School's Out for October!

It has now reached the time where school's finished and October break starts!  I feel that all of us students really need this long-awaited break, the second years especially, with their EE's to write and university applications to be sent off etc.
I am very excited to be staying in a villa in Manuel Antonio (the Pacific side of Costa Rica) along with 17 other first and second year students.  There are another few houses in the area which also house UWCCR students- it seems that the whole of the campus is going to the same location for holidays!
Unfortunately, our stay in Manuel Antonio will only consist of three nights (4 days).  But, the week after that, us first years are missing another few days of school- we have an MUN (Model United Nations) event from the 24-26th of October.
I am in the Security Council, representing the country of Morocco.  In this council, we will be discussing Syria and the Western Saharas.  Therefore, a lot of research needs to be done about the involvement of Morocco in both of the topics.  I also have to come up with a resolution to these topics which then needs to be approved by other countries in the security council, such as Russia, France, the UK.

Piano

I have recently been playing a lot of piano here.  I think it's due to the academic stress and pressure that I have turned to the piano.  At home I did the same- whenever I'd worry about something, I'd play the piano.   I feel it helps me a lot!  Even a ten minute session helps to relieve my stress.  I also find that many nostalgic memories of home return, as I played so frequently in Llanelli, Wales.  I hope to soon begin writing my own music again.  Although the lack of time here can be a problem to do such things! :(

The Great Gatsby

Last Friday, my Irish second-year friend organised a Great Gatsby party, where everyone dressed up glamorously and attended the party in Porto Viejo (the social centre).  A week before the party, we watched 'The Great Gatsby' movie, which gave us an idea of what 1920's clothes looked like.  I then went out to buy my costume from the 'thrift store'/charity shop in Santa Ana, as I knew I didn't want to spend much on an outfit that I'd never wear again!  The day of the party arrived; everyone was busy running around trying to borrow heels and red-lipstick!  It was strange seeing everyone so dressed up, but everyone looked incredible!  Overall it was a fantastic night with wonderful people and great music!

First Year Camp

On Sunday, all of the first years went on a camp in the forest for two days and one night.  It's sole purpose was to get us to bond more and to have fun.  Both of these things were achieved, as I feel so much closer to my year!  Many personal things were shared around a candlelit room where we all sat in a circle expressing the way we felt.  It will stay with me forever, the openness and trust required to say the things that were said that night will forever be with me.  I decided to start the reflection circle off, as there was a 3-4 minute silence where nobody volunteered to begin this exercise, and so I stood up and walked into the middle of the giant circle, and expressed what was on my mind.  It was such a relief to get things off of my chest- everyone was so supportive.  I really do feel that we are like family now, although there are so many people that I have still yet to know more about.  I'd like to thank all of the people who helped run the camp, without you it wouldn't have been possible to achieve such closeness between us first years.

Another Fantastic Second Year Show!

Upon returning from first year camp, we were told that we had a mandatory meeting at 8pm about the rules during October break.  Leila, our residential director told us about it, and so of course we believed that we had a meeting.  At 8pm, we turned up at the social centre to find that our second years were putting on a surprise show for us instead of a meeting!  It was so thoughtful of them to do so, and such a wonderful way to end the past couple of incredible days spent with my co-years!

Florence, Me and Amiya at the Great Gatsby Party

The Candlelit room at first year camp

Keep Reading!

Dilly x

Hatchet!

Hicking Pico Blanco

On the Saturday the 28th of September, I was fortunate enough to participate in a hiking trip which involved exploring Costa Rica's mountains nearby.  Forty people applied to go on the hike, but only seventeen lucky students were selected out of a hat!

We were asked to bring all sorts of items, such as: raincoats, head torches and marshmallows.  All of these things became useful on this expedition.

I woke up at 5am on Saturday in order to be at our meeting point (Montezuma Residence) by 5:45am for pancakes and food supplies for the trip.  We were then divided into groups, six of us at a time would get chauffeured to the start of the hiking trail in one of the teacher's 4x4's.   Whilst the other's waited for him to return to pick them up and take them.  This required three trips. 

1st Bend in the Road

 But on the second trip,  the teacher was returning to pick up another six students, when another vehicle hit his car from behind.  Of course, the driver who'd hit him did not have insurance, nor did he claim that he was to blame for a crash that was completely his fault. 

This resulted in the teacher having to stay with his car and wait for the police to come, which would take more than an hour.  So, the rest of the students waiting for a lift had to take a 1.5 hour trek to the start of the trail to meet the six that were there already, and they hadn't even started the real hike yet!

I was in the first group who were chauffeured to the mountain and so we waited a long time for the 2nd and 3rd group to hike to the meeting point.  We were eager to go, whilst the others who had just arrived were exhausted from all of the hiking that we hadn't done.  This is when we split the group in half.

Ten of us began the hike to the campsite that we were going to stay in that night.  It was supposed to take half an hour, roughly a 1 kilometer hike up rocky terrain, but we took the wrong trail, and ended up walking in between two very tall walls of earth, weaved with tree roots and covered in moss.  On top of the 10ft soil walls were giant trees blocking the sunlight from reaching the damp ground.  It looked like a scene out of Robin Hood, where his men would jump from the wall and carry us away!

After some figuring out, we retraced our footsteps and took another trail, which eventually lead us to the campsite; a 10m x 10m open ground surrounded by tropical trees.  The only way you could tell this was a campsite was by the the iron structure used for bonfires in the middle of the open ground.

The group was re-united, and camp began to feel a little more like camp.  Tents were put up, the flames of the fire were dancing and food was being served.

Any hiker nearby would hear not-so-traditional  campfire songs sung and see such happy, young people having a lot of fun.  It was incredible to think that each face I looked at around the fire was from a different country; Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Denmark, Scotland, USA, Brazil and so on.  

As the fire began to die down, we made our way to our sleeping bags.

The next morning was a late start to hiking in comparison with the first day.  We started our journey at around 9:30am to Pico Blanco (the tallest mountain in the area).  Little did we know that a three hour fun hike, would turn into a 8.5 hour strenuous struggle!

Last Bend in the Road

It all began after walking along the correct trail for 2 hours, we missed a turning that was not marked very clearly, and so continued on along the trail that we were on.  Soon, the trail became narrower and narrower and narrower.  Before long, no trail was evident; we were having to crawl in-between trees, plants and branches.  The non-existent 'trail' became steeper and steeper, which resorted in me and many others having to slide down on our bums (which was really fun!!)

  After an hour or two of doing this, slowly making our way down the mountain, we were at a dead end.  There was a drop off that was too big for any of us to jump, and so this is where we all really pulled together and worked as a team to come to a decision on what to do.

Whilst deciding upon what to do, a giant thunderstorm came and drenched us and the path uphill that we were to take, leaving it like a giant mud bath.  It then took three times as long to go up the mountain as it did to hike down it, as we were forced to crawl up it on our hands and knees at some points!  But we kept the team morale up, and sung 'If  you're happy and you know it' until we safely reached the point where there was a clear path!  We decided that it was not a good idea to take the trail that we were supposed to take, as we were not prepared to potentially get lost again!  So, with a spoonful of peanut butter to help us on our way, we made it back to the start of the trail, where we got a bus back to the school! 

All in all, it was THE BEST EXPERIENCE I have had so far in Costa Rica!  Whenever I pass someone on the 'hatchet' trip in the corridor in school, we always exchange mischievous glances!  I feel like I have bonded so much more with the people on hatchet and feel that I have explored a little more of the beautiful country of Costa Rica.  A big thank you to Emma, Julian, Steven and Evan for organizing such an incredible expedition!

Also thank you to Alice and Evan for being the best second years ever!

Hatchet Expedition Warriors

Keep Reading!

Dilly x