Today’s blog will not be so lengthy, given we have spent much of the day travelling and organising ourselves for the snow tomorrow. However we did visit Parliament House and enjoyed an interactive tour. We started our day with checking out of our accommodation and loading bags onto the coach – we are starting to get the hang of this now. We ate breakfast and then hopped onto the bus in anticipation for our final tour in Canberra.

At Parliament House we engaged in an hour-long tour of the House, including visiting both chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate – and viewing the portraits of past Prime Ministers and significant politicians. We were amazed particularly by the enormous tapestry in a large hall – which our tour guide told us is hired out for special events for both the government and everyday Australians – everything from conferences to weddings.

Throughout our tour, the guide engaged us in discussion about the layout of the two chambers, the passage of a Bill, what happens in ‘Question Time’, everything down to why the ‘Exit’ signs in the Senate are red and not green. Once we completed the formal tour of the House, we were taken by another guide from the Parliamentary Education Office to take part in a role-play of passing a Bill, and in particular debating a water recycling Bill, as if we were the Government, Opposition and Independents in the House of Representatives. The room’s layout was modelled off of the House of Representatives and was fitted with a Mace, which Ethan carried as Serjeant-of-Arms. We followed all the formal proceedings that would take place in a real Parliament, and we were designated particular roles to play. Madeleine was Prime Minister (leader of the Government) and Aris was the Opposition Leader. Joshua was the perfect fit for the role of Speaker, and made sure to remind the politicians to address him properly and follow proceedings in an orderly fashion. It was highly entertaining, and debates sprung up from all over the House with politicians on all sides making their points firm and clear. After voting, it was obvious the Independent MPs were divided on the Bill, and the majority government allowed the Bill to be read a second and third time, voted on and eventually passed to the imaginary Senate. We then discussed with our guide how the passing of Bills into laws can be effected by who has the most seats in each House to begin with.

After a lunch break, we began our journey to Jindabyne to pick up our ski clothing and equipment. For much of this drive we caught up on sleep, listened to music and shared snacks. Picking up our ski gear was quite the operation – with Mr Osborne, Mr Barnes and Miss K working like a well-oiled machine to sticker students’ names onto all 7 pieces of ski equipment (see the pics below). Mrs Taylor, Miss Glacken and Miss Erasmus took up the job to assist students getting their ski jackets and pants fitted, before we packed the coach with our ski stuff and took off towards our accommodation.

At last we arrived at the Adventist Alpine Village to check-in and get settled in our rooms. Soon after, we went to dinner which was a three-course meal consisting of soup, perfectly seasoned roast chicken with roast vegetables and gravy, and a layered banana cake. We highly rate the food here, and some might say it was the best meal we’ve had so far.

The last event of the day was Mr Barnes’ Quiz Night. We organised ourselves into 8 groups, mixing campuses and getting to know each other more. The quiz consisted of 5 rounds, all relating to what we have learned on our Tour so far but also some funny ones thrown in there about our unique experiences. One round was a portrait competition, where students did a portrait of Mr Barnes, putting the skills they practiced at the National Portrait Gallery to good use. The students were unprepared for the turn of events in Round 3, as the teachers committed fully to a musical round in which they sang song lyrics to us (deliberately) out of their original tune, with us guessing the artist and name of each song. In the end, it was Group 3 (aptly named “8th Place”) who rounded out the bottom of the leaderboard. The winners were Group 7!

Overall it was a slow-paced day ahead of the massive day out in the snow tomorrow. The locals (and the weather forecast) have predicted the snow to be spectacular tomorrow, so we are very much looking forward to hitting the slopes and making snow angels!

Today’s blog is brought to you by Miss K”s group: Harry, Sam, Vayda, Sophie, Elijah, Owen, Ryan (Gemmell), Yujin and Maahi.