Last week was Project Week at the college. After months of planning and preparations, I was finally ready to set off for Budapest, Hungary. The eight hour night-bus ride was tiring (especially considering George Ezra’s ‘Budapest’ was stuck in my head), but the fact that Budapest still looked stunning even after a sleepless night just speaks to what an amazing city it really is. We visited museums, statues, the Parliament and the castle during our week. We traveled on Budapest’s amazing public transit network including my personal favourite MetroLine 1. Much of our sightseeing was done by night because during the day we volunteered at a homeless shelter in Budapest running cooking activities for the parents while babysitting the children. We also ran arts and sports activities with the kids. Even though there was a language barrier between me and the children because I speak no Hungarian, we still managed to communicate and many of the children at the center were very sweet. I shared some maple syrup that I brought from Canada with the families to put on top of crepes that we made together. They really seemed to enjoy it and I loved sharing a taste of home with these families. The week flew by far to quickly and all of a sudden we were back in Duino again! I loved catching up with my friends this week, discussing our experiences over project week. Some groups went as far away as Georgia and Spain, while others stayed in Italy doing incredible work.
Right before going on Project Week, I went with a friend to Venice for Carnival! Such an amazing atmosphere and so many amazing costumes. We also ate some great Italian food and bought masks. We watched part of the costume contest and also just enjoyed the sun sitting by the main canal near the Rialto bridge and talking. While it was a tiring day it was completely worth it and I had an amazing time.
Also before project week I went on an overnight ski-trip. We did a cross-country ski event where I skied about 30km. It was exhausting but wonderful experience! The day before the ski, we had some free time so spent a lovely afternoon wandering around a castle near our accommodation and then having coffee in the local town. It was in a part of Italy where there is also some German spoken, so it was strange to see signs in German and Italian as opposed to Slovenian and Italian which I am more used to.
Transitioning back into school right after returning from Project Week was difficult, especially considering that academically this term is proving to be more intense than last term, however it is still manageable and I continue to enjoy my classes. We have begun many internal assessments and have started the extended essay process, and I really appreciate the personal input that we have on these assignments so it feels more meaningful and enjoyable. We also just completed the group 4 project – a collaborative effort between all of the sciences and my group chose to investigate oil spills. It was a really interesting experience to discover how the different subjects at the school are perhaps more related than one might think.
Yesterday I went to an amazing workshop on conflict management as part of my training to become a ‘PSHE’ (peer supporter health educator). It was a really well organized and presented workshop and I learned lots more about myself and about conflict resolution and management. There have been past incidents where I think I would have benefited greatly from these skills and I look forward to applying them in the future.
As the weather warms up I begin to realize how little time is left in this year…a sad thought but motivation to make the most of it!
-S
vitamin sea at uwc adriatic 