While most teenagers see the world on a map, Michael Bashline has seen it firsthand.
Since his return from Antarctica on Dec. 31, Bashline, 17, can say he has visited all seven continents of the world.
"I feel very fortunate to have been able to travel all over the world," the Pleasant Hills resident said.
Bashline began his international traveling at age 11, when he learned about the People to People Student Ambassador Programs. He attended a meeting about a trip to New Zealand, an island nation east of Australia.
"I decided to give it a chance," he said. "And ever since then, I've been traveling."
His travels through People to People have taken him to Australia, Brazil, Japan, Europe and South Africa.
People to People Senior Program Director Paul Chapin said Bashline had to pass an interview, provide letters of recommendation and go through 12 hours of classroom orientation before he was eligible to travel.
"We turn away many students each year," Chapin said.
The program was created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who believed that communication between people from different nations would create peace.
"The mission of People to People is to introduce young people to international cultures and traditions," Chapin said.
He said Bashline is a model for how the group carries out that goal, and it's amazing he has made it to seven continents before the age of 18.
"Michael is the only one (program participant) from Pennsylvania to ever do that," Chapin said. "So he's made quite an accomplishment."
George Rudolph, a teacher at Oakland Catholic High School and area director for People to People, has known Bashline for several years.
"Michael went to Japan with me," Rudolph said. "He's extremely intelligent ... and he's a perfect example of what a student ambassador should be."
Bashline is eager to learn about other cultures, Rudolph said.
He also wants to teach others about Americans. Bashline said that just as he didn't know about kids from other countries, they didn't understand him.
"They thought that Americans were just horrible kids. ... It's important to me to show that not everyone is just what the movies portray," he said.
Bashline said there were some moments on his trips he will remember forever.
One took place in South Africa in December 2005. "We were there on Christmas Day," he said.
One of the group leaders gave an African boy a Tootsie Roll candy. The boy told the translator he could finally have a good Christmas because he had received a gift.
"Something as small as that just showed me how greedy I was and how greedy everybody (in the United States) is," Bashline said. "I think just because we live in such a great place ... we tend to be blinded from what's going on outside the country."
Bashline's latest trip included a number of People to People alumni, but was arranged by a group from Canada called Students on Ice that organizes educational trips to Antarctica and the Arctic.
Chris Ralph, project manager for Students on Ice, said Antarctica is a special place to visit.
"It's the only continent where there's never been a war," Ralph said. "It's really the last peaceful frontier in the world."
Ralph said he can't think of many other teenagers as well-traveled as Bashline. "He's a pretty special adventurer," Ralph said.
But traveling doesn't come cheap. An average trip costs $3,000 to $4,000, and Antarctica cost about $10,000, Bashline said. "My parents have been very supportive and have helped me travel to each place," he said.
A senior at Central Catholic High School in Oakland, Bashline hopes to study medicine. He said he always wanted to be a doctor, but his travels helped him decide which direction to take that career.
"The people -- especially in Africa -- they need so much more help than people in America, and I just feel like that's what I'm supposed to do," he said.
And after he spends time in Africa⢠Bashline hopes to move to his favorite country, Brazil, to retire.
Although Bashline constantly is looking to the future, he does take time to reflect on his past.
"It's unbelievable," he said. "I would have never imagined me to do something like this, but I'm glad I did."
