After school on October 26, I was really nervous because I was about to go rowing. The team needed a cox (the person who steers the boat, gives commands, and is usually small in stature), so I volunteered to do it. I decided to try it because rowing is THE sport to do, with training six times a week and so challenging that kids drop out every year. I thought it would be a great experience, plus I’d be navigating a boat through the famous Yarra River in the heart of Melbourne. I was also nervous because maybe I’d crash the boat!
At the Yarra Yarra Rowing Club, everyone got dressed in their skin-tight outfits, with their Carey School caps and flip-flops. They also put on sunscreen under their clothes even though it was cold and cloudy. I wore my gym clothes, flip-flops, my Montreal Expos hat, and borrowed my friend Quinn’s Carey spray-jacket.
We walked downstairs into this huge room with the boats. They were like kayaks, but thinner. The 12 grade 9 rowers got together, and Nathan, the adult coach, split them up into two boats, one with four rowers, and one with eight. I was in the boat with eight rowers. Nathan talked to us about motivation and what we want to work on. The boys then went in the boat room, lifted up the boat, and placed it in the Yarra River.
The river was cold and very polluted – the water was brown. The water was up to my ankles before I could get in. I didn’t have a lot of space, sitting in my mini-chair with my feet facing toward Ben, who was providing the commands to say. I had my headset on, which was plugged into the boat, and there are speakers next to each person. Each rower had one oar, the first on the right, the next left, and so on. I wasn’t as nervous, other than the fact that eight huge guys were facing me and I was the only one who could see where we’re going. I loved talking to the guys, and every now and then I said something to keep the boys motivated, such as, “Let’s go boys!”
I was pretty good at steering the boat, with the two strings, one on each side of me. Coach Nathan was following in a motorboat and telling the boys, through a loudspeaker, what type of row to do. There was one time when I accidentally brought us close to a wall under the bridge because a boat was coming on the other side, but we didn’t crash.
As we got further into the training, they starting rowing – all eight at the same time – as if it was a race. Passing by all these skyscrapers, restaurants, and people watching and pointing at us as we went by, I realized how amazing this was. I was an exchange student from Canada navigating eight rowers on the Yarra River through Melbourne!
All the kids at Carey said they hate rowing because it’s so hard, but I had so much fun. At some point, we turned around, which wasn’t difficult. That’s when we started passing the girls and the older boys. Also, when we were on the river, we saw three different helicopters. One landed right next to us and the powerful wind generated from its blades caused water to lift and spray on us!
On the way back, I steered us perfectly so that we could put our feet on the ground when getting out. They then lifted up the boat out of the water and cleaned it inside and out, before placing it in its spot in the boat house. We all went outside to get our post-practice talk from Nathan and then got changed.
Now, it’s 10:08 pm and here I am in bed about to fall asleep. I have to say that today was an exciting day! Good night! – Max Miller ‘20, Exchange Student at Carey Baptist Grammar School
If there’s one thing we, as high school students, hear more than anything else, it’s the questions: So, where do you see yourself in a couple years? Or, What do you want to study when you graduate?
On the first morning of the Round Square Conference, we headed to the Cape Town International Convention Centre to take part in the Opening Ceremonies. Our delegation, along with many others from around the world, was very excited for the inauguration of the conference.
Once we returned to our camp, we left for the next one. On the drive, we saw a cheetah and a baby cheetah lying together, which was very cute. When we arrived, we saw baboons and a warthog walking by, completely unfazed that we were there. In the afternoon, we went on a game drive. We were so excited because we finally found elephants! After spotting many more animals, we went to the hyena den and found a couple of them lying outside. After watching them for a while, we went back to our camp, had dinner and went to sleep.
After a flight to Frankfurt where we had a 12-hour layover, another long flight to Johannesburg and a seven-hour bus ride, we, and seven other students arrived in Botswana on September 25th to commence our adventurous journey in the Savannah. During the jeep ride to our destination called Tuli Wilderness, we were in shock when we saw zebras on the side of the road. That made us realize that we were truly in Africa! When we arrived at our camp, we were all exhausted after our 48 hours of travel, but our night was not over. We had a quick dinner and bonded at the campfire with the two other schools that we would be spending the next few days with. We then went to bed in our cabins, listening to all kinds of different animals outside, while once again amazed by where we were in the world!
