Sarah Martin: Assistant Director of Lexington Sister Cities

When I was in high school, I set my computer desktop background to Big Ben in London.  At that time in my life, traveling abroad was something that didn't seem easily attainable.

Fast forward a few years to my junior year of college when an email goes out to all of the business majors at Transylvania University.  An internship was available at this place called Lexington Sister Cities.  Not knowing anything about it, but wanting to try something new, I went for it.  

I still remember the first day I headed to the office to meet with Kay.  I remember reading about Sister Cities on their website beforehand.  I remember being nervous and then really excited to get the internship and have a real, office job.  

But "real, office job" is not what I was in for.  

The internship was only supposed to be about 6 months, through September.  I had another job at the time, but knew it was time to move on from that.  I left that job and solely focused on Sister Cities.  September came, and I asked Kay if I could just stay on.  

And not to be cliche, but the rest is history.

The very next year I took my first trip out of the country when I chaperoned the student exchange to Japan.  Since then, I have been to Ireland (twice), England, and Spain; and in just a few days, I finally make my first trip to Deauville.  

I still remember when Philippe, President of the Deauville Jumelage, would call our office and introduce himself to me before each call: "Hello, this is Philippe Behuet from Deauville.  Is Kay there?'.   I'm not exactly sure when it started, but now we have our own conversations too.  After getting to meet him and his wife Marie-Cecile in Lexington in 2012, and his son Matthieu this summer, now I get to visit their entire family in Deauville. 

Before I started working at Sister Cities, I never truly understood the importance of a program like this.  I knew that international relations and diplomacy were important, and I had friends who had studied abroad and had great experiences.  But throughout these past 7 years, Sister Cities has taught me so much.  

I now have friends across the world.  I look forward to traveling to our Sister Cities for many reasons, but the biggest reason being to see those people I have become friends with.  

My husband and I have played golf with friends in Ireland.  

I have attended Prom in England.

I learned to dance in Spain.  

I even introduced myself in Japanese... in Japan!

Though these examples might seem simple, and they are, these are the moments that make Sister Cities all the more special because of the people you get to share them with.  

And on my first trip to France, I am looking forward to seeing friends I have made already and to meet new friends as well.

These experiences didn't happen just because I work at Sister Cities.  These opportunities are available for everyone... for students, teachers and even just regular people.  That means even high school me with Big Ben as her desktop background could have had this opportunity simply through Sister Cities.  

As new people become involved from every city, a common theme seems to come from their experience; many of them telling me "okay... now I get it.  I understand what Sister Cities is about."  

Understanding culture and language is only part of it.  When President Eisenhower created the people-to-people, he knew that true peace would not come from governments... it would come from citizens from different countries becoming friends with each other.  That is what makes Sister Cities so special, and why I believe in it so strongly.  

When a city or country experiences tragedy, such as the attacks in Paris or Hurricane Harvey, we are there for each other as it feels closer to home because of our friends.  When they are celebrating, like the Fourth of July or Bastille Day, we are there to celebrate as well.  

The length and strength of the Sister Cities relationship between Lexington and Deauville is truly only beginning.  Though the relationship has been in place since 1957, I see it continue to grow each year.  New programs, new exchanges, new friendships... all these helping to spread the international understanding to people in our cities.  

I am thankful for this opportunity to be part of the Sister Cities Program, and I am thankful for the many wonderful relationships that now fill my life because of it.  

To my Deauville friends - Happy Anniversary and I look forward to seeing you soon!