Studwell Has Exciting Summer Abroad

Sarah Studwell had an exciting and adventurous summer abroad. She spent six weeks in Europe in all, but split the trip into two halves. The first three weeks were spent working through the WWOOF Foundation where you work a few hours a day on an organic farm in exchange for housing and meals. Sarah said the following about that experience, "That was a blast, though sometimes we did some pretty hard work."

The next three weeks she backpacked from the Netherlands to Munich, Prague, Cinque Terre (Italy), and ended in Barcelona. What Sarah had to say most about that part of the trip was this, "Barcelona was really fun for me because I got to speak a lot of Spanish, and in both Spain and Germany we got to watch World Cup Games in the country that won. That was very exciting!"

She also reported that in addition to playing a lot of beach volleyball for the remainder of the summer, she will be working a lot to pay for her trip! Sounds like a great summer to me! Thanks for sharing, Stud! :)

Jane Bikes 300 Miles to "Grant a Wish"

This summer Jane had a little help with her workouts. She participated in the Make-a-Wish Foundation Bike Ride. The young boy she sponsored was a 4th grader whose name is Matthew. The "mission" of the organization is: "Our Mission: The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Michigan grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy." She and some of her family participated in the 300 mile bike ride, and then her special friend, Matthew was the one to put her medal around her neck at the end of the ride.

This is some of what Jane had to say about the ride. "I DID IT!! I'm a little bit shocked that I'm still functioning, but it was an amazing experience doing the Make-a-Wish bike ride. There were so many inspirational stories...it was so cool. You sponsor a kid, and then you get to meet them at the end and they give you your medal. I was definitely crying by that time. His name is Matthew and he's only going into 4th grade. It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done (both mentally and physically) but it was sooo worth it in the end!"

Great work, Jane. I think it sounds like a win-win for both you and Matthew. And, you got some great exercise out of it, too. We all know cross-training is good, but I certainly never expected a 300 mile bike-ride to be one of your "other fun activities" over the summer. Way to go!