Easter Tour Reports
Easter China Tour 2014
By Kerry Miller (Year 9, Ross)
The Confucius Institute WA Schools China Tour was a good experience that I would recommend to anyone. It was a 10-day visit that consisted of students from all over the Perth area and from several different schools, public and private. It was a good learning experience and an excellent way to learn how another country operates and copes with modern day life.
We spent most of our time around Hangzhou where we were based at Zhejiang University international campus, the 'third best' university in China. Most days consisted of breakfast at 7:45, which was just like our lunch and dinner, then a three-hour language course, generally followed by lunch and an afternoon excursion before dinner, although sometimes we went on all-day tours. Our meals consisted of local Chinese cuisine but with nothing too spicy or obscure; each time there was a different dish or two.
The main highlights of the tour were the Song Dynasty town on the outskirts of Hangzhou where we watched a renowned drama performance. Whuzen town was a little shopping district where we bought and bargained from little stalls that sold their own products. Last but not least was Shanghai, which was about a three-hour drive northeast from our campus. In Shanghai we went to a cultural museum that showcased jade carvings, traditional stamps and various ancient Chinese artefacts. We also went shopping again on Nanjing Road, which is a popular and crowded shopping road in Shanghai.
Some of the main things we learnt over there, other than the language, were: To always bargain from stalls; don't underestimate how pushy some of the old people can be; and be prepared to have lots of fun, do a lot of shopping, make new friends and have a few late nights.
Congratulations to Kerry Miller (Year 9, Ross), Bryce Holland (Year10, Keys) and Clive Wang (Year 10, Ross) for volunteering for this bold new experience offered for the first time in 2014.
Mr J Rugg, Curriculum Leader Modern Languages
South Africa Hockey Tour 2014
Over the Easter break 18 senior boys and 18 girls from PLC went on the 6th hockey tour to South Africa. The tour was led by Mr Peter Freitag with coaches Jack Martin and Elliot Raiter, both OSCs, Mrs Marilynn Freitag and Mr Andrew Tibbitt. PLC were represented by Ms Kobie McGurk, a two times Olympian, and Mr Matt Donaldson. We "shared" our medical expert, Dr Geoff Reynolds, who had a daughter on the tour and a Year 9 Scotch son.
The tour was a great success, from all aspects. It is first and foremost a hockey tour and we played 10 games in 13 days, winning 5, drawing 1 and losing 4. All the games were close and gave us great preparation for the PSA season. We saw some great sights too, including Cape Town and Table Mountain, the Cape Of Good Hope, Pilanesberg Game Park, Robben Island, Langa Township, the Apartheid Museum and more. And socially it was terrific with so many good friendships being made and boys and girls working and playing together in a safe and positive way.
We all came back exhausted but I am already thinking…. "Can I do another tour in 2016?" The answer - "I hope so"! I encourage Scotch hockey boys in Year 9 and 10 to start saving their pennies for the ride of a lifetime.
Mr P Freitag
