2-4 Weeks High School Programs in Australia

This has been an amazing, life-changing experience. I have loved every second of this trip, and hope that many other people get the experience just like I did. I have learned so many new things, and have overcome many different challenges, which I know will help me throughout college and in the future. I have learned many different life skills and believe this program is such an amazing opportunity that everyone should try.

Starting off, I would recommend any TFT trip. They are a very experienced company with staff that are very organized and familiar with the countries that you are visiting. This Australia and New Zealand trip had the perfect amount of volunteering time as well as excursions to have fun with. We had about 20 hours of volunteer service where we helped at a non-profit animal center. Aside from these hours, we would take trips to waterfalls and beaches to relax, but also immerse ourselves into the culture. We were able to visit small markets and farms as well as iconic sights such as the Sydney Oprah House. Travel for Teens has given me new experiences worldwide that I definitely would not have been able to plan or do by myself.

In the Summer of 2018, I had the amazing opportunity of traveling to Australia and New Zealand. It was absolutely amazing. I got to do once-in-a-lifetime activities such as scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Bridge Climb. These are memories that I will never forgot. I had the most amazing counselors and met friends that I still keep in touch with. There was not a day that I did not love. If you have the opportunity to do this, you should, I can guarantee that you will not regret it.

I purposely set my expectations low for the trip as it would allow what would occur to blow me away. Yet, I have never been so blown away as the trip exceeded my most perfect dreams. My greatest sense of accomplishment was seeing the villagers cry during the groups final goodbye. It felt so warming to know that the work we did and the friendships that we made would stick with them and they appreciated it. Personally, I was able to check off my dream and along the way I made friends, family, and left an everlasting mark on a community for one in return. The highlights of my experience was every single day in the village. There was not a moment where I second guessed my choice to attend the trip or felt down in the slightest manner. I felt like as if there was a perfect balance between time spent on projects, cultural activities, and adventure.

My expectations for my program was to have a lot of high school students in my group. I thought we would primarily focus more on service work while we were there. When I arrived at the airport there were only 9 students including me. We became a very tight nit group towards the end of the program. I really loved how small the group was because I got to make connections with every single person there. My program was for community service in Fiji and I really loved the work we did there. We would spend four to five hours a day working on the footpath. I thought that was the only thing we were doing, but instead we also focused two hours each day to experience the village life in Navakawau. I really appreciated that time to explore the culture of the villagers because I got to learn a lot about their lifestyle and On the second to last day before leaving the village, I helped build a wooden bench on top of the hill. The next day when I was walking around to say my goodbyes to the kids I saw a little kid crying because I told her I was leaving soon. I sat down with the kids on the bench that outlooks the whole island in silence. It was not awkward silence, but comfortable silence. It then hit me - where I was and what I was doing. I helped build a footpath up the hill for children to go to school. I built a bench for children to have a place to sit. It has been a privilege to have the opportunity through the Putney scholarship to experience what it feels like to have a role, a place, a duty in their village. I would have never had an opportunity like this if I did not have found this program. During my trip there were many highlights, but the moment that stood out to me the most was the first few days I was in the village. We were driving up the hill and children were running out of their houses to greet us. The children and adults did not know who we were but they were so happy to see us. Everyone welcomed us into their village with open arms during the welcoming ceremony. I was so happy to be able to interact with so many young children and adults who always put our safety and health before anything else. Villagers would always check up on us every hour to see if we were doing okay. Imagine tens of children coming up to you every hour to check up on you. I have never felt so important in my life. Living in the United States you never see such hospitality and happiness for each and every person. Hearing the word "Bula' every morning was the highlight of my experience. I wish we had more time adventuring the village. I felt that we should have walked around the village more to learn more about the structure of the village. We stayed in one specific spot when working on our service project and we went to certain houses to engage ourselves in cultural activities but did not have much time to learn about the basic function of the village. Besides that I thought everything we did was the perfect amount. I loved how we did service in the morning and cultural activities after lunch.

I was hoping for some sightseeing, water sports, interactions with the locals and we were able to do all of that very thoroughly, which I was very happy about. My greatest sense of accomplishment was being able to fit into, if only temporarily, not just one foreign culture, but two. Everyone in my group except me was from North America, and for the first week and a half, there was a huge cultural disconnect between us. I felt like I wasn't a part of the group for a long time. So, I'm incredibly proud of the fact that despite it getting very tough at times, I held on and grew from it. Similarly, I was also fitting into the Fijian culture, making friends with the locals, and just living in a completely new atmosphere. I think I gained a lot of self confidence in this trip, and I've learned about two new cultures in one go. Interacting with the locals was a huge part of my experience. Also the beauty of the Fijian islands. Coming from Delhi, where nature is practically nonexistent, it was really breathtaking to see the oceans and islands and beaches and waterfalls. Additionally, I think I got an amazing group and the best leaders one could ask for, which just enhanced my experience. I feel like due to some technical issues, we weren't able to spend as much time on community service as was specified, and so I wish we did more of that. AS for everything else., it was perfectly balanced. I do wish we got some more time for snorkeling.

From paragliding in New Zealand to snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef of the coast of Australia, I had the best 21 days of my life with Travel for Teens. I will never forget looking out the window on Air New Zealand as we flew through the snow-capped mountains to land in Queenstown. The beauty of this foreshadowed the once-in-a-life time experiences I had the privilege of doing on this amazing adventure. The counselors made me feel so at home in places I’ve never been, and the friends I made gave me memories I will cherish forever. I recommend this trip to anyone who loves adventure and lives for the moment.

ActionQuest is an extremely unique place that offers amazing experiences for kids of all ages and from all over the world. It has taught me so much, not only about sailing and scuba diving, but also about myself, and going to ActionQuest has made me a much happier person. I truly enjoy lifeworks forums. I think that they bring up important topics, and often bring boats closer. They also help connect the lessons that I have learned at ActionQuest to my life outside, so that I may bring these new lessons home with me. The instructors were always happy to answer any sailing question and hand over the helm to any student who wanted to learn more about sailing. They made it very fun and interesting to sail the boat. Scuba diving instructions were also excellent, the instructors would help us plan our dives in the beginning, but then allow us to figure out how to do it on our own later in the trip. Diving is my favorite part of AQ, and it never fails to amaze me. The instructors are amazing, they clearly love what they do, which impacts each shipmate and allows them to have a great time. The friends that I made at ActionQuest are some of my closest friends now, and would have never met them without going to AQ. The people that you meet are just so interesting and amazing. The diving is beautiful, and the sailing is so much fun

I wanted to do something different the summer before my junior year. I was looking at teen service trips all around the world, but I was sold the moment I found ARCC's Australia/Fiji trip. It was specifically for teens, so it allowed me to make an impact while staying safe and protected. The ARCC office staff was communicative and had an answer to my many questions. They knew just what to bring, told us up front exactly how much it would cost, and had recommendations on health and medical concerns to ensure my safety. The trip leaders I had the honor of working with were AMAZING. They connected with us instantly and handled every challenge with ease and grace. They were organized, loving, adventurous, open, and qualified. I honestly cannot imagine more perfect people to lead a trip like this. My group had the opportunity to do our service work in Nawaisomo on the island of Beqa in Fiji before our adventure time in Australia and on the Great Barrier Reef (which is gorgeous, by the way), and so we grew close to each other as we learned more about ourselves. The service work, building a footpath and working with the kids, was so much fun, and it was nice to see our hard work visibly progress. We really felt like we were making a difference. When we stayed in the village, we got to stay (in pairs) with host families, and I got really close to my host siblings. I learned so much about Fijian culture by getting to fry fish, shave coconuts, and help unload fishing boats with them in my free time. Overall, The Australia/Fiji trip was a life changing experience that taught me so much about myself, the world, and the importance of loving and take care of your community and everyone in it. There is no better way that I could've spent my summer.