Last summer I wentDown Under to the South Pacific and spent three and a half weeks in Australia andNew Zealand. To some, the 24-hour plane ride would be a turnoff, but it was worthit.

I was traveling with People to People Student Ambassadors, anorganization that sends high school students all over the world to meet people.

The minute the 30 of us stepped off the plane we were eager to tourSydney, the site of the Summer Olympics. We took a cruise ship through the harborand saw the famous Opera House while getting a great view of the city. We alsovisited the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Village, where the athletes lived. Afterall that running around, we spent the evening relaxing at Bondi Beach. This wasone of my favorite parts of the day, sitting on the white sandy beach andchatting with surfers.

The ten days in Australia were filled with excitinggreat times. I will always remember Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef.

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, abundant withdingos, tropical birds, poisonous snakes and many other animals. Our hotel wasright on the ocean but we couldn't swim because of great white sharks in thewaters.

I have never seen anything so beautiful and full of life as theGreat Barrier Reef. We snorkeled and came face to face with beautifully coloredfish. I was a little disappointed with the colors of the actual reef, though. Inphotographs it seemed bright and vibrant, but that rendition is done with thehelp of computers. The reef's true colors are many shades of brown and green. Thecoral beach (known as Musgrave Island) is right on the reef and is great forcamping. No one lives there, so it is a great place to relax and havefun.

New Zealand was much colder than Australia, but equally beautiful.Our second night in "Kiwi country" we stayed with an aboriginal tribe.We had so much fun learning traditional dances and songs and had a special mealcooked beneath the ground. As in Australia, the time flew with tons of excitementand fun, but one memory stands out. Our last day in New Zealand I went bungeejumping! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Everyone was sad toleave, but we made lifelong friends from both New York and the South Pacific. Iwill definitely return to the South Pacific and revisit what I miss greatly.






Boston: A World in Itself by Frank P., Broadview Heights, OH

Chickens by Andrea W., New York, NY

London by Kaitlin B., Norwell, MA

The Dichotomy of Prague by Alexander B., Clintondale, NY

Moscow by Arthur F., Eagan, MN

Golden Food by Aditi G., New City, NY