Dorm chills :)

I thought when I left home that I would be able to be organized but instead my corner in my dorm looks like a bomb exploded and every Sunday I look at the piles of clothes and books and try to make sense of the mess. My roommates are great, it took me a long time to settle in but I can say that now I am starting to feel like Gwynedd is my home and my dorm, my room.

Ciara who is my roommate from Ireland and France but who has travelled so much is amazing, she really made the dorm energy positive, in fact she still does.

As they say, a picture is a thousand words here is a picture of my corner/ dorm.

Ciara asking me to the 17% Ball.

My dorm is usually either really chilled and quiet or very active. Music is always present wether that be christmas music or the cooler then main stream songs such as 80's music and the Beatles, music is coming from our dorm. 

My corner of books, streamers, flags and pictures.

Ciara's late night birthday wish :)

My Caymanian canopy

17% Ball

17% ball J this was an amazing night which was an event to celebrate the diversity of sexuality within the school. The preparation to this ball involved you asking a friend of the same gender to go with you to the ball. Once that was decided you would get ready and go to the ball dressed up and ready to have fun.

Hannah and I finally ready for the ball.

I really loved this night, it started with lots of noise as straighteners, nail polish and make up was exchanged throughout the house, due to the fact that Gwynedd is mainly girls it was quite chaotic but with an air of excitement filling the house.

My roommate Ciara, who is originally from Ireland and France but who has lived all over the world, asked me to the ball. In the end I actually went with two friends as my other friend Hannah was originally going with her friend was left alone as Carolien’s brother was visiting.

So finally after all were ready we made our way down to the medieval library where photos where taken, and then danced into the great stone hall where music was playing and the evening commenced.

From left: Zooey from Aruba, Hannah from Kuwait & UK, Ciara from French and Ireland, Ellie from Wales and Moi from I have no idea :)

Social Justice Conference

Social Justice conference 2013 reflections

Day 1:

Monday morning opened bright and early although having breakfast a bit later meant more sleep, which helped me concentrate and focus whole-heartedly on the beginning of amazing conference. We sat in the Bradenstoke hall, listening to a passionate speaker talk about what her idea of social justice was and how important it is in the world. I found her talk inspiring however, due to the fact that I am a teenager after the first 45 minutes I was quite twitchy and wanted to get up and stretch. After a quick break I was again ready to take part in activities, which were run by our second years. I loved this activity especially the poem we had to run about where we were from; it really allowed a deeper insight into my co-years and their views of their countries and cultures.

The day finished with an amazing speaker who captured everyone’s attention, which was important as he was talking about internet safety and about how important to be careful on the internet especially putting photos up. I thought it was a really good way to end

Day 2:

Tuesday started off again with a lovely breakfast and then meeting in the glass room. Firstly I love the glass room, it has an amazing atmosphere and it was much more interesting then just sitting in the usual hall.

The activity that we did was called “Open spaces” and it was so incredible. It started off with 26 people in the audience raising an issue to the everyone and then writing down to be placed on the wall under a letter. I raised the issue of  “How humans actions impact largely on the environment” it was really interesting and I lead a discussion with 6 people about the environmental impacts in their own countries and then we discussed what is the main cause of humans continuing their actions and what sort of actions we, the world, could take to save the destruction of the environment. I found the discussion really enlightening. Although I wish that more people had joined as it made me realize how people sometimes forget the environment over human causes.

After a quick break we came back and another round of issues and discussions commenced, I really loved going to a discussion and experiencing everyone’s views on feminism. It was really interesting especially as I am from a family of very strong women and so hearing different ideas of what everyone that it actually was, really opened my eyes.

I thought the activity was amazing because we were able to learn from one another rather then being talked to by one speaker. The session ended on a beautiful yet honest realization that although many people have good ideas only very few people actually act on them.

The afternoon started with a presentation from a speaker from “Save the Children” which was very inspiring to hear from and I thought it was a very good introduction into how much work running a charity is.

The day ended with a very emotional discussion with Selena who was one of the main speakers of the conference. We sat in a circle and discussed how being able to be ourselves in social justice and how so many people don’t have the rights to free speech. I felt that this was one of my favourite parts of the conference and it allowed me to connect with more of my co-years.

Day 3: House presentations

Gwynedd: My house did our presentation on self-immolation in Tibet; this was a personal issue because one of the girls in our house is from Tibet and her uncle self immolated in order to protest for the rights of the Tibetan people. Learning about this issue was very interesting and raised my awareness of how much of the world is oblivious to the voices of the people in need. I thought our presentation was really powerful and the stop motion video made by 2 very talented people in my house has now been put on YoutTube and is being used nationally to show people the unvoiced protesters of Tibet. I am so proud of my house and even though we didn’t win we made an impact by raising awareness.

The other houses:

Morganwwg did a chilling presentation on organ trafficking and how people are kidnapped and kept in order for their organs to be sold to the highest bidder on the black market.

PK did their presentation on children beggars in Bangladesh, their presentation held the audience and ended up winning using an emotional and interactive way to grab the audiences attention.

Powys gave a shocking and informative presentation on female infanticide with a professional looking video that captured people attentions and allowed the topic to stay an important issue in our minds.

Tice did their presentation on the issue of whistle blowers’. this is a controversial issue and I thought it was very well presented and brought to everyone’s attention how important to issue is.

Sunley gave a stunning and powerful performance on the importance of women’s education. It was presented without PowerPoint and was based around the experience of Shazia who along with her two friends, one of them being Malala, where shot on their home from school as they were protesting against the Taliban’s dislike of women being educated. The personal account of her story sent chills across the hall. Definitely makes you think about how lucky those who live in equal countries are.

I thought that the house presentations were an incredible and an amazing way to finish the conference.

Link to stop motion video on Tibet, its amazing! Please spread the message:

thttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJVUNRX6Z-g

First month at Atlantic College

I apologize for waiting so long to start writing this blog,  the first few weeks were quite up and down and I wasn't very keen on much here as well as the homesickness bug dragging me down.
But after a shaky start i am definitely starting to settle in here and the classes and people are growing on me.

I am in Gwynedd, which is the best house on campus, it is also the craziest and weirdest :) Which is why I fit in perfectly. There is 40 girls and 12 boys... this includes the second years, although I would love to have a more balanced house I wouldn't change. The dance parties and late night deep conversations make the house my home and the people my family. I have lovely dorm mates even if our sleeping schedules and waking up schedules mix and match. Keeping my corner clean and organized is a daily challenge.

My corner of my dorm

 The classes were at first really frustrating as I had forgotten a lot of material over the summer but also the different levels of within the classes had to be balanced before the learning could commence. My classes, which we call "codes" here,  are currently amazing. I am learning so much in all my subjects and fascinated by all the different ideas from people who have grown up in different school systems.

 In my free time, I will either chill with friends and be social in       our dayroom, which is communal room where everyone in our  house relaxes. Or I will walk down to the sea front and watch  the waves and get away from all the stress of work, sharing  space and being continuously social.

Lots of activities and events happen randomly at Atlantic College, which would be considered a big deal or a lot of effort in normal schools. At the moment we are having a social justice conference which I will explain about, once it has finished at the end of this week.

The view from the first lawn

Setting off

I am sitting in the airport, the hours alone seemed to drag by but finally the plane is starting to board and ill be on my way to London. Although it is a night flight i will probably find it difficult to sleep due to my over-active and excited brain :)
In London, I will be home for one day and night before I meet again at Heathrow on Sunday to get on the Atlantic college bus to Wales. Tomorrow is going to be a hectic day but I am so excited to begin my adventure at Atlantic College.


(Departing from Canada)

(Sorry this is so late just able to start posting now)