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If Brittany Smith-Holden remembers nothing else about her trip Down Under, it will be to never refer to koalas as koala bears again.

It is safe to conclude, however, that after spending 20 days in Australia, she’ll retain far more knowledge and memories than that. Smith-Holden, a junior at Hazelwood East High School, spent part of her summer vacation in the other hemisphere, where it was winter, although Australia sees little snow.

She flew to the land of kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils and many other attractions courtesy of People to People and teacher Terry Ferrar, who nominated her. People to People is a student ambassador program, where nominated students receive firsthand experiences in other lands as well as learn what it means to be a good neighbor and a global citizen. This marked Smith-Holden’s first time out of the United States.

After leaving St. Louis to fly to Los Angeles, where she and three other Hazelwood School District students changed planes, they arrived in Sydney 13 hours later. A total of 36 students from Missouri, plus a lone student from Chicago, went on the trip.

They started their trip in Cairns, a medium-sized town on the continent’s northeastern coast, facing the Coral Sea.

“We traveled from Cairns to Brisbane and we even visited Perth.” Perth lies on the far southwestern side of continent almost diagonal from Cairns. Other cities and sights Smith-Holden visited included city of Melbourne, the Great Barrier Reef and the island of Tasmania.They visited a dolphin preserve.

One of her favorite activities would not sit well with the faint of heart: climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which towers about 440 feet over the bay.

“It was so fun! You could see all around the whole city,” she said. “It really put the trip into perspective. It was like, ‘I’m really here in Australia.’ We climbed to the very top and that is when things got all mushy – when people reacted to the view.

“We ate what I call Crocodile Chowder,” she said. “I wasn’t totally grossed out. Everyone laughed at me because I said it tasted like clam chowder.

“I think all of these experiences were good because a lot of the kids don’t get to go on stuff like that. It was good that we represented our nation and our schools too.”

Smith-Holden said her rationale for taking this trip is simple.

“I want to inspire kids my age that they can do stuff like this too. On the plane from L.A., the plane was full of Australians returning home so I got a crash course in the slang.”

She learned, for example, if you asked for a Sprite, you would receive lemonade to drink. Australia, just like the United States, has several accents, depending on where on the continent one is located.

“We learned how to play rugby and that was really exciting,” Smith-Holden said. “I have always wanted to play rugby and we learned about cricket.”

She said they visited the Australian outback. “This family we stayed with, they own 48,000 acres and they raise cows and kangaroos,” she said. The group learned about the drought Australia’s been experiencing and how water restrictions affect farmers.
“They couldn’t water yards or wash cars and they take timed showers.”

Her trip hasn’t sated her yen for traveling out of the country.

“I also want to go to Italy, France and South America but I definitely want to go back to Australia.”

Other Hazelwood School District students who also traveled to Australia on that trip are Amber Sweet, a sophomore at Hazelwood Central High School, junior Kelli Frye and sophomore Madison Walker from Hazelwood West High School. (story courtesy of Hazelwood Communications Dept.)
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