the most lively retirement home in the world.
As we arrived many of the residents were in the main lounge enjoying some music and dance. They were preparing for their Christmas show so they sang some of their songs for us along with their weekly exercise and musical session. Some of us joined in with them whilst two of our members went to do arts and crafts in the Dementia unit and while another two went to the sensory unit.
After the dancing and singing, I and two other group members went to meet the most amazing eldery woman ever called Beatrice or Bea for short. She had an amazing attitude and her personality shone through the first time we saw her. She was wearing some pretty cool shades and when we got talking to her, she began to tell us about all the amazing things she had done in her life- such as being in the navy.
Shortly after, we sat down to lunch with another vibrant character called Madeline who we found out was a painter. We later got to see a picture she had painted of the sea crashing on to the shore, which was displayed in the centre's art corridor.
Then it was time to say goodbye so to finish off I decided to present Bea with my favourite pair of sunglasses as she had many pairs due to being blind and loving colourful sunglasses. As we got on the minibus to leave, a staff member ran out on behalf of Bea to give me a pair of her sunglasses. This touched my heart completely as someone who I had only spent a short amount of time with, wanted me to have one of her most prized personal possessions.
All in all, it was an amazing experience and I would really love to go back and meet Bea again.

Reece

Spaulding High School - Samantha

We got to Spaulding about 11.30am and we got introduced to our tour guides- Gabe, Jess and Michael. We then went straight to lunch with in their canteen which was our first view of a real life American canteen!
After lunch, we got a tour of their school. This was so great because I had a lot of preconceptions about American schools from the movies I have watched. They even had a bank in their school which I thought was pretty cool!
After the tour, we got to hear the school's chorus which was kind of like a really, really big Glee club. They were so good! We got asked a lot of questions about Northern Ireland like how much it costs to get our driving licenses and what the conflict is like at the minute.
It was the school's anti-drug day which they call the Red Ribbon day. We joined them in making a ribbon formation on their football pitches all dressed in red. They had a plane fly overhead while a firetruck's ladder took our picture as well.
I loved the few hours we spent at Spaulding, it really showed Catholics and Protestants can get along and it changed my views on American High Schools.

Mel Flanaghans for diner! - Tiarna

After a long day of touring a high school and the police station we made our way to an Irish bar called 'Mel Flanaghans'. As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by large hugs and even larger plates of steaming spaghetti and meatballs. The food was lovely and we sat and compared our lives with teenagers we had met that day in Spaulding High School.

After our filling meal, we made our way into a different room. The whole group were together, which included the mayor of the town as well. We all explained how the divide in Northern Ireland affected us and the impact the Troubles have had on our lives. I was nervous but when it was my turn to speak, I immediately felt at ease because the audience was so interested and attentive.

After the speeches, a small folk bank played music from home like 'I'll tell me ma' and 'Fields of Athenry'. It brought back a real taste o home for me because those are songs I hear. We also had a small jig!

Overall it was a brilliant experience and I would, if I had the chance, return to Mel's in the future!!

Browne Centre for Ropes Course - Bryony

When we were told that we would be going to the Browne centre high ropes course a lot of us (the majority of us) were afraid of heights and some refused point blank that they would not be doing it. But we all went and on arrival, we realised that our rpeconceptions that we would just be flung up a tree, were wrong.
We started off with loads of games (with our feet firmly on the ground) which kick started the team building. I would say it was the first activity that brought the team together and really bonded us because we all supported each other throughout each activity and came together to help each other overcome their fears.
The people who were scared of heights were able to overcome these and achieve more than they thought possible because the group encouraged each and every single person. People who were too scared to even climb a ladder ended up going on a high sling-shot type activity, over-coming their fears.
So, most of us went in dreading it and came out wanting to stay longer and everyone agreed it was an amazing day. I thought it was a significant point for the group that brought us all together and was a great way for us to start our two weeks together.