Hello, everyone my name is Sydni Fields and I am a freshman at Appalachian state planning on studying Communications as a major. This major will then take me to my dream, of creating a way to communicate and express the efforts of people from third world countries who are making their communities betters, to the world. I love traveling and as a kid I started out traveling though the states. As I have gotten older I have traveled to the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. In the Dominican Republic my school helped build a community center for some of the locals. The Bahamas trip was a family vacation. So this trip will be a new experience and very educational. Before the trip we prepared for learning about artworks that were stolen during the war. The work of art that I researched is called the Madonna under the fir tree painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder. I made a documentary about the work of art and can be viewed here.(https://youtu.be/BtZa1sATrsQ) I am most excited about seeing the architecture on the buildings. I know that some buildings were destroyed during the war so if they are rebuilt they will have a more modern touch but also some older buildings still stand thanks to the Monuments Men. Being able to see the history of the buildings is exciting to me. I am really excited to go to Netherlands and Belgium because it will be a new culture for me. I have been to the islands and I have seen Americas views on life so I am interested to see the different ways of living. I am also excited for the canal ride because I have never been in a canal and the different form of transportation is cool. Lastly, I am interested to try the cuisine over there. I am a picky eater but I have an open mind and will try anything at least once. Overall though, I didn’t make an expectations of the trip because I want to look at these countries with fresh eyes and fully experience the trip for what it is.