BriAna

Hey everyone! My name is BriAna Winston. I am a fifteen year old girl with dreams of exploring the world and expanding all the possibilities of my future. I was born and raised in Oakland, CA. I am a young girl with big dreams of venturing out into the world and seeing what opportunities the world has to over me. I never dreamed of traveling out of the United States, let alone California until I was well over my twenties; to be a fifteen years old while presented with this opportunity is a shocking surprise to me. I really don't want to pass up this once in a life time event because I may never get another chance to have a breath-taking experience such as this one. One of my biggest dreams is to become an economist and I think traveling to different parts of the world will help me get a better understanding for economics. I am a very determined young girl and you would never regret supporting the dreams of a group of young teenagers who are determined to be very successful in life. We all appreciate your concern, support, and time.

Miss Morello

What kind of person would be loony enough to take 10 teenagers to a totally foreign country, without the help of a tour company?

Well, ME!

Actually, I don't think it's crazy at all. At least, not if the 10 teenagers happen to all be amazing young people that you know would reap incredible benefits from traveling outside the borders of their own country. Oh, and it doesn't hurt if you have done some independent travel yourself along the way, and lived in Japan for a year :)

Let me stop and officially introduce myself. I'm the person in the picture above who is NOT Japanese. My name is Nicole Morello, and I am a social studies teacher at Oakland Aviation High School, a small public charter school located on the property of the Oakland Airport. I have been a teacher for about 6 years now, including a year in Japan and a year in Korea.

When I graduated from high school, I was lucky enough to join one of my teachers and 5 classmates on one of those whirlwind tours of Europe - 4 countries in 10 days; the kind of trip where if you blink your eyes you might end up missing something. At the time, I was thrilled to be able to see so many cool things, but I had NO IDEA that those 10 days would literally change the course of my life -- it was on that trip that I was bitten by the infamous TRAVEL BUG.

And I was bitten hard! In the 12 years since that first trip, I have visited 23 countries on 4 continents, and spent two years living and teaching in Asia. Almost all of my travel has been independent, carrying all my belongings on my back and deciding where I was going as I went along. Travel is my passion; it opens my eyes, blows my mind, feeds my soul, and has undoubtedly made me who I am today.

So I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to give young people the same opportunity that I had. I hope that for them, this trip will be the first of many, and the doorway to a future as conscientious and educated citizens of the world. I hope that it will open their eyes, blow their minds, and feed their souls. If anything, I'm pretty sure it will be a darn good time!

If you are reading this, I hope that you will consider donating to help us out on our trip. Please visit our firstgiving page at.....

Josselyn a.k.a jossie~boo

Hey my name is Josselyn Hernandez im 16 year old i was born in oakland California and live in oakland my birthday is on 08-19-92 my favorite color is red, black, white, gold, silver, purple.The reason why I want to go to Japan is beacuse I want to know about the culture and the history of Japan And becuase I also like the clothes and want they eat and i also want to know how do they go to schoool.Because i heard their school they can learn more there is so interesting how they learn. The reason why i like there clothes is because of there colors and there texture because they do it old fasion and there some new fashion.

Ariel

Hi my name is Ariel Loudd. I am 16 years old and I attend Oakland Aviation High School. I was born and raised in Oakland. I am a very outgoing person who loves to do many things, such as hanging out with friends, shopping, going new places, and meeting new people. Most of all I love to play basketball more than anything. I have been to Mexico once and that was one of the best places I have ever been. I had alot of fun, and I got the chance to see the way people in another country live and do things. I also saw that that they do somethings the same as we do. After going to Mexico I knew that I would enjoy going to other countries because I get to see things that I wouldn't usually see. I also feel that going to other countries answers questions that are unanswered. I also think that everyone should have the opportunity to see other countries and cultures. When I found out that my school was planning a trip to Japan I knew then I wanted to go. I feel that going to another country would be fun and educational.

Sasha

Hey, this is Sasha of the group of ten going to Japan. I am sixteen and super excited to be able to take part in such an adventurous opportunity such as this. I attend Oakland Aviation High School where the lovely Ms. Morello teaches us. I, as a extremely open minded young person, who is also part Japanese, can really benefit from this trip. The biggest of my passions in life is to travel the globe and see all that the world has to offer and this trip in itself will be able to set me off in my journey of life. I want to become knowledgeable about everything there is to learn about and I think that experiences are the best way of learning in life.

Currently, I do not really have too much of a plan for my future. But I do know that I want to become someone that people remember as a good person, who other people were able to learn from and grow as a better person by the help that I give them as a friend. And something during this trip or even overall may inspire something from within me to find what I want to do with my life.

Roberto

The reason why I'm interested in going to Japan is because I've always been fascinated with the culture of Japan and it's environment. But mostly I want to go because I have never really been out of the country and I think it would be a great experience for me and my classmates. There is so much history there and plus it's good for us to see other countries culture besides our own. Out of all the countries in the world I would rather go to Japan. To me it's the best place in the world because Tokyo is so far ahead of us in technology - I think 3 or 4 years! And the difference between Japan's cities and the US cities is that a lot of cities in Japan have vending machines on every corner, while the US doesn't have really any at all.

Jackie

Hello, my name is Jackie Navielle. I am a 10th grade student at Oakland Aviation High School. I would like to go to Japan to be able to experience the culture, and learn about their country. I am an aspiring artist, and I would like to see some of the artistry as well. I have never been to Japan but ever since i was about 3 yrs old, I've liked Japanese Anime, and when I got a little older I began to like sushi. One thing I would like is to taste authentic Japanese cuisine. I would really like to go, because there may never be a next time. I don't exactly have the money to go on my own, but with your help I may be able to. I would not be a disappointment and I would take alot from my experience. Thank you for your time and concern.

Toyeen A.K.A Owalla

Hello my name is Owalla Toyeen Keith Hola Depot Ojoh also known as Owalla Or Twinkie. Well my favorite thing to do is hang out with my friends and play sports like basketball & football. I like making beats for myself & my friends because we like to make beats and raps about how we feel or what's going on in the world today. In Japan they have very powererful beat makers that could start my dreams of being a producer. They have great producers like Hiroshi Fujiwara, the beginner of Nip Hop of Japanese hip hop. He brought the American style of hip hop to Japan. I have wanted to go to Japan since I was 10, because I saw the technology and how advanced they are and I was amazed. Another reason why I want to go there is because I like the engeneering - they make so much stuff so fast and I'm interested in that too.