I’m pretty proud of my little sister. Beyond the standard big sister stuff, I think the fact that she figured out how to get herself to France and back at the age of sixteen is pretty cool.

Last year, she took part in an exchange program that let her live with a French family for a month. It was purely on her own initiative: She found the program and made the arrangements on her own, beyond getting our mom to sign the necessary paperwork. She earned most of the money for the trip by waiting tables. She flew from Colorado to France — and made it back in one piece.

Today, I called her and the phone got passed of to someone I’ve never met. There was a “‘alo?” and then some chit chat in French as my sister explained to her friend who I am. Then my sister announced who I was speaking to: her French ‘sister.’ The French family my sister stayed with has a daughter the same age (they’re now both seventeen). She made her own arrangements to come stay with my sister for a month.

I think it’s amazing that these two teenage girls have the drive to head to new countries on their own. I think their independence and willingness to go find adventures will be very useful as they grow up, and it leads me to think that both of them will make their own opportunities in the future. I think that sort of skill makes travel even more important, especially for teenagers.

My sister has big plans. She wants to travel — and she routinely mentions ideas like study abroad or Peace Corps as options that allow her to plan much more than a vacation abroad. I think that’s great, and I can’t wait to see where she goes!

Photo — Andrei Z