Day 6 Remembering the Past; Building the Future

Our first activity for the sixth day will be visiting and laying a commemorative wreath at the National World War II Memorial. The World War II Memorial is dedicated to commemorating the 16 million brave men and women who served overseas and at home in the war.

Follow this link:   WW II Memorial

Next we will have an exclusive pre-opening breakfast at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The Smithsonian was made to explore the vastness and complexity of American history. The link below takes you to their website:

Smithsonian Museum of American History

      

Finally, to end the sixth day, we will take a trip to watch a live performance at one of these world famous performing venues: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Arena Stage, or Ford's Theatre.(I'm not sure why they put three different ones??)

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I would like to let everyone know that I have met my tuition deadline and now it's fully paid! Thank you to everyone who donated or helped me in any way. I couldn't have done this without your help. This took a lot of stress and at one point I was doubtful i could meet the price. Now we're here and I'm very happy to say I don't have to worry about that anymore.

 If you're not following me yet,  my twitter account is ABBuehler1. I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures on my journey and post them on my twitter. I also will put them on here in case you don't have Twitter.

 Again thanks for all your help. I'm so excited!

-Andrew

Day 5: Understanding U.S. Government

Hello. 

The first part of the fifth day on my People to People journey starts with us exploring the Capitol's visiting center while also learning about the branches of government. These include: Executive (President), Legislative (Congress), and Judicial (Supreme Court). Congress makes the laws. The Supreme Court evaluates them, and the President carries them out. (Chart below)

Next we will go to the Newseum, a place where we can explore the stories that made history and learn about free press through exhibits and events. Made in 2008, the Newseum was established and supported in part by the Freedom Forum. It's a 501c3 public charity funded by people, foundations and corporations.

To see a video tour of the museum, take this link and scroll down:

 

Newseum Video Tour

Lastly, we'll wrap things up and have a leadership meeting.

I want to say thank you to anyone who donated items or came to my garage sale on the 2nd. We made $123.25! I  really appreciate your support.  

Now my outstanding balance is down to $455 dollars!

I'd also like to mention I sent thank you notes today to everyone who donated. I double-checked.  However, if you do not get one, contact me on my gmail account: abbuehler1@gmail.com. 

I will also be having my last garage sale on the 16th.  (Thank the Lord). It's at 725 Caulks Hill Road St. Charles 63304. It's from 7:00 to 2:00.

 I would like to mention that my payment deadline is June 1st, so if you are considering helping me, now's the time! 

Thank you again for your support.

TWO CONVENIENT AND EASY PAYMENT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO DONATE TO PEOPLE TO PEOPLE DIRECTLY:

1. Make a payment online by entering my last name and delegate ID after you take the  link:

 Click here to get to the People to People donation page

My delegate ID: 10228087

Last name: Buehler

OR

2. Pay by Check: include the delegate name and ID number on check and remit to:

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

PO BOX 34902

SEATTLE WA 98124 98124-1902 USA

 

 

If you would rather make a payment on my

GoFundMe account, go to
 http://www.gofundme.com/r3r36c


Follow me on twitter to see pictures when I go on my journey:

ABBuehler1

Thank you again.  

-Andrew

Day 4 Celebrate America's Independence

The first highlight of my fourth day will be when we take a breakfast cruise up the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

The Potomac River is the 21st largest river in the United States. On the average, 486 million gallons of water from the Potomac are used daily in Washington D.C. 

Next we'll be visiting George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate. My group and I will participate in a full day of special events in what's called a "Red, White, and Blue Celebration." 

The Vernon Estate was named after George Washington's half-brother's commanding officer, Edward Vernon. George acquired the estate in 1754 and eventually made it into a 21 room mansion. The link below takes you to a virtual tour of the estate:

Tour of George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate

The final, and probably the most spectacular part of my day and possibly my whole trip, is when we get to see the Washington D.C. fireworks display while taking in the best views of Washington D.C.

Check out this link to a video of the 4th of July fireworks show of 2014:  

  Fireworks Show in Washington, D.C. July 4, 2014

Update on my garage sale:
Due to everything starting to get wet, my garage sale is rescheduled to the following Saturday, May 2, from 7:00 am to 2:00 p.m. 725 Caulks Hill Road, St. Charles, MO 63304  

Update on my financial situation:

Thanks to everyone who donated to my account or even for referring me to someone who did.

The outstanding balance on my People to People Leadership Ambassador Program tuition is now $675.46. 

Originally it was $2495!  

I really appreciate everyone who helped me or is considering helping me.

Here are the payment options.  Choose A or B.
A.  Make a donation through GoFundMe at http://www.gofundme.com/r3r36c

or

B. Make a payment to People to People directly:

Click here to get to the People to People donation page

Enter in this information in the boxes:

My delegate ID: 10228087

Last name: Buehler

Or if you prefer to pay by check, send it to:

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

PO BOX 34902

SEATTLE WA 98124 98124-1902 USA

Be sure to include my delegate name and number on the check.

Again thank you, everyone, for helping me achieve my goal of becoming a U.S. People to People Ambassador.

- Andrew 

Day 3: Philadelphia (revised)

Hello. Today I'm going to explain my third day on my journey which is in Philadelphia. This link takes you to the overview on the official People to People website. You'll see there is a tab next to the overview title where it says itinerary.

Itinerary for my Independence Day Program: 

My group will take a Coach Bus to Pennsylvania.

The first place in Philadelphia we'll visit is the Independence National Historic Park. (Below) Independence National Historic Park 

The Declaration of Independence was signed in Independence Hall, located in the park.(Inside to the left).

 After walking around the city and learning about the Founding Fathers, we'll visit the National Constitution Center.  This is the first and only place established by Congress where people can learn about the constitution in a non-partisan environment. We'll find out what the word "We" really means in "We, the people..." 

Next on the schedule, we'll visit the acclaimed Liberty Bell, and get to hear from a Thomas Jefferson Impersonator. The Liberty Bell was first used to call lawmakers together for public announcements. Listen to this podcast for the history of the Liberty Bell:  Liberty Bell Podcast

The final activity of our agenda on the third day is when we get to have dinner on the largest four-masted ship in the world, the Moshulu. (Below)

 My tuition for the P2P project began at $2495.  Last week my remaining bill was $1500.  Now I owe $1146.  

I would like to tell everybody thank you for supporting me. My second garage sale raised 282 dollars! 

Also, my grandma made a GoFundMe account for me: http://www.gofundme.com/r3r36c, so be sure to click on the link to check it out. 

I am planning another garage sale at 725 Caulks Hill Road, St. Charles, MO on Saturday, April 25, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you have something for me to sell, let me know, and I'll pick it up.  Plan to come over.

Also, if you need some help with anything, I am looking for small jobs to do.

  

-Andrew

P.S. I'm not sure what was wrong before, but we deleted the first version of this post. Hopefully this works. Sorry for the confusion. 

Hello again. I'm not sure why my last blog post is having issues, but we're troubleshooting and trying to find the cause.

Thanks for the Garage Sale Support!

I would like to thank all of the people who either donated to my trip or attended the garage sale that was held to raise money. All donations were greatly appreciated and we ended up raising $163.00. I would also like to inform you that we will be holding another garage sale this upcoming Saturday, April 11, from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. Once again, the address is 725 Caulks Hill Road, St. Charles, MO 63304. I'm looking forward to seeing you there!


- Andrew

GARAGE SALE!!!!!!

If you live in or near St. Charles Missouri, come to my garage sale at 725 Caulks Hill Road and buy some things to help me try and raise money for my trip! We have things from photo frames to overhead fans. All the money from the items purchased will go straight to funding my journey. Thanks so much!

DAY 2 EXPLORE WASHINGTON, D.C.

July 2, 2015: 

The highlights of my second day in Washington D.C. are:

• Enjoying the Washington Monument
• Visiting Arlington National Cemetery and paying tribute to the fallen soldiers, visiting John F. Kennedy's gravesite and seeing the Eternal Flame, and witnessing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• Going to the Lincoln Memorial and standing where MLK Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech
• Sharing thoughts about the day’s events at the leadership meeting.

I found the following facts in my People to People program guide. I thought you would like to see what I'm learning about the places I'll be visiting on my second day.

-Andrew

THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT is the tallest building in Washington, D.C.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

Ø  Born in 1732 and died in 1799

Ø  First President of the United States (1789–1797)

Ø  Revolutionary War hero 

GEORGE WASHINGTON MONUMENT

Ø  In 1833, the Washington National Monument Society began to raise funds for the Monument

Ø  On July 4, 1848, the first cornerstone was laid using the same trowel George Washington used to lay the cornerstone for the Capitol in 1793

Ø  Height is 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches, stands 50 stories tall,  and weighs 90.854 tons

Ø  Took 25 years to complete due to delays and resulted in a discoloration in the stone used

Ø  Completed on December 6, 1884

Ø  Surrounded by Flags representing the 50 states and six U.S. territories

Ø  Interior walls are finished with 193 commemorative stones

Sources:

wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument

nps.gov/wamo/index.htm

nps.gov/wamo/faqs.htm

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY honors those who fought for our country.

Arlington National Cemetery

Ø  Pays tribute to the fallen soldiers.  

Ø  Site of John F. Kennedy's grave

Ø  Site of The Tomb of the Unknowns

Ø  Memorializes than 240,000 American military men and women and their dependents

Ø  Is on same land that once belonged to members of George Washington and Robert E. Lee’s families

Ø  Began as a burial ground for Union dead

Sources:

arlingtoncemetery.org

THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL is the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.  

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Ø   Born in 1809 and died in 1865

Ø  16th President of the United States, 1861–1865

Ø  His legacy of social justice, freedom for all, and national unity live on

The LINCOLN MEMORIAL

Ø  Looks out on the Reflecting Pool with a view up the Mall toward the Washington Monument

Ø  Construction began on February 12, 1915

Ø  Height is 99 feet above the ground, 80 feet above foundation

Ø  Weight of the statue is 120 tons

Ø  Lincoln’s statue was doubled from its original size so it would not be dwarfed by the building itself

Ø  Is carved from 28 blocks of marble because no single block was large enough

Ø  The Gettysburg Address is inscribed on the wall of the southern section

Ø  Was dedicated on May 30, 1922

Ø  Citizens come here to draw attention to causes and issues that divide as well as unite us

Sources:

nps.gov/linc/index.htm

My First Day in Washington D.C. as a People to People U.S. Ambassador

The purpose of this post is to give an overview of my first day in Washington D.C. I'll be arriving in between noon and five p.m. on July 1st.  My thanks to my Aunt Patty and Uncle Jake for arranging my airline tickets this week. 

I'm very interested in being able to meet other People to People ambassadors from the U.S. and from around the world! I always like to see and experience new cultures whether it's meeting people from somewhere else or actually visiting a new place.

When I first arrive, I will go through registration and then get to meet some of the other ambassadors in welcoming activities. We also get to meet the teachers and staff that will be guiding us through the week's activities.

Once we get situated, we will go to a well anticipated banquet where we'll meet a guest speaker. After that,  my fellow group members and I will learn more about what the week has in store for us.

For the record...

Before I show up, of course, there are some some assignments I should complete.

Assignment 1: I'd Like to Know
This is basically just a chart where I fill out what I know already, want to know, and then after the trip what I learned. We do these all the time at school before beginning a new unit.

Assignment 2: Think it Through
My second pre-travel assignment is to think about what qualities a good leader possesses. It also asks me who I look up to as a leader and what character traits I would like to improve on as a leader.

Assignment 3: Civics Worksheet
This one is, in my opinion, the easiest worksheet even though I only know the answer to the first question. It's a fill in the blank about who's who in the federal, state, and local levels of government. The easy thing is I can just look up all the answers.


I'll probably have to start these worksheets now, because I'm a big procrastinator. My grandma shut down my original plan to do them the day before. Besides, I need to study up for the trip, probably 'cause the only thing I know I know about the Capitol right now is that Obama's the president and lives in the White House.

To clarify:

Some potential donors are asking about how to contribute. If you're having trouble with the directions below, contact me via Gmail.

My Gmail address:Andrew B. Buehler

                               abbuehler1@gmail.com

TWO CONVENIENT AND EASY PAYMENT OPTIONS

INCLUDE both of these:

My delegate ID: 10228087

Last name: Buehler

1. Make a payment online at:

    Click here to get to the People to People donation page

OR

2. Pay by Check: include the delegate name and ID number on check and remit to:

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

PO BOX 34902
SEATTLE WA 98124 98124-1902 USA


Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in my journey.  I appreciate everybody's support. I have been doing some small jobs too like shoveling snow and raking leaves. I'm putting together a garage sale during my Spring break, and writing an update every Sunday on my blog.  

Please follow my twitter account too: ABBuehler1

Sincerely,
Andrew

Overview of World Leadership Forum: Independence Day/ Donation Options

Hello. First I want to express how excited I am that 54 people viewed my first post. In this blog, I'll tell you about the overview of my upcoming trip. The program I'm scheduled to participate in is called People to People World Leadership Forum: Independence Day.  Experiences for participants are planned in both Washington D.C. and Philadelphia  from July 1st through the 7th. On my trip, my group will get to explore history firsthand.  We'll also meet people from around the world and visit monuments that celebrate events that helped shape our country such as the Washington monument and Arlington National Cemetery. The fourth of July fireworks display will have unforgettable views of Washington D.C. In fact, on the morning of the fourth, we take a breakfast cruise to Mount Vernon! There are lots more cool things we'll be doing. At first I was skeptical about why the program was so much money.  However, the link below details the many opportunities that are planned in the span of seven days:

Overview of World Leadership Forum: Independence Day

Before I continue, I want to say that any contribution on my behalf is greatly appreciated. I have had several people asking questions about donation options. The information and the link below will take you to a People to People website where you can make a donation to my account. When you click on the website link, enter in the delegate ID #10228087 and my last name and it will take you to a payment page where you can manage the rest. The total cost of the program is $2,753, but members of my family have already pledged airfare and about $1,000 towards my tuition.

I signed up for three projects to help raise the rest of the money ($1725) for my trip.

1. Hold garage sales.

2. Do yardwork and small jobs.  Get volunteers to help as needed.   (Contact me on my Gmail to get on my calendar:   abbuehler1@gmail.com)

3. Write a blog about the upcoming experience (ABOUT two entries a week) to keep my sponsors informed about the program and what I'm learning.

TWO CONVENIENT AND EASY PAYMENT OPTIONS

My delegate ID: 10228087

Last name: Buehler

1. Make a payment online at: Link to donation page
2. Pay by Check: include the delegate name and ID number on check and remit to:
   PEOPLE TO PEOPLE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS
   PO BOX 34902
   SEATTLE WA 98124 98124-1902 USA

In addition to the People to People website, I've also been looking at other websites related to Washington D.C. Those links would include things that any one would enjoy doing in the capitol and the surrounding area.

Please follow me on twitter: ABBuehler1

Leadership Ambassador Nominee

Hello everyone, my name is Andrew and I'm in the seventh grade.   I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but this account is more about my trip than me myself. I made this blog so I could tell you guys about my trip. I started my plans for taking this trip by being nominated by my science teacher for a program titled the "Leadership Ambassador Forum".  I didn't think much of it at first, but I decided to look into it a little more and enlist the help of my Grandma Cindy. She and her friend Geri have been a big help in getting me started on my fundraising. Anyway, I had gotten the letter and it caught my attention.   I thought it looked really fancy and  truthfully, I fancy fancy things. It told me about how I could go on a trip of a lifetime and visit the nation's capitol in which I previously thought was in the state of Washington (you'll learn I'm bad with geography eventually). It said that I would gain life skills and be able to meet people from around the world. It had seemed pretty cool so I thought it might be a nice experience for me.

People to People Independence Day Trip to D.C. and Philadelphia

At my school, I see a lot of people who "live in the now", I have nothing wrong with that, but they take it to the extreme.  I always try to consider my future and do anything that might help me get into a good college when I'm older. The letter also mentioned that over 80% of people who participate in a People to People Program get into their college of choice. I have always tried to do things that might help me on a college resume but nothing to this extent has been available to me until now. I made this blog so that I could tell about my upcoming trip and get people like you to help sponsor me so that's what I'll be doing on this blog.

 Please follow me on Twitter too at ABBuehler1 (my twitter account)