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Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update, but I’m super excited to be going on this trip with all of you! My name is Marianne Rara and I’m an upcoming senior at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont. A lot of people ask me if my last name is actually Rara, and although I like to joke around sometimes and tell them otherwise, it is haha. I love travelling because it’s such an amazing opportunity to learn about local history, language, culture, architecture, and — my favorite part — the food. This is going to be my first trip to Central America, and I can’t wait to discover Leon with you.

Music has always been a huge part of my life; I started playing the piano at a really young age and eventually took up the alto and baritone saxophones. Although I’m not much of a singer, I’ll pretty much lose myself in any Ed Sheeran or Sam Smith song and totally forget that I can’t sing.

I have an odd liking for the smell of late night & early morning air because I think it’s so fresh and soothing, and I’m uber excited because I’m sure we’ll get a lot of that throughout our trip!  I like to pretend I can dance, even though The Wobble is the only dance I’m remotely good at. And lastly, I basically have every single Avatar: The Last Airbender episode memorized by heart and will shamelessly recite the introduction to anyone at any time.

I can’t wait to meet you all next week, and I look forward to an extraordinary 18 days!