Youth Ambassador Experience is Life Changing

By Allison Webster, Resident since 2010

www.NorthgateLivingCA.com

This October fifteen 8th graders including myself traveled to Noceto, Italy, and twelve youth traveled to Siófok, Hungary as Youth Ambassadors for Walnut Creek. I stayed with a girl my own age named Nicole and her family in Noceto. In April, we will return the favor, and Nicole will stay with me at my house.

While in Italy I was treated to the most fantastic experiences like climbing the tower of Pisa, riding bikes around Lucca, venturing through the alleyways of Venice, and seeing how cheese is made in Parma.

Youth Ambassadors visiting Pisa, Italy

But the very best part of the experience for me was getting to know my Italian family and their culture. They loved to watch professional volleyball and cook delicious food like homemade lasagna, pizza, soup, and spaghetti. The gelato was amazing too! We played games together and laughed at our attempts to speak each other’s language or poor Google translations.

I also made great friends with the other ambassadors from schools like Walnut Creek Intermediate and Tice Creek School. We had so much fun on the plane and bus rides playing silly games like truth or dare and dancing and singing.

Walnut Creek 8th graders on their way to Noceto, Italy

I would recommend that current 7th graders try to be an ambassador.

Not many kids from Foothill went this year; I don’t think many applied! I would love to see more kids from Foothill go on this amazing experience. It was truly life changing!

To learn more about how 7th graders can apply in February to be a Walnut Creek Sister Cities Ambassador in 2019 please go to http://wcsci.org/index.php/youth- ambassador-exchange/. Ciao!