Day 1 - Touchdown at Hobart

      Greetings to all parents from Tasmania! We have had an eventful first two days. Many of us would have much we’d love to share with all of you so this first entry will be a long one. I’ll break em into small parts though for easy reading. Our trip to Melbourne was pretty sleepless, yet uneventful. I think the most exciting thing that happened was when we were cruising past the North Western tip of Australia at about 2.30 a.m when we glimpsed a raging wildfire a distance away from the plane. We weren’t on the right side of the plane to catch the sunrise but for most of us, the breaking of dawn was a pretty magical moment, especially in skies as clear as those we had. We arrived at Melbourne at 06:00, GMT + 11:00. In Singapore, that’d have been 3 a.m in the wee hours of morning.

      The transit flight to Hobart was expected at 11 a.m so that gave us about 2.5 hours of free time to roam the airport. We decided to head down to Subway for some breakfast; for the teachers, a cuppa. First ever contact with Australian food and… it was great. The first bite into the sandwich, you could distinct the freshness of the greens from those we have back in Singapore. It was the best Subway meal I ever had, the first time I relished at the taste of fresh veggies. The taste of produce cultivated on your own soil tastes so much better than the imported ones we get everyday back home. We were really expectant, to say the least, for a proper meal, Aussie style, when we reached Hobart.

     Touchdown at Hobart was another refreshing experience. The airport was only 1 storey high throughout. In fact, the Tasmanians cut down a lot on architectural eyesores, building most of their buildings not more than 5 stories high. On the bus ride through Hobart, we could see clear skies above us unobstructed by architecture. Another quirk of Hobart was its meandering streets that sloped up and down throughout the city. I would say, any ride in Hobart would beat Singapore’s in terms of excitement :)
       From the airport, we went pass the Tasman Bridge, the Governor’s residence, Parliament Building, Salamanca market, wharfs and a dozen historically significant landmarks throughout the city. Our host, Mr John Devine, was very knowledgeable on the city’s layout and gave us a thorough tour guide as our bus drove on towards Hutchins. I personally felt the warmth of the city radiating through small details I observed around the city. For example, you would see elderly couples sitting on benches enjoying leisurely time, surrounded by rows upon rows of flora. There’d be groups of friends enjoying a meal outside Parliament House on the soft grass. You’d see families together having a stroll along the streets, all this at 2.00pm on a Monday. Surprising isn’t it?

      Arriving at Hutchins, we were surprised to see how much the campus blended into the rest of the city. In fact, most of us didn’t even notice the various school buildings all around until the tour around the campus. Hutchins is really special; it holds classes for kids from 4 at the Early Education Centre all the way to teens of 18 at Senior School. The campus had a nice warm atmosphere to it, bright colors everywhere and friendly staff manning their work places. All of us were pleasantly surprised.

        The warmth of the campus didn’t just stop at the architecture. When the master of the Boarding House, Mr Hanek, showed us our rooms, we really had“宾至如归”(homely)的感觉. Everyone settled in comfortably though our stomachs were groaning for food. Dinner was never a more welcome sight. We had curries, cold pasta, potatoes and salads, garnished with greens and various spices. It was a burst of flavor and colour, a real treat for all of us who rarely get to enjoy a proper Western meal. By the time it came to desserts with grapes, oranges and watermelon, most of us were already stuffed. After a brief rest, the Hutchins students gave us a really warm welcome by inviting us to join them for a game of touch rugby at the South Oval. For most of us, this was a first but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves nevertheless.

    Our first day was fantastic. It was love at first sight, us and Hobart. We lay on our soft quilted beds that night with much anticipation for the days ahead of us.

-Bin Hui
28/11/2012