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Favorite Place On Earth #1So here are some of our favorite places. Paris, France: Ay, gay Pair-eee, city of lights. I had seen it in movies, and had created my own vision of it before I actually went there. I was right and wrong in my preconceived notions of Paris. Upon taking the train from the airport to downtown, my friend and I got off at our stop and there, sitting at the station was a Parisian man playing traditional French music on his accordian, beret perched on his head, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. “THIS is Paris!” I exclaimed to my friend. Later that day, crepe in hand, we walked down to the Eiffel Tower, which was brown! I had thought it was gray or some kind of metallic color. I stared at it in disbelief, but my disappointment was short lived as we proceeded to the top. Since then, I have been back to Paris and it was just as great the second time around. - Elizabeth Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: My favorite thing about this city is the people. While wandering the streets and markets I would be welcomed with a gesture to sit/squat with the locals who were wide-eyed with curiosity towards me and would have the widest, most friendly smile on their face despite the inability to verbally communicate. Warm, amazing people made me laugh out loud in half bewilderment and fascination that up to four people could all balance and ride around on ONE motor scooter! - Beth Cuenca, Ecuador: The Anti-New York – a clean, relaxed city that doesn’t even know what the word “hurry” means. Cuenca’s layout, with Colonial parts and more modern areas divided by a river, makes this city seem very manageable. However, the people from bus drivers to shoe shiners to host families are so friendly that it must be the anti-New York. – John San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala: An indigenous village close to Antigua, Guatemala, where my host family and the whole community treated me as one of their own, even though I stood out! A lot! They don’t have running water or even a stove, yet these people are the richest people I’ve ever met. – Anne-Marie Mexico: Each time I visited Mexico, I received such great hospitality by the local people that I can't wait to go back. One night while driving with my uncle and his American friend, who worked at the U.S. Embassy, we met five locals of college age who were driving next to us in their Volkswagen. My uncle started waving at them as they waved back at us. We all met up in the Zócalo and hung out in a bar with mariachi bands playing, laughing and drinking Tequila all night. Not everyone understood each other but that didn't seem to matter - we all communicated the same language of friendship. For the next four days, they were our “tour guides” around the city. They spent time with us for no reason other than to strengthen the friendship that had formed. - Sue 
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