Dispatch from Australia

October 1, 2026

Reflections from a Cate junior at the beginning of a Round Square trip to Australia.

By Kunqi Wang ’28

Jet lag started our day early at 6:30 a.m., when Ryan’s and my host family, the Chapmans, woke up and collected five fresh eggs from the coop to serve over sourdough toast. We then had hand-ground espresso with another piece of buttered Vegemite toast while petting the lizards.

Heading over to Barker College for the day, we had another morning tea with the rest of the delegates from around the world. We traded pins with everyone, getting hand-crotchet pins from Peru, hand-assembled bands from Kenya, and even a dumpling basket that opened into smaller dumplings from a Chinese delegation.

We then proceeded to the opening ceremony, where we saw an aboriginal performance followed by songs from the Barker choir. The schools were introduced one by one — when they got to Cate, we cheered so loudly we made the row in front of us jump. We then heard from a retired veteran and former Australian Citizen of the Year, where he recounted his wartime experiences.

Before lunch, we played bingo as an icebreaker. We had pasta for lunch, and Ryan, Evan, Olivia, and I met some Barker students who turned out to be on the school’s boys volleyball team. After asserting Cate volleyball dominance over those unsuspecting boys, it was time for the two afternoon keynote speakers — a former Cricket world champion and the Australian Youth Advocate at the UN. The panel ended late afternoon, and we were ushered for afternoon tea (yes, very fancy).

We were separated into our Baraza groups afterward (of around 12 students) and tasked with creating a headpiece/tiara that represented Australian culture to be evaluated in a fashion show. My Baraza, Macadamia, made the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a platypus. After the fashion show, we had some downtime before pickup, so I suggested our baraza group play Imposter (spreading Cate sem culture). After two rounds—the words were “pillow” and “root beer,” the latter of which the non-North American delegations had never heard of—I was picked up by the Chapmans again with Ryan and returned home.

At home, we made homemade pizzas. Phil, the dad, had prepared the ingredients and kneaded the dough beforehand. We then played a children’s version of Imposter called Chameleon with the entire family and their two little ones. As the kids got bored and transitioned to Minecraft in the room next door, Ryan, Phil, Izzy (the mom), and I chatted about life in Australia and the U.S. We talked about differences in government, voting, policymaking, etc. It was very interesting to learn about Australia’s minority-party advantage system.

After toasting marshmallows in their backyard pizza oven, which was still hot, we had a cup of peppermint tea. Leo, their youngest son, insisted that I rematch him in Roblox Rivals, where he beat me three games to one.

All in all, the day was extremely eventful, and I shared many moments with people from around the world. The slow tempo of the homestay truly grounded me in the present, and I was able to appreciate so much more.