Winners Announced to 'Everything' Experience Contest

Explorica congratulates 6 exceptional students for their award-winning entries to our 'Everything' Experience Contest.

The inspiring and life-changing moments submitted exemplify what Explorica tours are all about.

Grand Prize Winner: James Stavro 
Tour: Italy & Austria/ London, Paris & Barcelona
'Everything' Experience Excerpt:  Explorica promotes independence. My participation with my two art class trips: the first to Italy & Austria, and the second to London, Paris & Barcelona were so amazing that it prompted me to follow my dream of going to Africa and helping out in a community with AIDS. My travel experience with Explorica has taught me how much ground one can cover when your trip is perfectly organised. I have taken the knowledge gained from your company and arranged an African Safari for the end of my community outreach program. I am seventeen years old and I am the only Canadian on this project and the skills I have obtained from 2 great Explorica experiences have made this possible. I have been in Kenya near the Uganda border for two months now with one to go and the first step of travelling with a group rather than my family gave me the courage to fly from Canada to Africa on my own to pursue this amazing adventure. I look forward to more travel in the future as the knowledge obtained are valuable life skills.

Honourable Mention Winner: Christina (Kyuong Un) Park
Tour: Paris: City of Light
'Everything' Experience Excerpt: However surreal it was standing at the base of the famed Eiffel Tower that I’ve seen romanticized in so many movies and works of literature, I felt much more drawn to the culture I experienced at Montmartre. The view downhill from the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur at night was breaktaking with lights from the shops twinkling like stars, but the real adventure was at the square on the base of the hill. It felt like I stepped into a Parisian movie into a bustling corner of rich nightlife, with music wafting from cafés and local artists sketching and selling beautiful pieces of art... I also haggled with an artist to draw my portrait that still hangs on my wall and browsed other artworks with my friends. The culture that was so alive in Montmartre was what made it feel like I was truly in Paris. Though I’m sure that Montmartre is also a popular tourist spot, I feel that one could undoubtedly understand Paris here than at the Eiffel Tower or Champs-Elysees with American stores lined up every couple blocks. That night at Montmartre is one of the biggest inspirations that make me want to travel more and experience local culture. I don’t want to see famous buildings and statues around the world– I want to see its people and passions.

Honourable Mention Winner: Kathleen Sullivan
Tour: Canadian Western Front & Normandy
'Everything' Experience Excerpt: In March of 2009, I had an incredible opportunity to travel throughout northern France, England and Belgium, paying homage to the veterans of World War One and Two. Vimy Ridge, Beaumont Hamel, Juno Beach- my perspectives on history were drastically changed... Before going on the tour, I had researched my family's involvement in both wars. However, nothing could have prepared me for the mixture of sadness and pride I felt as I knelt beside the grave of Rupert Clancy, my grandfather's cousin and best friend, who died on the beaches of Normandy. His grave was barren, void of the flowers and symbols of remembrance that cover my grandfather's grave. I was struck by this, how easily people who contributed so much are forgotten, simply another name in another family book... However, in the midst of such sadness, I felt an incredible amount of pride. Travelling through France, hearing people thank us for being Canadian, I thought of how my family made that possible. How they gave freedom and hope to an entire generation of Europeans. Filled with sadness and pride, I left the cemetery vowing to become more involved with my family, to, one day, teach my kids the value of their roots and to live with as much joy as I can simply because I can. I am heading off to University in the fall, hopeful for the future and grateful for the past, especially for my family's past.

Honourable Mention Winner: Sean Maciel
Tour: Peru
'Everything' Experience Excerpt: As the sun began to set, it was decided we had enough time before dinner to make one last stop: Tambomachay, the Inca baths. The archaeological site was crowded with local vendors and tourists. Sited in the valley between two mountain ridges, Tambomachay was stunning, but my attention was immediately drawn elsewhere: beyond the ruin could be seen a steep hill with a worn path leading up and outwards... I was so dumbstruck by the valley – its faded colours, its silence and its peace – that I had sudden fantasies of staying there for days; I wanted nothing more than to build a tent at the foot of the mountain. I wanted to climb the ridges, listen to the wind and watch the shadows of the sun as it moved through the sky... From that moment on, I would begin to see architecture not as ornament and decoration but as a mode of interaction... Since that trip, and throughout my first year at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, this has become a truth for me: architecture is filled with the possibilities for creating and developing the relationships between us and the beautiful, exciting environments in which we live.

Honourable Mention Winner: Wendy Chan
Tour: Italian Highlights
'Everything' Experience Excerpt: It was the third day of my Explorica trip to Italy. On that day, we traveled to Venice, appropriately known as La Serenissima - the Most Serene Republic. As I walked along the city, I was in awe. Every scene my eyes captured was so picturesque that I felt as if I was immersed in postcard images. We soon reached Piazza San Marco - Saint Mark's Square. Despite living in a relatively busy city my entire life, I was struck by how different the crowd at Saint Mark's Square was. Unlike the crowds where I live, this crowd did not seem to exude a sense of urgency; rather, it exuded a sense of community. As I wandered around, there was a noticeable gathering of pigeons in the center of the Piazza. Having skimmed through some information on Saint Mark's Square, I was expecting the pigeons. What happened next, I did not expect, and what happened next, was the moment that took my breath away. A woman picked up a horn and blew as hard as her lungs allowed. A deafening noise escaped the horn, and in that split second, hundreds of pigeons erupted into the blue sky. The pigeons were everywhere - some back on the ground, some resting on tree branches, some lingering in the sky, and some long gone. The scene was hauntingly beautiful.

Honourable Mention Winner: Adam Lawlor
Tour: London, Paris & Italy
'Everything' Experience Excerpt: This was a short but sweet moment as our group stood on the hill of Chaillot just across from the Eiffel Tower. It was a cloudy day, and a little on the chilly side, but I couldn't help being captivated by our Tour Director's comments- on that very spot, Hitler stood and looked out over the city, and simply told his men to "burn it". I have always loved travelling but hearing those words and thanking whatever powers-that-be that allowed his men to see past orders, I vowed that I would see everything in the world- to make sure I see it all, and make up for what is already gone.