In search of happy

A Coquitlam communications student is hoping to travel the world in search of the elusive emotion called happiness but he needs votes to make his dream a reality.

Sam Li is a member of one of three teams vying for the chance to become Happiness Ambassadors and tour 206 countries in 365 days to find out what makes people happy and record it on blogs and video.

Li, a graduate of Port Moody secondary school, class of 2006, is on Team Sha-Ba-Ba-Doo and voters can help him on his journey by voting for his team at www.expedition206.com. The winning team will be announced this weekend.

"I love to travel, I think of myself as a pretty happy guy," said Li in an interview between classes at Simon Fraser University.

He sent in an application a few months ago and his was chosen out of hundreds from all over the world for the Coca Cola-sponsored trip.

Li teaches piano and wrote a song about happiness for a video he made for the judges and thinks his love of music may have given him the edge over other contestants.

"It's like a once in a life-time opportunity," said Li, describing the 206-country trip which includes stops in North and South America, as well as Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

Most of the trip, although planned, is unscripted but there will be stops in South Africa for the World Cup, Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and Shanghai for the Shanghai Expo.

Although Coca Cola is sponsoring the project, Li said it's not corporate and that the goal is to really get a sense of what happiness means in all corners of the world. However, according to the website, the travelers are expected to seek and share the optimism and happiness of Coca-Cola from Aruba to Zimbabwe and everywhere in between.

To vote, log on to www.expedition206.com

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