Hello everyone. 

Caiti won't be coming this year, which is sad :(

Thanks for replying to the email JORDYN AND CAITI.

The rest of you can go jump in a cold lake. After you reply.

I've started getting some replies about the whole traveling thing, and since speed is of the essence here, we all need to consolidate.

I want everyone to give me all the info and ideas they have, and my current definition of "everyone" includes:

Teresa, Jess, Danie, Nicole, Jordyn, Caitlin Ross a.k.a. Ziggy (perhaps her brother),  and Chloe.

First, am I forgetting anyone, I'm sorry if I am, and who are they? 

Now, I want to know if anyone listed is not interested in trying to come. This mostly relates to Nikki, given that her mom was dead set against it in the past. Also, I know in the past Caiti wanted to try, but had very low expectations of success. Either way, for these and others (although I've pretty much gotten confirmation from everyone else), I need to know. Preferably yesterday, but acceptable now.

Next, I want to know what your current summer plans are and when, so we know what we have to work around. This is another reason why speed is of the essence. The sooner we can fix our date, the fewer problems we'll have with scheduling. Teresa, go research next years People to People trips. The rest of you do the same with your respective trips and obligations, if you haven't already.

So everyone is clear, you will be flying direct from Philly to Munich. Previously the price on US. Air or something like that was $1240 round trip, and that was the cheapest flight, going back and forth daily. Someone should check to see if that remains constant. 

I then need to hear what everyone's financials are looking like. Who thinks they can earn the money for the trip from jobs, or who has parents willing to contribute, and so on. While $1240 will get you here and back, it won't do anything else. Everyone needs at least 500-600 dollars more to actually do things, and be able to buy stuff. The more extra money everyone has, the more we can do. Considering jobs, I think everyone will be able to get the money for the ticket; the problem is balancing that with cars and other stuff, and then the extra for actually doing things once here. 

Therefore, it is imperative that we:

1) establish who is trying to come, and the bottom price for doing so
2) pick tentative dates
3) discuss what kinds of activities we want to do here, and which will need my parents supervising
4) discover our parents' reservations, and their positions on individual activities AFTER we present a well thought out plan, including how each individual is planning to raise the money, and any aid they would like from their parents. This is what we mostly need to work towards

To this end I want, from everyone on my list, and anyone I forgot (I didn't forget anyone, did I?) to tell me that they are interested, and what they believe their parents feel about them visiting, and any ideas on how we can help alieviate that fear.

NOTE:  No one is to go to their parents now and say "I'm going, no matter what you say!" or "Can I go?" or any of that bs. Excuse my language. No premature arguments, and ideally no arguments at all. Everyone needs to prove to their parents that they are thinking things through, and are mature enough to do this. And later, it will be important that everyone listen to what their parents have to say about going, and take it into account. Even if they are saying stupid things that make no sense, no explosions. Listen, don't try to argue too much then. Go back later and talk reasonably. Shouting matches and crying kill your ability to look mature enough to go. Ramble Ramble, Ramble Ramble.

And then, for those who are interested, a head start is always good. Think about, and do some research on what kind of things you want to do here. I'm all for just kind of hanging out and visiting a few cool sites, and maybe going with my parents to Switzerland, or Austria or something for 2 or 3 days, and just kind of exploring around where I live (considering Munich is 30 minutes away). However, I'm also open to us being super world travelers and bouncing all over Europe if we can earn the money for it. Whatever activities we choose will also be a big parent issue, and we will definitely be using the large group thing to support us in it later. But forget that for now, and start looking at what you want to do here.

Rothenberg, the walled midieaval city is a great example of something we could visit. And there are castles galore, so I'm sure we'll want to visit at least one. So, research and confer.

And lastly, if you can all get past the whole not discussing personal financial situations now, that would be great. I won't force anyone, but in all honesty, it makes it a whole lot easier to plan if we all know what we're dealing with. For this, I would like everyone that is planning to come to give at the very least a quick overview of their ability to earn the ticket and further money. Ideally, telling us how much you now have to put towards the trip, and what money you have coming in from jobs or whatever, and how much of that you are willing to put towards the trip, and any parental aid, and basically anything that you can put into this section should be--well, put in.

And finally, for the love of all things, if you have fundraising ideas, share them! Share them, and put them into action. 

I look forward to hearing from all of you. Good news I trust.

Love,
Alex