A GROUP of Cootamundra High School students were given the opportunity to shop ‘til they dropped and experience all things American, when they took part in the G’day USA program.
Eleven students from Year Eight through to Year 12 were part of the 19 day program, which gives Australian students the opportunity to experience American culture firsthand.
Taking part in G’day USA were Rosie Johnson, Erin Boxsell, Nicole Kelleher, Alyssa Reid, Kady Flannery, Jessica Brien, Morgan Leary, Shannon Foster, Ashleigh Dean, Jarrod Lynch and Karlee Mangelsdorf, who were accompanied by Cootamundra High School geography teacher Amanda Willoughby.
Cootamundra High School has taken part in the Gday USA program biennially since 2006, and Miss Willoughby has accompanied them since 2008.
The students departed Sydney Airport at 11.30am on January 3 arriving in Los Angeles an hour earlier than the time they had left, due to the time zone difference.
The first four days of their grand adventure, which for the majority of the students was their first overseas holiday, were spent in Los Angeles where they stayed at the Knott’s Berry Farm Resort.
While in Los Angeles the students enjoyed the thrill seeking experience of Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, went on the hunt for celebrities while walking the streets of Hollywood, toured Santa Monica and visited the famous Universal Studios.
They then travelled via bus to San Diego where they spent the next 10 days with host families.
The students were given a taste of the American school life spending half a day as a student at the Scripps Ranch High School.
Some of the subjects studied were maths, Spanish, history, biology, English and sign language.
“It was interesting to be part of the American school life, it was very different to what we were used to back home,” Nicole Kelleher said.
With their host families the Cootamundra students had great fun doing activities such as bowling, ice skating, laser tag, whale watching, enjoyed Sea World and went to an American zoo.
Ashleigh Dean rated the time she spent with her host family who had two children, a 17-year-old and an eight year old, as one of the biggest highlights of her American adventure.
Erin Boxsell also enjoyed the company of her host family and listed touring Universal Studios as a standout moment.
For Miss Willoughby, her highlights included riding in the tea cups at Disneyland and firing a gun at a shooting range, both experiences she hadn’t done before.
The Cootamundra students along with their new friends and host families all caught up for a pot luck style bonfire to share stories and see how the others were going.
The last two days of the G’day USA program was spent in San Francisco.
To celebrate their last night in America, Miss Willoughby treated her Cootamundra students to an hour long ride in a black stretch Hummer.
“I had the Hummer ride planned for the past six months, I kept the surprise tight lipped,” Miss Willoughby said.
The students were stoked when the Hummer arrived considering they were expecting to travel on a bus.”
The group arrived back in Australia on
January 22.
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