Summer and Orientation Week!

Well it's been a while since my last post - a combination of exams, graduation and difficult goodbyes left me with little time to fill you in. 

This post acts as an update on what I got up to this summer, and what I've been doing in these first few weeks. I'll post links to a couple of videos and pack this post full with pictures so you can see it all!

With spirits high, we threw another party in our iconic barn. This one was not as successful as the previous few, but was a nice reunion with friends and family. 

I travelled far and wide this summer. First, I visited Amsterdam where I stayed with my Dutch co-year, Jamie. We rented bikes and cycled around (embarrassingly crashing once or twice), as well as visiting Paradiso and jamming with Jamie's guitar to our hearts content. Next, I flew on to Rome where I met up with Martina. We visited so many historical landmarks, however unfortunately I was too sick to go to the Colosseum.  I also flew to Dubai to see Malhaar - we went dune bashing, visited the biggest waterpark in Asia, the biggest mall in the world and ate dinner next to the largest fountains in the world (which happened to be right next to the largest tower in the world). Dubai just has to go that one step further, doesn't it?!

 Dad also took me up to Inverness, where we attended a Sea Kayaking course with Wilderness Scoltand. The place that we were staying in was breathtakingly beautiful, and the course was a lot of fun. With seals, birds and porpoises around you all the time, you couldn't help but admire the Scottish lochs. 

I also was lucky enough to Glastonbury festival again. It was an incredible few days, filled with music, friends and family. Although I wasn't that excited having seen the line up, it turned out to be incredible anyway!

I visited London (twice!) to see MUWCI people, and watched the world cup final with them in style in the Hilton! It was so nice to experience a tiny taste of college outside of context, although having to say goodbye again was not the easiest thing (as I'm sure you can imagine)

And then, it was time for my return to the hill. I began the week well by causing turmoil in the mud games as I poured endless buckets of water over unsuspecting first years.  

In true Brit fashion, we performed Spice Girls 'Stop' in the Second Year show. I'd say it was quite successful, although it was hard with a broken toe (thanks Mehdi). 

Next was the Buddy Ball! (One first year is paired with a second year who takes care of them. Or is meant to anyway.) Unfortunately, I can't now find the photo of me and my buddies (I share a first year with my co year, Prashant), but here are some photos from the night. Just incase it's not obvious, I'm dressed as Ron Weasley)

Here is Mush, my beloved baby who was so pleased to see me that she gave me a kiss, and I got it on camera. 

Our first trip with the first years to Pune was a success. Here you can see Luis (right) enjoying the bus journey. Sam (left), not so much. 

I did my (indian version of the) Ice Bucket Challenge about a week ago, here's a screenshot of the video. If you want to see the full thing, this link should work. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203636835755446&set=vb.1652975670&type=2&theater

Make sure you watch it in HD!

Ganesh festivities followed my Ice Bucket Challenge! I made a video, which you can watch on this link: however I got impatient so it's really bad quality. But yeah, here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuNDH5N3b-o

Now I will leave you - my college apps are calling! Here's a photo of my (slightly messy) corner - my den for the next year. It's really cosy, and very 'Kate', with hand-me-downs from second years splattered left, right and centre. I hope you enjoyed this quick update of my summer, and I'll try and write again soon!

Happy Birthday to me!

I turned 17 yesterday, and had an amazing day surrounded by wonderful people. I was made pizza by an Italian, sang to by a Nepali and received hugs from every conceivable corner of the planet. I guess that's UWC for you.

I also worked out that today it's 46 days until I arrive back in England, and it's 106 days since I saw any of the members of my family. That makes me sad, but also extremely excited about going back home to England, especially as it's St. George's Day today (wow - coming to UWC has made me so patriotic). After grad (24th May), I'm planning to travel for two weeks with a Colombian named Maria Jimena. We're thinking of going to the Andaman & Nicobar islands (mainly because we want to swim with Elephants), along with a few stop offs in touristy places along the way.

To think that I could be here in under a month makes my exams seem a whole lot less stressful. 

My brother sent me the below picture of Zed the other day, and it made me realise how much I missed not only my family, but also home life in general; pets included! Funnily enough, I miss my old school, I miss sleeping on time and I miss food most of all. It feels like I've been here for ever. A part of me really does not want to leave as it means saying goodbye to my second years and some of the people I'm closed to, however the other half of me can't wait to get out of here; this term feel like it's dragged on for ever. 

What a cutie

This weekend, 15 of us are going to stay in a hotel in Pune called Pancard Clubs, which is going to be a lot of fun. It will only be my second time off campus in just over 6 weeks, and I cannot wait to celebrate my birthday in style with some of my closest friends. Counting down the days until Saturday arrives!

Apart from that ^, I don't really have much news. I had my english mock on Sunday, which went pretty well, and now I'm just working my ass off in order to prepare for my end of year exams which start in a couple of weeks. 

I never know how to end these posts, it's always so awkward. Bye for now? I guess that'll have to do. 

Travel Week!

I think I owe you an apology. I've been meaning to update this blog since around 2 months ago , but kept on putting it off. Honestly, not a lot of new things have been going on! I've been working hard since winter break and didn't think that would make a very interesting blog post! 

It was nice to catch up with old friends over Christmas, but was also hard to fit in again back at home. I've become extremely dependant on the constant company and level of maturity that MUWCI offers, and I missed that hugely for my one month in England. It was so weird, I slept in my own super comfy bed, took a bubble bath, ate my favourite macaroni cheese,  snuggled with my dogs and family in front of the fire, wrapped up in my duvet and watched a movie. And all of these beautiful, luxurious gestures made me miss MUWCI so so much. 

It soon got better though, as I went on a skiing trip to Switzerland with Luke and Dad, and then partied it up with my friends as Dalmatians on New Years Eve.


I was excited to come back, especially as the jeep drove me up the familiar winding track to my second home. However, the feeling soon passed as the reality of classes the next day hit me. I soon settled back into my routine and got on with MUWCI life, taking each new assignment and trying to get it over and done with asap. 

Around 200 of us set up a huge game of capture the flag at night time in January. I never realised how competitive I was until hovering in a tree, just 2 meters above the flag when I got caught. I somehow managed to open my knee which required 4 stitches. I think I'll save the photo of that for individuals, it's pretty gruesome. I also had damaged some of the bone marrow inside, which meant I was on crutches for a few days and couldn't do sport for a long while. 

The first piece of exercise I did after my injury was a 5km running race (a little optimistic, I know) on a beach, organised by a company called running and living. I ended up coming first, which was a huge surprise, especially without having done anything in over 6 weeks. MUWCI dominated the whole race, winning 1st, 2nd and 3rd in both the 5km and 10km races - its safe to say the competition was fairly poor. 

Fire service is just beginning to get a little more exciting. Real fires happen usually once or twice per week and can last up to an hour for each fire. The other day we spent a good 3 hours running around campus putting them out, but the adrenaline rush still gets me every time. 

I've just reached home after Travel Week. I was in a group of 9 boys plus another girl, Sophia, and I. We took a 32 hour long train ride to the south of India and stayed in a hotel in Kerala. We rented bikes and ate amazing food and explored the city of Cochin, whilst fitting in time to play a lot of card games and make some amazing memories. It was a lovely group of people and I thoroughly enjoyed just chilling with them and laughing constantly!

Also, I got a tattoo! I found the design online and really liked it so got it done in a place in Kerala. It didn't really hurt at all, but was a pain to have to keep it out of the sea/shower for a few days. It's pretty much healed now. I've had the piss taken out of me a lot for us, some people don't like it, but I'm really happy with it myself. 

Next, we took a train to Goa, where around 100 MUWCI people were staying in close proximity of each other, and also a lot of bars. This, of course, led to some chaotic but brilliant days. We visited beaches and flea markets during the day and then prepared for a nice evening. Sometimes, it seemed like we almost took over Baga Beach and Tito's lane as we occupied multiple restaurants and bars with just ourselves. 

 It was a really lovely trip, but I left Goa a day early. I wanted to be back on campus and thought I'd seen enough of the beaches as we'd arrived a day before everyone else. I thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout the whole time (however could have done without the 72 hours of travelling that we ended up doing) and am looking forward to the next time I can go to the beach. I really miss the sea, and the mountains also! I think we're planning to go skiing next Project week with the outdoor education department which should be really good fun if we can organise it well enough.

 

 I'll leave you with a picture of Baga Beach, Goa, and the beautifully plain sky. I'll write again soon.