The leaders announced it was time to call parents. Everyone traveling with me pulled out their phone cards. (In 2003, cellphones for children were unheard of, and roaming charges were crazy expensive!)
I vividly remember walking past the phone and the line of children leading up to the phone. My parents could not afford a decent phone card, so mine was to be used only in case of emergency. As I walked past the line—knowing I was not going to talk to my parents for three weeks and it really was not that big of a deal to me—I recall children crying because of how homesick they were.
Going to the United Kingdom as a teenager without your parents and without being able to contact them is quite an ordeal. But I think I was just born to travel, and it did not phase me too much. However, every child is different! Even as a teenager I knew not to judge the kids who were homesick and missing their parents. Now, having children, I know even better how different children respond to different situations. Read more