Date: Fri 17-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JEFF

Quick Words:

People-to-People-Australia

Full Text:

Students Spend Summer As Ambassadors Down Under

(with cuts)

BY JEFF WHITE

As the new school year slides into its third week, five students roam the

halls equipped with lessons learned from participating in a People-to-People

Student Ambassador program in New Zealand and Australia this past summer.

Matt Benson, Amanda Butler (grade seven), Nick Cerretta, Colin Curran, James

Terhaar (grade eight) and high school freshman Austin McChord spent 26 days

down under in July, participating in an array of recreational and scholastic

activities that emphasized cultural awareness.

"When you first get there, you can't even get the whole big picture that

you're there, that you're all the way across the world," Nick said. "The only

communication you have with your parents is over the phone. What really hits

you is that you're independent.

"You have your leaders there to watch over you, but you're pretty much on your

own, because there is only so much they can do for you. You notice the culture

differences and everything compared to yours without even realizing it."

In New Zealand, where the students landed in Auckland after a marathon plane

journey, the cultural focus included interactions with the Maori, New

Zealand's indigenous people, in which they learned about initiation rituals,

and a trip to New Zealand's parliament in Wellington.

For two days of their New Zealand journey, they stayed in homestays, which

gave them the chance to sample rural New Zealand life with host families.

"I learned how to communicate with people better, and how many differences and

similarities we have," James said. "When I stayed at the homestead, I learned

that their families are a lot like ours. They're loving and nurturing, and

they care for their kids. But we have a lot of differences too."

Amber, Matt, Nick, James, Colin and Austin do not know how they were

nominated, but upon finding out their eligibility, they underwent a series of

applications, interviews and reference checks.

They were among approximately 75 students chosen from across the United States

to attend the program in New Zealand and Australia.

A typical day for the students combined activities and traveling. In New

Zealand, besides their experiences with the Maori and parliament, the group

toured a school in Cambridge, rode a Huka Jet (speed boat) in Taupo, hiked in

the Mount Bruce Wildlife Center, and attended an eco-cultural program at the

World Wide Fund for Nature in Wellington.

In Australia, highlights included a trip to the Great Barrier Reef, a tour of

Sydney, snorkeling near the Tangalooma "Wrecks" and an excursion to Cape

Byron, Australia's most easterly point.

In both countries, every opportunity was taken to fuse activities with

interaction with native residents, not only in the homestays, but in the

cities as well.

World's Largest Exchange

People to People is the world's largest adult and student exchange program,

founded 43 years ago as part of President Eisenhower's effort to soothe

east-west tensions during the Cold War by promoting cultural exchanges.

For the first five years of the program, it was very much a grassroots

operation, housed under the Federal Government's control. President Eisenhower

concluded in 1961 that the program needed to be independent of government

control, and soon Joyce Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, headed a private

foundation for the group.

Students entered the equation in 1963 upon the president's conclusion that

they could stand to benefit most from the program, since they were going to be

the future leaders of the country. People to People Student Ambassadors have

grown from 16 in 1963 to more than 12,000 in 1998.

On the surface, the trip was all fun activities and adventures, but the true

benefits were found at a deeper level. Students had to make decisions and

observations themselves; they had to digest the nuances of place and culture;

they had to reconcile apparent cultural discrepancies with what they have

become accustomed to.

When asked about any particularly memorable moments from the trip, James

recalled hearing the news of John F Kennedy, Jr's death in the waters off

Martha's Vineyard. It was interesting, he noted, to see New Zealanders so

concerned about the event, and even more interesting hearing American news

from a different country.

"I really came away with a lot," said Amanda. "You learned so much about their

culture and their way of life. We also came away with other things. During the

trip we had to be responsible for ourselves and everything we did. We had to

plan everything out and be careful."

Likewise, Matt enjoyed the fact that he got to know two countries: "I learned

what it was like to live out there, what the weather was like, what it was

like to live in another country. All the different words that have the same

meanings, I had to understand the accents," he said.

Although the students are content to revel in their summer memories abroad for

now, the trip sealed the desire in the students for a return trip.

Colin said that he already planned to explore the option of studying in

Australia during college. Was there any place he wants to see that he did not

get a chance to visit this summer? "Darwin [Australia]. I hear they have a lot

of crocodiles there."

James seconded Colin's sentiment, and added that he would also like to see

more of the Australian Outback.

For Amber, a trip to New Zealand's South Island would have to be on the next

trip's itinerary.

Although Austin admits that he does not have any immediate plans to return, if

he did, he would like to experience even more rural communities in Australia.

"It was great to be able to see what they're doing, how their economics are,

and how they survive," he said of the trip.

Both Colin and James had the honor of being nominated as leaders during the

trip. They will both compete in a contest where they will have to write a

1,000-word essay about what a student ambassador is, and what it is like to be

one. The reward will be an all expense paid trip to a destination of their

choosing.

With the trip behind them, the five students feel, when they look back, that

they represented America well during their travels. And the trip has sewn a

powerful desire for each to continue to travel and experience new cultures,

perhaps during next year's People to People trip to Europe.

"You just automatically compare it," Nick said of experiencing different

cultures, "and you see how some things of theirs are better then ours, and how

some things of ours are better then theirs, and you appreciate all the

differences."