Today we had to fight for our lives! For some of us it was our last ever day, but for others we lived for another fight. We went gladiator fighting!

It felt like we were in ancient Roman times, because we learnt so much about the armour, weapons, and even some tricks. It took about 45 minutes to get there, and then a guy told us about the different gladiator classes, then we tried on some armour which we will talk about later. Then we had some training, and then we had the fight, and for the fight we needed a emperor(, which changed every so often).

-Benji

My first day of gladiator camp, i didn’t want to go but I had to. The romans decimated my home town, killed all my family. They demanded that I become a slave or become a gladiator. I chose not, wanting work for someone.

They took me to some sort of camp. They put a really heavy helmet on me, a even heavier sword, and huge shield. They started explaining how the gladiator system works. They talked about the “angel of death” that would come in after a fight, they would hold a huge 1 metre hammer and a white hot poker. They would stick the poker in the body, if they scream it means there alive and they can still fight, if they don’t scream they bring the hammer down and crush the skull.

Next our leader told us to “ GO OUTSIDE AND TRAIN.”

-James

The training at the gladiator grounds was exhausting. There was a rope which we had to jump over. A rope which we had to duck under. Some bags which we had to dodge and a mat which we had to do a somersault on. The jumping rope had everyone tired. The ducking ropes had everyone exhausted and the dodging bags had everyone collapsed. The hardest part was that we had to do the course again once we the finished the course. We also had to be learnt how to block and attack. There was 1,2,3,4 and 5️⃣. They all represented different sword moves.

-Kevin

We then started the fight! Two people versed each other at a time, we each had a shield and a baton covered in tape so we don’t hurt each other. A teacher was elected to be emperor, they could chose to let the person live if they were a good fighter, or if they thought that they were a bad fighter they could execute them. The people say “mite” (mi-teh) or ugola (yu-goh-lah). Mite meant “mercy”, and ugola meant “execute them”. The fight was great, there was cheering, and strategy, although some people were just defending and not attacking, and others were just attacking and not defending.

-Lucas, Kevin, Benji and James

Overall it was a great experience and sometime in the future we would love to go back😀👍😀👍😀

Today we went Ostia Antica on a bus. We sat next to our friends, and we sang songs like Break Free,Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Wheels On The Bus.

The bus ride was about half an hour but it felt longer.

When we got to Ostia Antica, we were told that this was the original port town of Ancient Rome. Only part of the city has been excavated. Walking in we saw where its citizens had been buried. It is called death city. The first thing we saw was ancient houses that were half wrecked. Then we went up old stairs and when we got to the top we could see old seahorses on the floor (it was a mosaic). It showed stuff from a long time ago. Then we went to see the old theatre from a long time ago where people would perform an act while water was coming down on to the stage to make it more interesting (it doesn’t do that anymore so there’s nothing to worry about. Just old stuff). Then we saw the old market. It showed paintings on the floor, like on the first market we saw elephants (a mosaic on the floor).

It was there because if someone wanted to buy an elephant they would have to go to the market and ask for one then go back home and wait till it was ready. You might be wondering: how they send a elephant? The answer is: they put the elephant on a boat and bring it to the person who would ask for it. Then we went to the wine bar (from a long time ago) and Mario told as a story where adults could only drink wine and kids could only drink milk and they could also drink wine a bit earlier then they were supposed to.

Then the last thing we saw was the toilets that are half wrecked, dirty and old (it was just to watch not to use!!!). When we were in the toilets(fake ones)we found a lizard. Everyone got so excited that they called it Barry. 😆😆 we just saw the lizard for 2 seconds so everybody was upset😓 and embarrassed 😳. Then we had lunch I had potatoes, vegetables and pasta. Then we started heading home with the same bus and same people singing the same song.

Then at the hotel some people went shopping and some stayed here for three reasons:they didn’t have any money left, they didn’t feel like it or they already had too much stuff.

I went shopping with them. This is the funny thing: I went shopping with 50 euros and came back with 1 euro 💶 (euros means dollars in Italian). What I meant is I spent all my money in 10 minutes. Then we went back to the hotel and we had some time to hang out for 1 hour and a half in till was time for dinner. We had pizza. Lucas didn’t because he was gluten free. It means you can’t have gluten. And then my roommates and I watched a movie. My friends fell asleep 😴. I didn’t but I didn’t want to disturb them so I turned off the tv and went to sleep as well.

Sorry I forgot to tell you what I bought: a jumper of Rome, a scarf of Rome and a mask I got other stuff as well but I forgot. And I don’t want you to get bored.

BEST DAY EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

😃😃😃😆😆😆😁😆😄😁 😃😁😃 😁😃😁😃😄😁😃😁😄

Day 3 (Rome) – by Maia, Mia, Charlie & Florence

Today was our first full day in Rome, Italy, and it was jam-packed with fun and adventurous activities. It all started with waking up to a fresh morning and having a delicious buffet breakfast. They served a variety of food and drinks – from cornetti to pie and from tea to juice.

After breakfast, we got our day bags and dived into our exciting new adventure!

The first sight we saw was the Santa Maria Church (St Mary Church). It is dedicated to Jesus’s mother, Mary, and all mothers. The ceiling was made mostly of 18 karat gold. Much of the marble was actually taken from the Colosseum! The main attraction is the relic – the wood of what was supposedly Jesus’s crib.

After that first church, we travelled down to St Peter’s Church where St Peter was supposedly chained. Even though it was smaller than St Mary’s Church is was still humongous.

We went to a nearby shop and bought refreshing cold drinks and ice creams as a remedy for the hot sun. We also bought focaccias for later in the day. The options were ham and cheese, tomato and cheese and prosciutto. Afterwards, we walked to the Colosseum. The crowds were massive and we had to wait for ages in the sun. The security was very quick and they hardly glanced into our bags before we were allowed in.

After all of that we climbed the many crumbling stone stairs to see the inside of the Colosseum. It was amazing and very impressive that is had stayed standing and was so big even after more that 2000 years!

We were told an amazing historical story by our guide, Mario. Then we walked around the Colosseum, taking in all the information. We bought presents and postcards for our friends and family at the gift shop. As we walked away from the Colosseum (Colosseo), we thought of all the memories that would stay with us forever. It was super fun and exciting.

Once we had walked out, our tour guide took us to the Forum which is a group of old temples that are in ruins, but some have survived. There were also a lot of tombs and plants. We had lots of fun and made loads of memories.

There was an interesting story that we heard: There was a man who became emperor who loved his wife very much. When she passed he fell into a deep depression. To preserve his undying love for her he built a temple in her honour. When he died, his people engraved his name in his wife’s temple so they may be united for all of eternity.

For dinner we met up with a friend from BSPS in Australia, Paris! At the restaurant we had a very enjoyable three course meal. The first course was a pasta with a tomato sauce. The second course was some diced then cooked potatoes with a big meat ball. Then the lovely tiramisu which was a nice combination of custard and cream to ground espresso beans. After a long, hard day we all relaxed in our hotel room and finally went to bed and got a good night’s rest.

Day 2.

This is the start of our blog review, our first day in Italy. We head over to Dubai, the fountain of Trevi and we settle into our hotel where we get a well deserved rest.

-James

We landed in Dubai. Everyone was wide awake as if they had a bath of coffee. Some people got straight to shopping, but they had to convert their money to Dubai money.

I was getting quite hungry so I asked Ivana if I could go to the shops to buy some snacks with my Mum, we got to tons of shops but never bought anything, except for a meal at the world giraffe. My mum had ramen soup and I had bacon pancakes and garlic bread. It was delicious. I came back with a full stomach of bacon. When we finally got on the plane I instantly got Lucas to swap with my Mum. Lucas and me spent most of our time synchronising our tv screens, but we never did. Once we landed, we got our luggages and we met up with James. He was exhausted from the flight he had. Mario, our tour advisor, lead us to our hotel. Mario also had an adventure up his sleeve. The Trevi fountain.

-Kevin

When we were walking to the Trevi fountain we thought “Hey how cool can a fountain be?” When we got there we were in for a surprise. It was breathtaking, it was almost stupidly beautiful. I wish we never had to leave, but alas reality hit. Later we had delicious dinner. We had a three course meal. Penne with a tomato and bacon sauce, chicken and potatoes, and a chocolate mouse (mousse?) for dessert. Nancy, Florence, and Benji had a different sauce because they are vegetarian, and I got a different pasta because I am celiac.

-Lucas

There we have it folks. We have been on a very long plane, with the beautiful Emirates Air lines, visited the breath taking Trevi Fountains. And finally had a delicious 3 course meal for dinner. Then a well deserved great night sleep.

-James

Kindly provided by room 474.

Apologies for the slow start, but it has been a hectic few days settling into Rome! Over the course of our trip, the students will be writing posts summarising our travels so far. We will start with the first leg of our journey, the plane ride:

We all boarded at 6:00pm, there were a lot of tears beforehand but we all made it through.

Then we went through security it was a long wait but we were all fine. Next we went to the passport check which took a photo of our face to match the photo on the passport.

We were flying with emirates which was exciting, though there were some downsides like 1. They had HORRIBLE food they didn’t even have a vegetarian meal for kids. And 2. Our group was scattered around the plane which was annoying.

We were going to Singapore which was 8 hours, and that was only the 1st flight out of 3 flights. The next flight was to Dubai which was also 8 hours, The last flight was to Rome it was only a 5 hour flight which was a relief.

One of the things that we remember was when some girls walked to the back of the plane to visit their friends but when they tried to walk back both two aisles were blocked by the food trolleys so they had to wait at the back of the plane for a long time so they could walk back to the front of the plane were they were sitting.

Some parts that other students enjoyed the most were a photo shoot and the movies. What happened with the photo shoot you ask well… about 5 kids went to the back of the plane and started to take photos, then after a little while one of the passengers got sick of it and sent them back. Not that interesting but it was fun to take photos. The next highlight was the movies, there were ssooo many movies. Each month they have different movies which is really handy because when we go back it will be October so we get different movies. There were also games that you could play against people sitting next to you. Oh, and we can’t forget the music, it was nice to just listen to music and have rest. Another highlight I forgot to mention at the start was one of the staff on the 1st flight, his name was Raphael, one of the reasons was one of the kids liked Ariana Grande, like Raphael, they must be Arianaters, another couple of reasons was he took photos of all the kids sitting with their friends on the plane and helped one of the students who had a sore knee.

Overall it was a great experience and for some of us it was our first international trip overseas. It was exciting for everyone even though there were a couple of cons.

BSPS aeroplane experiences by Frankie, Benji & Sweeney! 😋🇮🇹✈️

Trevor

Introduce yourself:

I’m Trevor Strolla and I’m the Acting Principal at Brunswick South Primary School. I’m eagerly awaiting our first overseas trip and what will be a huge milestone for us as a Bilingual school.

How lucky are our kids to have the chance to put all their hard work into practice!

Have you ever been overseas before? If so, where?

I’ve travelled overseas many times and travelling is definitely a passion of mine. The last time I was in Italy was way back in 2004 and it was my first trip ever overseas. Since then I’ve travelled to Switzerland, France, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Germany. I’m looking forward to a trip to the Greek Islands after this trip is done.
What are your plans for the long plane ride?

Long plane rides can be tedious, but they are a great chance to catch up on some movies and TV shows. I love a good romantic comedy on a plane trip and some mindless sitcoms help to pass the time. I’ve also got a few books lined up on the iPad to help fill in the transit time.
Three things you are most looking forward to about our trip:
I’m looking forward to lots of things about our trip, but specifically the chance to experience it with our students and staff. It’s a privilege to be able to take a trip like this with our kids. I’m also looking forward to seeing the landmarks and sights now that I’m a bit older and a bit more well-travelled.

One thing you are a bit nervous about?
I’m not nervous about anything – I’ve travelled overseas with primary school children before so I know what to expect.
How many slices of pizza/tubs of gelato will you eat on the trip?

I’m sure we are going to eat enough pizza, pasta and gelato to last a lifetime, but believe it or not I’m not a big gelato fan.
Any last comments?

Thanks for following our blog, we are looking forward to making this trip a bi annual tradition at BSPS!

Aydan

Introduce yourself:

I’m Aydan, I’m one of the four 5/6 teachers. I like eating, reading and being active, hopefully i’ll get in all three of those on our trip!

Have you ever been overseas before? If so, where?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived and travelled overseas many times in my life so far, most often to go skiing! I have backpacked around Europe before for several months but never made it down to  Italy.

What are your plans for the long plane ride?

Music, reading, some movies and trying to score an extra meal off the attendants.

Three things you are most looking forward to about our trip:

1.Getting to experience the history of Italy, especially getting to share it with the students

2. The food!

3. Seeing how much the kids will grow over the journey

One thing you are a bit nervous about?

I’m nervous that Collingwood will beat Richmond and I won’t be in Melbourne to enjoy it.

How many slices of pizza/tubs of gelato will you eat on the trip?

You’d need Albert Einstein to be able to handle figures of that magnitude and place them into a comprehensible equation, unfortunately he’s been dead for 60 years so we’ll just have to go with ‘a lot’.

Any last comments?

It’s an honour to be trusted to share this experience with this group, can’t wait to get into it!