Friday, Oct. 18, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.
A bus driver and a tour guide from Australia are enjoying a free trip to Las Vegas this week, an unusual gift from the group of Clark County middle schoolers they showed around in their own country this summer.
The 42 students, from schools throughout Clark County, were abroad for three weeks in July as part of the People to People International Student Ambassador program, a nonprofit organization that arranges paid educational tours.
Tour guide Jacqui Gregory and bus driver Stuart Harding arrived in Las Vegas Saturday from Australia and are staying with two teachers who accompanied the students on the tour.
"I was completely shocked when the ticket came," said Gregory, a native of Brisbane. "The kids had joked about bringing us over, but I didn't really think it was going to happen."
Jonathan Peterson, an eighth grader at Burkeholder Middle School, said he asked his family to chip in on the tickets because he wanted to thank Gregory and Harding for their hard work.
"They were always nice to us, telling good stories and making us laugh," Jonathan said. "It was an awesome trip because of them."
The tickets cost about $2,000, and Harding used his own funds to bring along his wife and three young children.
"This group was the best time I've ever had," said Harding, who has been driving buses for about 10 years. "I really bonded with the kids, and that made it fun for all of us."
In addition to visiting a crocodile farm and the Great Barrier Reef and spending two nights with host families, there was some unscheduled excitement, the students said.
After a visit to an outdoor market, the students returned to find their bus had been blocked in by several small cars. With Harding leading the way, the boys carefully lifted cars to the side so that the bus could be moved. They also helped take down and replace a temporary fence.
"The kids thought it was terrific, but I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Harding recalled.
To calm Harding down, the students did a quick "whip around," an Australian tradition when a hat is passed around the room for donations, Gregory said.
"They wanted Stewie to be able to buy himself a nice calming beer after his shift," Gregory said. "For medicinal purposes, of course."
During their two-week stay, the students will take turns hosting the visitors, signing them out for evening and daytime "shifts," said Las Vegas teacher Diana Ball, who has been a People to People group leader for five years.
"It's amazing how much these trips impact the students, even after they come home," Ball said. "Having Jacqui and Stewie come here was all the kids' idea, they just needed some help making it happen."
People to People, based in Spokane, Wash., was created in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower and became a private organization five years later. In order to participate, students must have recommendations from teachers or school counselors, complete an application process and interview and come up with the $4,500 fee.
The students spend time before the trip learning about the country they will visit from local teachers, who then accompany them on the tour.
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