One Thursday morning in June, 21 Australians set off into the
unknown. Travelling abroad, some for the first time, to a country
mostly only heard of in the movies and on television. The whole thing
was surreal.
Standing at Sydney airport, we were decked out in our country's
sporting colours of green and gold. Perhaps this showed the spirit of
our trip, not so much a spirit of diplomacy as is so often related to
the SRC, but a spirit of sporting enthusiasm. 17 students,
4 advisors set to take on America, prepared to show the United States
what Australia was like, what we stood for and how we really
lived.
In many ways, this was a challenge which stood before us. Could we last a month away from home, away from our family, friends and school? Could we survive in a foreign country, finding our own way around, living for ourselves? We met the challenge, early on the morning of the 19th of June, 2003 with a few nerves, some apprehension, much expectation and a lot of excitement.
Our first stop, overnight, was New Zealand. This proved to be our final chance to appreciate anything similar to Australian culture before a month of something vastly foreign. We stayed in the centre of Auckland, and after only a few hours we realised how similar our two countries were. Even though the first sightseeing stop was a view of Eden Park, home of New Zealand Rugby Union, Auckland felt just like Australia, if only greener.
When it came time to leave Auckland, the realisation hit that we were really going abroad now. New Zealand was one thing, a smaller replica of our own country, but next we were headed for Philadelphia, via Los Angeles, this was now a serious challenge to our comfort zone.
Philadelphia was our first major stop, the first chance to be fully immersed in American culture, the first chance to test those stereotypes and expectations we had built up. Our arrival, for Australians and Philadelphians alike was a chance to ask question after question about the others' culture. Information on driving on the wrong side of the road, city populations, ideals and families were all frantically exchanged in the hope that we would learn something of the American way of life.
Somewhere between these conversations, we managed to see parts of Philadelphia, the city and the suburbs alike. We saw much of the local area, courtesy of our host sisters from Interboro High School. Quickly we were shown their local shops, where to buy the best fast food and where the popular places for teenagers to meet in summer were.
We saw places important to our generation &endash; the second largest shopping centre in the United States - and also found places of huge historical and cultural importance. Travelling into Philadelphia for the day, we saw buildings and objects central to the birth of their nation. We happily took photos in front of the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. This city was older than we first thought; it was the birthplace of their nation. I believe history is a vital part to any society, and I was honoured to be given the chance to learn about and experience the culture of this part of Philadelphia.
Already, the Australian delegation was getting a feel for this new country. Over the next few weeks, we would field the same questions again and again about the stereotypes of Australian culture. This stop in Philadelphia worked well to ease us into these questions. Gradually, our answers became more refined, more accurate and even went as far to include a hint of homesickness at many stages of the tour.
Just as we were starting to relax with our Philadelphian hosts, the Australian group was on the move again. This time, we were to join up with the rest of the state of Pennsylvania, and their delegation to the NASC Conference. We were to travel with the Pennsylvanian Student Council (PASC) on their pre-conference tour.
This trip was designed to give PASC the chance to come together as a group before the National Conference. As we bonded with this group of amazing young leaders, we were given the chance to experience more parts of American culture. We spent some time learning of the Amish culture, visited memorials for September 11's Flight #93 and crossed the border into Canada with this group. For the week before Conference, we grew very close to this group of Pennsylvanians as we shared experiences and swapped stories highlighting both the similarities and the differences between our countries.
On the night before the 67th NASC National Conference, the Pennsylvanian Region Representatives and I were asked to make the decision whether to separate the delegations onto two buses to arrive at the conference, or to continue with our mixed travelling. Having become so close over the past week, each representative felt we wanted to arrive as a combined Pennsylvanian / Australian delegation. The symbolism of getting off the bus as one group, not two, had great meaning for each of the student delegates. As we arrived at Lancaster High, New York, there was no way to separate the two delegations as a result of the strong bonds of friendship we had formed.
Lancaster High's gym catered to seat 2000 people. Each of the states was given a class room to call home for the week. The local area had to accommodate each of the delegates in houses within the limit of the school buses' routes. Simply put, this was a big event. Delegates spoke of hundreds of thousands worth of funds which had to be raised to put on this showcase of American Student Council talent.
The five days of conference were aimed at getting people from around America, and indeed the world, together to share ideas, share experiences and help each other with anything and everything related to leadership. In spare minutes, we continued to learn about the local area from our host families, but this week was full on.
The conference started before 9am each morning, and did not finish until 10 or 11 o'clock at night. All day, we were meeting people from around America, attending workshops on everything to do with leadership and student council involvement and sitting in on general sessions aimed at confronting issues in American society today.
Nowhere in Australia is anything this grand, this much hype. Laser lights welcomed us to each session; everything was professional and designed to show off just how good the Student Council is in America. Their case was a very convincing one, as they began to speak of "Freedom's Answer" their national project to influence voter turnout in national elections.
One thing we could grasp from this group was that NASC has influence. The state president meetings I attended had each state represented. Together, a handful of states would make up a national region. When compared with the SRC in Australia, we simply do not have the resources, or rather the schooling population to organise something on this level. To come from our district and school SRCs to experience the scale of this National Conference was the single biggest culture shock on our trip.
As we began to adjust to the non-stop pace of the Conference, the Australian delegation was able to appreciate what was happening. Each day we tried to take in as much as possible to take back to our own country.
The National Conference was a superb forum for ideas for specific projects, as well as workshops giving help in battling broader issues just as relevant in Australian schools as in America. We took ideas down about school spirit, student participation, event planning, fundraising, inclusiveness in schools and anti-discrimination.
As we left the Conference, the whole delegation was exhausted. We now saw our next stop as a time to relax and take stock of just what happened over the past five days. The Conference came and went so quickly, it took a while to realise just what had gone past us. In New Orleans, we took the first opportunity in two weeks to catch up on sleep.
The city of New Orleans, Louisiana was lifestyle of a completely different speed to what we were used to. As we found, life in the southern states seems to go slower and longer. Our stay in New Orleans was the perfect opportunity to relax and reflect on the excitement and learning of the National Conference. We embraced the chance to catch up on sleep, washing and entries into our diaries.
What took over in the ensuing days was learning on the cultural and social levels. Through our touring of the city, we were able to appreciate the feel of New Orleans. We made every attempt to immerse ourselves in its rich heritage and vibrant feel of a city that knew how to have a good time. There were no deadlines in New Orleans, and as such we found many things to occupy ourselves in and around our hotel.
Our stop in this city was extremely valuable, as it aided us in comparing the lifestyle of the north-eastern states with the southern culture. New Orleans is a beautifully rich city with a tremendous atmosphere. There seemed to be an air of excitement, especially on the 4th of July, yet our stay was one of relaxation and recuperation between the hectic National Conference and our next stop, the National Leadership Camp held in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
What struck us first about the National Leadership Camp was its setting. Lake Tahoe, in the height of summer took our breath away. Log cabins, pine forests and distant snow-capped mountains encircled the lake. This amazing backdrop set us up for the most remarkable of weeks.
Here, we were given the opportunity to meet with 120 of America's best student leaders in what was essentially the point of our tour. Each day began by 8am, and did not finish until midnight. Between these times, our days were filled with workshops and activities, each specifically placed to help us in leadership. We learnt of goal-setting, organisation, communication, team building, problem solving and decision making. We shared ideas with school student leaders, leaving us with pages and pages of practical ideas for SRC events.
The theme of the camp was the "ALOHA spirit", which spoke of how to better oneself as a leader, and as a person of influence. On the last night, I was given the privilege to speak on behalf of my small group regarding our reflections for the week. My feelings at the time detailed the sort of impact this camp had on us, not just to improve our outward acts of leadership, but to look to ourselves as leaders of people. "This camp has taught us lessons about individuals; those around us, those at home and ourselves. We will take these lessons with us for years to come."
Leaving the people and scenery at Lake Tahoe was a difficult experience. The week had been such an awesome experience, it was hard to say goodbye to the people we had shared so much with. When we arrived in Hawaii, it was hard to convince ourselves that we would not be meeting any more groups of Americans. In Hawaii, it was just us, 21 Australians who had lived out of each others pockets for the last month. Individually we had all spent time with so many different people; our tour group looked small standing in our hotel lobby on the first night.
Coming into Hawaii was an obvious point which signalled to us the imminent end of the trip. After Hawaii, there would be nothing more as a group; it was the final leg of our journey. We took this chance to spend some time in each others company.
Our days were not overfilled with commitments, so our tour group was able to sit and talk and enjoy the beautiful island of Oahu together. Even though our tour was in its final stages, we were not finished with our learning. Having pondered the meaning of ALOHA at camp, we felt we had a deeper understand of the culture of Hawaii. The significance of our trips to Pearl Harbour and a luau showed us what was important to these islands, and continued to show us varied sides of the American culture.
Such an amazing month is difficult to sum up in words. Many photos and diary entries provide snapshots of our tour, but it is difficult to convey the true feelings and thoughts of the trip as a whole.
Since my return to Sydney, many people have asked me about my trip, but one question has stood out in how frequently it has been asked. Almost everyone who has shown interest in my trip on my return has asked me whether the trip was worth it. Each time, I have answered wholeheartedly "Yes."
This trip has given our tour some amazing opportunities. From learning to organise ourselves for travel, to meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, this trip has shown us a part of the world few of us knew existed. There was such diversity in every situation we found ourselves in that it is hard to not consider ourselves fortunate for each and every day of the trip. We were able to watch each other grow and mature over the course of a month, in places completely foreign.
Each delegate is extremely grateful for the effort, time and passion afforded for us from the four touring advisors and everyone involved in PASTA. We appreciate the work not only put into the trip, but the work being done in the name of improving the SRC in Australia. Our tour in the United States has shown us a lot of things which could help Australia in many ways. Many things we can, and will, take back directly to our schools, other things are relevant to the larger district and state bodies.
The PASTA American Tour of 2003 has been a raging success for all involved. The trip is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives, and are looking forward to building from in the years to come.
Arriving at the airport at 6am on Thursday, 19 June was, above all the excitement and nervousness, a relief. For the previous 6 months so much time, effort and thought had gone into the tour.
From standing around at the airport to our first night in New Zealand, everything seemed kind-of surreal - the tour had finally arrived. Countless hours had been spent preparing workshops for the conference, fundraising and explaining to people that we weren't going on a mere holiday! The 16 other Australian students that I toured for four weeks with all turned out to be fantastic people with amazing personalities, and from the time we got together at the airport we really became a family.
As we settled down for the first night, I exchanged comments with many of the others that it felt like we were at the end of the tour and on our way home "If we only knew then the things we would experience over the next four weeks!"
After an epic 17 hrs of flying, with a brief stopover in LAX, we arrived in Philadelphia and spent the next 2 + days with representatives from Interboro High School. We had our first experience of the real American way of life through the first of four home-stays with an American family.
Our time in Philadelphia was a very trying time for me emotionally because of difficulties finding my place within my host family. Although, I very grateful for that experience as it made me appreciate the rest of the tour a whole lot more. Our day in historical district of the city was very interesting because we were able to see with our very own eyes so many of the famous historical symbols that we hear so much about.
After an emotional farewell, we departed Philadelphia to begin our pre-conference tour with around 100 other student leaders from the state of Pennsylvania. We kicked off the tour by spending a night in open wagons at Camp Adahi, and getting to know each other.
The night we spent at Camp Adahi was an interesting experience! I really learnt to appreciate comfortable beds, drinkable tap water and clean showers that night!
Our visit the next day to the Amish town of Intercourse was also very interesting, because we could see how they farm and live without the stereotypes that come from the media.
After the visiting the Amish, we drove three hours to Somerset, and the site of the Flight 93 crash from September 11. I found the trip out to the Flight 93 site very sobering and quite emotional. While we all felt the effects of 9 / 11 here in Australia, you can't really understand the full extent of the impact it had on US citizens until you visit such a place. It was extremely moving seeing the faces of those on the flight, and it is something I will never forget.
The hoedown that we were treated to later that night was fantastic! Lots of eating, lots of dancing and lots of fun! We had the hoedown at the site of the Que-Creek mine disaster and we learnt about what happened at the mine and how the trapped men were all pulled out alive. The Que-Creek mine site didn't really have a huge impact on me personally, simply because I had heard so little about it. However, I was certainly able to appreciate the efforts of the rescuers as they fought to save the miners trapped.
My second host family, the Centi's, and the third the night after, the DeCoursey's, were wonderful people. They were very kind, extremely generous and very welcoming. I thoroughly enjoyed staying with them and learning about their families.
White water rafting was an experienced that really exposed my strengths and weaknesses. I went through the full spectrum of emotions that morning - from intense and overwhelming fear for my life, to total elation when I survived! It was a fantastic feeling when we got o the end with the knowledge that we had gotten there as a team.
Our dinner at Skylon Tower on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls was a wonderful way to finish the pre-conference tour. The view was amazing and I couldn't imagine being there with a better group of people. The pre-conference trip was my favorite part of the whole tour. The people we met and the friendships we formed are totally irreplaceable and I am so grateful I could share the experiences of the previous 5 days with them.
Saturday, 28 June saw us arrive at Lancaster, Buffalo in the state of New York, for the 67th National American Leadership Conference, with the theme, "Leadership, the Ultimate Journey." There, we took our place amongst 2000 students from each of the 50 states.
I can only describe the whole conference experience as intense and crazy! It was amazing being surrounded by so many peers who all had the same passion for their schools as I do for mine. Because I attended the State President's training meeting on the Monday, I was unable to present the workshop my group and I had prepared on "Anti-Bullying / Zero Tolerance to Harassment", but I was told that it went really well and the participants got a lot out of it.
The training meeting was extremely beneficial for me as I learnt a great deal about how to encourage participation from fellow student leaders and how to teach to different types of learners. We were guided through the workshop by an educational speaker by the name of McCrea, who lead us in enhancing our communication skills. I really enjoyed the training meeting and I know that the information and skills that I learnt, I will be able to apply to my own student council and get the best results as a group.
It was the little things at the Conference that really gave it a unique feel and let us experience the best parts of American school life: the yellow school buses, cafeterias, locker-lined corridors and even a traditional homecoming dance were everything I expected.Tears were flowing as I said goodbye to all of my new friends and final host family.
I stayed with the most beautiful family and my two parents, Angelo and Pamela, could not have been any nicer than they were! They were just like real parents and they made the whole week that little bit better! Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do in my life. I am totally amazed at how close I became to all of these people, especially the Pennsylvanian delegation. They brought out the best in me as a person and I can't believe how attached I was to them after less than a fortnight. Even though I was completely dehydrated afterwards, I am thankful for having the opportunity to meet them all!
From the Conference we flew down south to the city of New Orleans. New Orleans was a great opportunity for a bit of much-needed R&R. We had a chance to catch up on some sleep and spend some time learning a bit about US history in the south. Of all the places we visited in New Orleans, I particularly enjoyed our walking tour of the historical French Quarter and tasting Gumbo! It was also a wonderful opportunity to get to know my fellow Aussies a little better and form closer bonds with them.
After New Orleans we made our way to the 2003 National Leadership Camp at beautiful Lake Tahoe in the State of Nevada
The camp was very different to the hype that was conference; instead, it focused on the more personal aspects of leadership by using the theme of 'Aloha'. It was a very emotional week and I really enjoyed the way each of the workshops made me think about my own opinions and what I value the most. I formed a whole lot of new friendships - again, and had my heart broken when I had to say goodbye - again.
By far, the most beneficial part of the camp for me was a particular workshop called the 'Swap Shop', where we all sat around and exchanged ideas about various aspects of enhancing our SRCs. There were so many amazing ideas that came from the Swap Shop that would be very easy to implement here.
Hawaii was an excellent way to finish the journey of a lifetime. It gave me a chance to reflect on how I had grown as a person and what I had learnt during the tour.
The most important question that hangs over the whole purpose of the tour is, 'What did I actually learn?' I can be perfectly honest when saying that we learnt a whole lot of new ideas about how to run our councils and what sort of new projects we can undertake. We were also given a huge amount of resource material to take back to our schools and local areas that contains vast amounts of information regarding student leadership and skill development.
While all of this is really good to learn about, I believe that the tour is unique in that it has an amazing way of teaching far more than this material information, which cannot be taught anywhere else, or by any other means. Above everything else that I was taught on the tour, the most important thing that I learnt was about myself. I discovered new aspects of my personality, how I operate as part of a team and how to take care of myself in such a foreign environment.
Now, the question then has to be asked, 'How does this benefit other people, specifically other students whom I was representing?' In order to be a successful leader, you have to know how to use your own skills to achieve the best possible outcome from your group, and also know your own areas of weakness in order to develop those skills. This is something that I feel I can do, and I also feel better equipped to be a better leader.
It was such a fantastic experience and I am so grateful for being given the opportunity to go. It has really opened my eyes to the world and made me appreciate how lucky we are here. It was an amazing experience and one that I'll certainly never forget.