Port Adelaide's Aboriginal AFL Academy is in China for a unique 10-day trip, which will involve cultural exchanges, a game against Team China and a trip to the Great Wall of China.

Academy graduate Anthony Stengle will give a daily update on his experiences.

Day 1
Well what an amazing experience our cultural exchange trip to China has been so far.

It started bright and early Monday morning when me along with 14 other Academy players were joined by representatives from SAASTA and Port Adelaide Football Club at Adelaide Airport.

We boarded a long flight to Hong Kong which was very exciting for me as this was only my 4th ever flight and longest by far. Some of the boys had never been on a flight before.



I slept for a while on the flight and tried to watch a couple of movies to pass the time.

The flight actually seemed like it went pretty quick and before we knew it we were flying into Hong Kong. The two things I noticed the most was the big mountains and all the skyscrapers. It looked like there were big cities scattered everywhere.

Once we got ourselves organised at the Airport we made our way by bus to the youth hostel where we will be staying in Hong Kong.



The traffic was very busy and it was quite warm and humid. It was 28 degrees and it's meant to be Winter over here.

Eventually the bus got us to our hostel which is on top of a huge mountain. The views were incredible and all the boys were taking photos for ages on their phones.

Once we settled in we all headed out for dinner at a traditional Chinese restaurant. To get there we had to catch a ferry across the water from Hong Kong island to the mainland.

We had a banquet and the boys were pretty hungry so they didn't leave much behind.

After dinner we all went down by the water and watched the Hong Kong Symphony of Lights which is a light show they do at 8pm every night. It involves all the big buildings and skyscrapers lighting up to music and it goes for about 10 minutes.



As we were walking back to the ferry to go home we all got together with Pauly Vandenbergh (PAFC Aboriginal Programs Manager) and Wade Thompson (our coach for the trip) and decided to perform our traditional Aboriginal War Cry in front of a big crowd.

We got a lots of cheers and claps from the crowd and people were even filming it on their phones.

I was so proud to take part in and show off my culture in a new country.

It was a great way to end day 1.



Day 2
We all got up early for day 2 and reported for breakfast as a team at 8am sharp.

After breakfast we hopped on a bus and headed to our first school visit of our trip.

Today we headed to the Australian International School. We were really looking forward to speaking to young primary school students about where we have come from and our cultural background.

When we arrived we couldn't believe how big the school was. It was more like a University.

For the next four hours we visited several classes talking about our "country" and our language.



The students in the classes were really interested in what we were saying and asked some great questions.

Not only was it good for us to teach them about our culture but it was also interesting to learn about their experiences. Some of the students have already lived in half a dozen countries and they're only eight years one. It's because their parents have had to move around so much because of work.

Apart from talking to the students we also performed a Boomerang and Spear throwing demonstration.

After that we performed our War Cry again, which the kids loved, and held a football coaching clinic.

Once we finished at the school we hopped on a bus and went to the highest point of Hong Kong called Hong Kong peak.

The views were spectacular and being up there you could see just how big Hong Kong is.



After enjoying the views for a while we all gathered in a coffee shop to watch the AFL Draft online.

We were all so excited because our Academy team mate was likely to get picked up early in the Draft.

We were all huddled around two laptops waiting for his name to be called out and then the Crows called his name out at pick 11.

All the boys were jumping around with excitement so happy for Wayne.

He has worked so hard and to see him get rewarded for his efforts was great.

Seeing him get drafted is such an inspiration and makes me want to get drafted like him next year.

And I know the SAASTA Aboriginal Academy has been huge for Wayne as it has really improved his leadership skills but also helped with his football skills.



On behalf of all the Academy students a huge thanks to Port Adelaide and EnergyAustralia for making the Academy happen.

After all that excitement we enjoyed a great dinner at the Hong Kong cricket club.

After dinner we headed back to our hostel to get ready for tomorrow when we'll visit Ocean Park Zoo and then play our first game of football against the Hong Kong Dragons.