During the summer, from June 6th to the 17th, the Fair Grove Culture Club went on a special trip to Australia in which several high school students and adults attended. The group visited Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns, and went on many exquisite excursions including snorkeling and sightseeing while there.

Throughout the trip, a lot of amazing “once in a lifetime” experiences occurred. The group visited Tangalooma Island, the world’s third largest sand beach located in Queensland, Australia. They also had the opportunity to see the world’s largest Opal and visited a famous Winter Festival in honor of the Queen’s Birthday. According to Gracie Rowden (12), a student that attended the trip, there were lights shown all throughout the city. The lights were on buildings, on the streets, and on the harbor bridge. The opera house, along with various other buildings, were lit up as fireworks plastered the sky. When asked what the best moment of the trip was, Brystol Bates (12) said, “We snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef, and I got to literally swim with a sea turtle. It was amazing!”

Though some wonderful things happened during this trip, there were also some slightly opinion-altering events as well. Between Sidney and Brisbane, a three day bus ride, it rained constantly. Being stuck in a car for three dreary days was not what some wanted to do during their vacation, therefore this experience took away from the fun. Along with the bus ride, a few opinions changed on the topic of Australian stereotypes as well. Gracie explained her observation of Australians, stating, “They like to say cuss words a lot,” and continued to explain how incredibly tall they seemed, along with how weak their accents sounded. According to her, this wasn’t how she imagined Australians to be at all; However, she continued on the subject of travel stating, “It gives you so many more options and interactions with the world.” Ultimately, wrapping up the whole point of the trip.

The main focus of Fair Grove’s Culture Club is to give people in the area who have a thirst for travel a chance to do just that. The club’s leader, Shelly Thornton, refers to international travel saying, “It gives travelers a new perspective on their own culture and it gives them the opportunity to have experiences. It broadens their horizons.” It is clearly obvious that many horizons were broadened on the Culture Club’s 2018 summer Australia trip. Though there were some unexpected occurrences, it all worked out to be a wonderful vacation in which many new friendships and memories were made. Culture Club will be going on another summer trip in 2019 to Belize, inevitably calling for many more.