South County kids travel Australia as part of a cross culture
exchange
A handful of South County kids took the vacation of a lifetime
this summer when they traveled to Australia
– without their parents in tow.
South County kids travel Australia as part of a cross culture exchange
A handful of South County kids took the vacation of a lifetime this summer when they traveled to Australia – without their parents in tow.
The down under adventure for Gilroy kids Nic Slater, 12, Jessica Chizanskos, 10, Jessica Cabatingan, 11 and Morgan Hill resident Robert Baker, 11, started long before they boarded a plane to the island continent July 31st.
The families of each student received a letter last fall that their students had been invited to be Student Ambassadors in the “People to People” program – a foreign exchange program initiated by Dwight Eisenhower 50 years ago to foster understanding of other cultures.
“My parents thought it was spam,” Cabatingan said with a laugh.
To receive an invitation for the program students have to be nominated – and part of the mystery for these four is that they still don’t know who nominated them. Nominations can come from former student ambassadors, educators or school administrators or from “People to People” staff who look for high-achieving students.
“We started around November and got together once a month,” said Evelyn Baker, Robert’s mother. “They got into small groups and did different activities until we all felt comfortable.”
Instead of parents as chaperones, local teachers are group leaders. While the parents got to know the teachers who would be traveling with their children, they still found it hard to let them go.
“I didn’t want to let her go. I tried to work for the company so I could go,” said Brenda Chizanskos, 10-year-old Jessica’s mom. “My husband said no. But we went to Fiji on vacation so not being home waiting for her helped me cope.”
Cabatingan’s mother, Maria, found herself putting pictures of her 11-year-old on her cell phone.
For the kids, though, they were so busy on their 15-day trip that each said they didn’t have time to miss home.
The pre-teens traveled on the “Exploring the Land Down Under” program – a trip designed for grade-school students. Their trip included visits to the Sydney Opera House, a home-stay with an Australian family on a farm and snorkeling near the Great Barrier Reef.
“The Great Barrier Reef when we went snorkeling was the best part,” Slater said. “There were so many fish. It was awesome.”
Baker, who had never been snorkeling, picked the Great Barrier Reef visit as his favorite part of the trip, too.
The girls agreed that the entire trip was their favorite and they couldn’t pick a best part.
“I liked the whole thing,” Cabatingan said.
The kids noticed a few differences about life in Australia.
“We found out that vegemite is nasty,” Slater said, of the Australian sandwich spread.
The kids laughed as they recalled that “brekkie” means breakfast and a sweater is called a “jumper.”
“When he got back, Nic said ‘One thing that is different than us is that they say we have the accents,'” said Kris Slater, Nic’s mother.
The experience does come at a cost. The program tuitions vary, but the trip the students took cost about $5,000 for airfare, accommodations and meals, transportation within Australia and all the activities the students participated in. The kids are expected to contribute to the tuition – a hard task for younger students – and they raised money by writing letters to family members asking for donations, babysitting or doing odd jobs for neighbors.
The families believe the money was well worth it for the journey.
“For me with Jessica [Cabatingan], it was something for her instead of always being Andrew,” said Maria, of Cabatingan’s brother who needs extra attention because of a medical condition. “I knew she was mature enough. We knew she’d be okay.”
Shawn Chizanskos agreed that the trip offered a way to make his middle child feel special.
“Jessica’s eyes lit up when she got that letter,” her father said. “She’s got an older brother and a little sister so this was something just for her.”
