January 30, 1996, two days before the trip, Brian came to say good-bye to Cherese and so did Todd and his girlfriend, Tere. We took a few pictures, but I regret not having more and not using the video camera. I remember the hugs and kisses as Todd wished his sister a safe and happy trip, and like all of us, expecting to see Cherese back home after 100 days, looking forward to hearing about all her adventures.

February 1, 1996. Cherese and I had stayed up the entire night. We were in her room, sitting on the floor, talking about so many things. I was writing her name on everything. After stuffing her backpack, it was too heavy for her to even stand up. We started removing clothing until Cherese could stand and walk with all the weight on her back. It was about 4:00 a.m. and we were both tired. We didn't have much time left since her flight was at 7:10 a.m. at the Los Angeles airport. Cherese was getting nervous, and mentioned to me how happy she was at UCLA, she said, "I almost wish I wasn't going now," everything was going so well for her. How I wish we would have kept her home then.

We loaded the car with all the luggage and Cherese said good-bye to Miss Kitty, her cat. She stared at the house and smiled, remembering all her memories of growing up there. On the way to the airport, Cherese was very quiet in the back seat of my car. We had not allowed ourselves much extra time, and when we arrived at the terminal, it seemed even less. We sat down for a few minutes to talk. We told Cherese to call us whenever she could, to take lots of pictures, especially with her in them and to be careful wherever she was. I kept thinking to myself, how am I going to manage 100 days without my little girl, after all, if we didn't see each other, then we were talking on the phone, everyday! I think I was already starting to miss her at that moment. I wanted to take her picture then, but she said, no. Suddenly, they announced the boarding call, it was time to depart. We cried as we held Cherese in our arms so tightly, we didn't want to let go of her. We told her again, how much we loved her and she replied with, "I love you too, Mom and Dad." We repeated ourselves several times and also said, "please be careful, please be safe."

Finally, we had to let go and Cherese faded from our sight as she boarded the airplane. Larry and I sat down again and waited for the plane to take off. When we could no longer see it, we headed back to our car to come home. Larry and I just looked at each other, knowing we both felt the same, hoping our daughter would be safe. We knew Cherese was smart, we knew she could make wise choices and decisions, but what we did not know, was that the very people we trusted with her life, would lie, commit fraud and be negligent and ultimately, take her life!

Cherese flew to Atlanta, Georgia, then to Nassau, Bahamas where the ship the SS Universe Explorer would depart. Cherese did call us when she arrived. She was excited and met many of the students she would be traveling with. The following day, she went swimming with the dolphins on Blue Lagoon Island. Later, she said, one of the dolphins kissed her on the cheek and also took a fish hanging out of her mouth. February 3, 1996 Cherese checked in at 7:45 a.m. to board the ship with 550 other students. Cherese was the only person from UCLA on that ship! They left port at 5:00 p.m. and headed to their first destination, La Guaira, Venezuela. They arrived on February 7th. Every time Cherese called, we only spoke for a few minutes. She would say , lots of kids are waiting in line to use the phone, so I'll tell you everything when I get home. How could we have known, she would not be able to tell us everything when she got home.

Venezuela was everything she was hoping for. When they docked, a traditional Venezuela band came aboard the ship to play music and sing, it was exactly what she was hoping to hear, very cultural. Cherese felt anxious, excited and nervous about the Amazon Outdoors Trip, she was worried about all the mosquitos that might bite her. A small group of 16 students and the tour guides took several modes of transportation to reach their destination. On the Orinoco River , with tour guide named Felix, Cherese had her first opportunity to speak Spanish with him. The group would be staying with a host family, who lived in a shack. They slept in hammocks under the stars and all night long they heard the sounds of birds, monkeys, crickets, rain, chickens, bats and thunder, and she said, "It was great." The next day while they were on the river fishing, Cherese caught a piranha in the lagoon where the water was infested with alligators.

February 19, 1996, they arrived in Salvador, Brazil. It was more difficult then she thought it would be to communicate with the Portuguese speaking citizens, but once again, she was able to use the Spanish language, and that pleased Cherese. The fact that Carnival was in place and the city was in such a state, negatively colored her impression of Brazil. The next day, Cherese and her new friends decided to shop. They went to Pelorino Square and walked up and down the cobblestone streets where she bought a necklace, bracelet and a little pink tie-dye dress. On the Haparica Schooner Trip, they sailed to a beautiful island, and swam in the clear blue water. February 22, Cherese went on the trip of Historic and Contemporary Neighbors and visited a local school where she got to interact with the children. She said, they were wonderful and had the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen that just light up. The children sang and danced for them and taught them hand shakes.

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