But for five local students, it was just one more thing they did on their summer vacations. They spent 22 days Down Under, exploring New Zealand and Australia as part of the People to People Student Ambassador Program. (And yes, the hobbit was just another New Zealander dressed in costume.)

Created by President Eisenhower, People to People gives delegations of approximately 30 to 40 students the opportunity to travel through and learn about a foreign country. Students are chosen for the program through teacher recommendations and interviews.

In the delegation of students from the South Bay were five students from Sunnyvale and Cupertino—Kimberley Hoffman, Nate Perkins, Michael Claus, Kendall Lewis and Cameron Lee.

Like the rest of his delegation, Cameron stayed with an Australian family, helped with community-service programs and embarked on adventures like sandboarding on Moreton Island and touring the Sydney Opera House.

Cameron found that Australian expectations for American students might have leaned toward the McDonald's variety. "There were too many French fries," he says. "I guess they think that's what American kids eat."

Cameron, 13, will soon enter the ninth grade at Monta Vista High School. He won the Respect Award and Outstanding English Award from Cupertino Middle School, where he also belonged to the Red Cross Club. Cameron attends Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, where he has been part of its Junior Bag Brigade and CLUE, the high school youth group. His parents are Russell and Gail Lee. This was his third trip with People to People.

Kimberley Hoffman will also be entering the ninth grade at Monta Vista High School. She lives in Saratoga with her parents, Dan and Jeannette Hoffman. While at Kennedy Middle School, she won the eighth-grade drama award. Kimberley is 14 and plays the piano and Irish harp and enjoys oil painting.

People to People is just one of the activities that 13-year-old Nate Perkins participates in. While at Kennedy Middle School, he captained one of the boys' volleyball teams that won the league championship during the most recent school year. He also works as an umpire for the Cupertino National Little League, covering minor-, major- and junior-level play. Nate will be in the ninth grade at Monta Vista in the fall. His parents are Mark and Sue Perkins.

Michael Claus just graduated from Peterson Middle School and will attend Wilcox High School in the fall. His parents are Mike and Patty Claus. He was student body president when he was in the fifth grade at Laurelwood Elementary School, where he was also a conflict manager and member of the school safety patrol. Michael went to England and France on a People to People trip in July 2002.

Fourteen-year-old Kendall Lewis will also soon be starting as a ninth grader at Monta Vista High School. She's a member of a competitive dance team and enjoys art, hiking and reading. Her parents are Larry and Virginia Lewis.

The experience pushed the students outside of their comfort zones since they stayed with families with different rules. "You feel a bit uneasy, and you get nervous about what you're supposed to do," Cameron says.

But the cultural exchange did seem to pay off for everyone in the end, especially Cameron, who found himself afflicted with an earache during the trip. "They did this New Zealand magic thing," he says. "It fixed my ear right away."