by Rachel Lamb, executive editor

The Roar interviewed senior Sean Kluver, who has traveled on a program to learn more about China, volunteered with refugees in Germany, and visited France this summer.

What made you decide to go to China, Germany and France?

I was in China with the discovering China program that was funded by the Chinese government to help teens better understand China, and it was sponsored by Texas A&M.  In Germany I went with my family and with an organization to help refugees, and then I went to France as just a vacation with my family.

How long were you in each place?

I was in China for two weeks, and then in Germany and France for one week each.

What was your favorite place to visit?

My favorite place to visit was China, I was there the longest and I learned a lot about China and it was a lot of fun.  I visited multiple places including Beijing, Qufo, and Qingdao.  My favorite site I visited was the summer palace in Beijing. It is this giant, beautiful garden with a lot of locals who are doing really interesting things, and when I was there the weather was perfect.

What was the food like in each place?

In China the food was new each time, we had everything from duck to bean curd dumplings.  Then, in Germany we had lost of sausage and sandwiches.  In France we ate a lot of sandwiches, and pasta and stuff.

In which place was the experience the most rewarding?

Germany, it was really amazing to meet with refugees, learn their stories and place soccer with them.  It was really fun and interesting.  My roll was to just talk and hang out with them, we brought soccer balls and volleyballs, and played with the younger kids.

Would you go back to any of the places and why?

Yeah definitely, China was amazing and fun.  Germany would be cool to see the refugees I bonded with again.  France was cool, but I think I saw all the sights so I wouldn’t go back soon.