Rites of Passage

On October 11 Year 9 embarked on Rites of Passage, a 9-day trip venturing across Sydney. The 1-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Glebe began this journey. Once we arrived at The Village Hostel Glebe, we split into our groups for the scavenger hunt which would set the mood for this terrific adventure. The scavenger hunt took us all over Sydney, from busy and popular places like Luna Park to moments of tranquillity in the Chinese Gardens of Friendship. We discovered these places taking in the busy city life as we explored different modes of public transport, such as light rail, trains, ferries and buses. The final place we had to reach on the scavenger hunt was the restaurant we were eating at in China Town where we reencountered the other groups and talked about the day’s events over dinner. After dinner we made our way to Junkyard Beats where we listened to music being played on rubbish bins and with plastic bags and got to try playing music on different recycled instruments. After the day’s busy events we were ready to go back to the Hostel. We received our rooms and prepared ourselves for the adventures that tomorrow would bring.

Our second day began with journaling about yesterday’s experience over Nutella toast before we set off on a walk from Coogee to Bondi. Though the weather wasn’t perfect, we made the most of this experience enjoying the view of the coastline that you can’t get in Bowral. After a long walk we were rewarded with free time, which involved double scoops at Ben & Jerry’s. We took a long ferry ride to Parramatta where we had dinner at Bondi Pizza and watched an incredible performance of Shrek the Musical. This day ended past midnight with some very tired students, so everyone was glad to be back at the hostel.

The next day brought its fair share of excitement with a trip to the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens where we spent an hour. Our next activity was watching a Sydney Kings game which excited the entire year group. After watching the Sydney Kings beat the Cairns Taipans 99 – 76, we walked to Wentworth Common to enjoy a dinner in a park. After the late arrival back at the youth hostel the night before we were all ready to go to sleep.

Day 4 was our first day at a workshop. The workshop I attended was the Mathew Talbot Hostel which is a men’s hostel for homeless men. We spent the first part of the workshop with a tour and the one of the managers talked to us about what they do there. We then went to fold and sort sheets, blankets and pillowcases to donate to the homeless people. After this eye-opening experience, we met with the rest of the year group and went to the Jewish Museum where we met a survivor of the Holocaust, and she talked to us about her experience which captivated Year 9. We were then shown around the museum by knowledgeful volunteers and were told more stories. After this enlightening day we headed to Macquarie Centre to have a student’s choice dinner and returned to the hostel to get ready for the next day.

Day 5’s workshop for me was Our Big Kitchen. In this we did things like shape cookie dough, decorate them and package them as well as make bread and peel potatoes. After this the year group split into two groups, one went to UNSW sport centre and the other went to the Museum of Human Disease. My experience at UNSW Sports Centre was really fun with lots of different activities for us to do. The day finished with bowling and arcade games at Strike EQ.

On Wednesday, I attended the languages workshop where we ate at a French café, browsed in a Japanese bookshop and took photos in a Korean photo booth. The group split again for the second activity with half going to Heffron Park and the other half going to the Museum of Human Disease. In the Museum of Human Disease, we saw a presentation about medicines and diseases and then got to look around the museum. We finished this busy day with dinner at City Extra and a walk across the Harbour Bridge to the ice-cream shop on the other side.

On Thursday, we visited Cockatoo Island for a tour of its history and a tour of the Sydney Cricket Ground. We also went to the Sydney Swans HQ and saw where they trained and kicked a ball around on their field in the middle of the HQ. For the dinner that day we went to Spice Alley and were exposed to all kinds of different cultures through their food. We finished the night with a trip to the cinemas to watch Twisters. We returned to the Youth Hostel to prepare for our last full day tomorrow.

On our last full day included our final workshop. I went to the Burwood Local Court where we witnessed many court cases in action. The year group then split again to go to different universities. At UTS we learned about starting a business and heard from different entrepreneurs. We got a tour of all the UTS startup buildings in their various locations. Our final activity would be the Sydney Harbour cruise where we saw incredible views of the harbour and danced inside. Even though it rained, we still had a great time.

Overall, the Rites of Passage experience was excellent. We were exposed to all kinds of experiences like independently navigating public transport, different cultures, and helping homeless people. Rites of Passage was an enlightening adventure and something that has taught Year 9 invaluable life lessons and something that we will never forget.

Emilie S & Annalise W, Year 9