I'm back from Orientation. An overnight stay at Atlantic College (AC) with all the other first years (all the other students going this year to UWC) , some second years (the students that have been for a year) and the facilitators (alumni ready to provide advice and organise the event) . It gave us the chance to ask questions and get to know each other. As well as giving the parents a chance to talk and meet each other.
We got there Saturday morning, parents and kids split to greet those known and unknown. Then we were taken off to dump our overnight bags in our dorms (I don't know what happened to the parents). Then after a bit of chatter we had some lunch. Not the best food but edible. After devouring our food we played a few, very fun, games. Ninja and Hwauh were particularly good.
We moved off to the hall to have a talk about the academic side of UWC and the International Baccalaureate (IB). The IB is an alternative to A levels. You take 6 subjects from different columns and also have to complete Theory of Knowledge (TOK is a philosophy class), Extended Essay (EE) and CAS (creation, action, service). You have to fulfil a certain number of hours of CAS to complete it, and take part in a range of activities.The service is particularly big in UWC and depends upon the college you attend. For example in AC you can work on the life boats.
Splitting into Overseas, AC and parent groups we talked about fears and expectations. The biggest fear for us, unsurprisingly, was missing people and losing contact with friends. For parents it was health care and the distance. Expectations were more diverse, some were excited at the prospect of meeting people, of making a difference, going to a new country and learning from such a unique position. Parents took to the more academic side of things by being excited at the advantages it provides for University. The second years were great at calming our nerves as they offered us advice from there own experience. Seeing how happy and enthusiastic made it all feel a lot more real and more enticing.
Splitting into Overseas, AC and parent groups we talked about fears and expectations. The biggest fear for us, unsurprisingly, was missing people and losing contact with friends. For parents it was health care and the distance. Expectations were more diverse, some were excited at the prospect of meeting people, of making a difference, going to a new country and learning from such a unique position. Parents took to the more academic side of things by being excited at the advantages it provides for University. The second years were great at calming our nerves as they offered us advice from there own experience. Seeing how happy and enthusiastic made it all feel a lot more real and more enticing.
Following this was more chatter, more messing about and more advice. We headed down to try either archery or rock climbing/archery which was great fun. As the weather held up pretty nicely we had a BBQ, and yet again the food wasn't brilliant but everyone socialised. A nice lie down and a lot of laughing was also in store for us. More talking, and by now we were all very comfortable with each other so there was a lot of laughter and messing about. We headed down to the beach where we had a great bonfire. Marshmallows were toasted and some of second years played guitar as we all sang an danced. As the night drew on, we had to head up to our house called Gwynedd. More talking as well as table football and the construction of a fort. After figuring out what time it was on the backwards clock we had to head up to our rooms for a good sleep.
The next day we arose nice and early, and ate some more 'tasty' food. We had a talk on life at UWC and plenty of opportunities to ask questions. A few more talks and then it was lunch. We had to write letters to ourselves about what we wanted to get out of the experience. They were difficult to write and very cliché but it will be interesting to read them again when they get sent to us at the beginning of our second year. And before we knew it orientation was over. Everyone said goodbye and headed in their different directions home. Everyone having new contacts and friends. I got to meet my co-year, Megan. It was really great, resulting in many tired teenagers :)
The next day we arose nice and early, and ate some more 'tasty' food. We had a talk on life at UWC and plenty of opportunities to ask questions. A few more talks and then it was lunch. We had to write letters to ourselves about what we wanted to get out of the experience. They were difficult to write and very cliché but it will be interesting to read them again when they get sent to us at the beginning of our second year. And before we knew it orientation was over. Everyone said goodbye and headed in their different directions home. Everyone having new contacts and friends. I got to meet my co-year, Megan. It was really great, resulting in many tired teenagers :)
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