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Gianna Russo is an undergrad student at Amherst majoring in comparative literature. Her hometown is Toledo, OH. She picked Amherst because she wanted to live near a bigger city than Toledo, but not as big as New York or Philadelphia. Her class schedule leaves her with little time to spare for what happens to be one of her favorite activities - traveling.

When she was a girl, she and her family would go on at least one road trip every summer, and she always looked forward to visiting her grandparents in Detroit. The biggest and best trip she has taken so far was last summer when she got an internship in the University of Leeds for two months, where she became accustomed to weekend traveling in and around the city. That experience gave her an opportunity to travel by herself and got her addicted to traveling. Back in the states, she tries to take every opportunity, be it a weekend, or a week long spring break to venture out on short trips nearby with her friends. Some of the places she has been visiting of late are New York City, Cambridge, and Maine.

Being constrained in time and budget, these trips do not let her explore the places as much as she would like to, but nevertheless, they are experiences she cherishes and likes to share with friends and family. Currently she shares her trip photos with them via picasa (for the family) and facebook (for the friends).

It is important for her to be able to narrate an interesting "travel story" to her family and friends. For this reason she hates to miss out on any important landmark in the places that she is visiting as landmarks help her build a story that people can relate to. Also her family is always inquisitive about her visits to the "sites of interest" and she does not like to disappoint them. However, she does wish she had a little more time to spare for the more unusual, "quirkier" places.

Life Goals:

Get a little smarter each day

Explore the world Create new and better stories all the time

Experience Goals: To gain from others' experiences

To have good stories to tell

To have the best possible travel experience within constraints

End Goals:

To plan a trip to see the sights within budget

To get to hear from others who have been to that place

To get travel guidance.