Xpress: Broadening horizons in Australia, New Zealand

Being a student ambassador helps a bay area teen work on a fear of air travel and meet new people in new lands.

The Land Down Under is quite a distance to go for a learning experience, especially because I hate flying. Twenty-four hours airborne is not my idea of fun. But the lure of opportunity won out, so after months of preparation, self-help tapes and books to ease my fear of flying, I left for Australia and New Zealand last summer with the People to People Student Ambassador Program.

People to People, established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, is an organization dedicated to promoting peace among people of the world by fostering the cultural interaction of youth. People to People aims to give students the opportunity to represent the United States as student ambassadors to other countries, learn about other cultures by living with families and have fun at the same time. (For more information about the People to People program, check out http://www.studentambassadors.org.)

Christina Hernandez visits with a koala at the Australian Wildlife Park, one of the many stops she made during her first week in the country.

Once we got to Australia, I was glad I had been able to conquer the butterflies in my stomach and withstand the hours and hours on the plane. Forty teenagers from Texas and my best friend, Beth Ann Skyrms (we were the only two from Florida), visited many famous tourist attractions and learned much about the history of the country.

Among our stops the first week were the beautiful Sydney Opera House, the Australian Museum, Australian Wildlife Park, Great Barrier Reef and the 2000 Sydney Olympic facilities, including Olympic Stadium and Bondi Beach, where the beach volleyball competition took place.

Though we were all stunned by the beauty of these landmarks and enthralled by their history, I enjoyed learning more about the culture of Australia during a visit to an Australian farm in the small town of Toowoomba.

At the farm, Adora Downs, we sang traditional Australian songs such as Waltzing Matilda and Home Among the Gum Trees around a campfire. Because Australia's winter coincides with the United States' summer, we kept warm by drinking eucalyptus tea and milo -- hot chocolate. At the farm, we also learned to crack a whip, throw a boomerang and dance many Australian folk dances. It was there our group began to grow close.

On the farm stay, we really became an "ambassador family." The group encouraged and playfully teased each other during horseback rides, mountain hikes and kangaroo encounters. We became ambassadors not only to the residents of the farm but also to each other.

After 10 days in Australia, we packed our bags and caught another plane to Auckland, New Zealand.

Compared with Australia, New Zealand was much more bleak and rainy. However, here, too, I experienced many new things I will never forget.

As part of People to People, we were required to stay in a home with a native New Zealand family to truly live the culture.

I was placed with the Pokeres, a family with four children. The oldest, Ann Maree, served as my tour guide of Auckland for two days. Through Ann Maree I discovered many things about New Zealand, including that the country was not just famous for its sheep.

The first night of my home stay we went to a local grocery store and bought common New Zealand food: Chicken-flavored potato chips (not my favorite), an assortment of candy bars (similar to U.S. fare) and a product New Zealand is famous for: Hokey Pokey ice cream (vanilla with caramel chunks; I craved seconds).

The following day I went to school with Ann Maree. Being bombarded with questions about the United States from students who had never left their own country made me realize how lucky I was to have gone on this trip.

During the rest of the trip we were welcomed by government officials, stayed with members of the native Maori tribe of New Zealand and did more sightseeing.

When it was time to come home, I felt a great sense of satisfaction and pride for representing my country. I returned to the States not only with new friends overseas, but also with 40 wonderful ambassador friends from Texas.

I still hate flying in airplanes.

Best friends Beth Ann Skyrms, left, and Christina Hernandez visit Adora Downs, an Australian farm in the small town of Toowoomba.

Christina Hernandez, 16, is a junior at Plant High School and a former member of the Times X-Team.

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