Reaching Beyond Borders

Head of School Mr Matthew O’Brien and I had the recent pleasure of attending a Round Square conference hosted by the Daly College in Indore, India.

We also took the opportunity to visit two other Round Square schools, the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai and The Sagar School in Delhi. We experienced the most amazing hospitality from all school from both staff and students alike.

Pre-COVID-19, we have had many successful exchanges with Daly College, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and Vivek High School in Chandigarh and we are excited to once again establish our strong exchange program and relationship with these schools and provide our students the chance to experience the amazing culture and sites of India.

The below is an extract of a report from Jessica, who participated in an international exchange to Vivek High School in 2017 with the hope this encourages students to take up the amazing opportunities to experience India while attending Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School;

“The culture in India is so different to that at home. The clothing is more modest, but just as beautiful and more colourful than anything you could find in Australia. The festivals and weddings are so extravagant to a point that it could almost be considered insanity and the temples and religious architecture is without a doubt the most beautiful in the world. Now that I’m back at home, I miss so many things that I took for granted while in India. I miss the traffic and the hustle. I find it hard to sleep at night without the incessant honking of car horns in the distance. I miss the smell of frying aloo tikki from a nearby street vendor and my sticky fingers after pigging out on Jalebi. I miss the insane colours and patterns that make up Indian wear. I miss the upbeat Punjabi music. Most of all I will miss the friends that I have made, which I never did get to thank enough for making my experience an amazing one.

But sadly, like any great love story, my time in India had to come to an end. I came to India naïve, shy, terrified and longing for home. Two months later I boarded the plane self-confident, independent and not wanting to go back”.

Excerpt from 2017 Winter Grammarian In love with India, by Jessica Clarke

Ms Cathy Elliot :: Round Square Co-ordinator