Wild Week!
July 27th, 28th, & 30th, 2011. It wasn't until half past ten Wednesday morning when we all got aboard coaches headed for another unexpectedly fun day! We arrived in Cambridge at noon, and spent the next three hours on a walking tour - and the time flew by!
The historic town known for "punting" - which is similar to the gondolas of Venice, Italy - is also well known for its University. Some of the well known alumni include, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and C.S. Lewis.
Our walking tour hit some of the most important, famous, and beautiful sights of the city, such as Trinity College, King's College and the Mathematical Bridge. The sights were charming and captivating, and the architecture was one of many things appealing about the old town. Holding more interest for the college minded students, they pondered the future, and the possibility of one day studying in this town. It even left some of us group leaders in awe of the magnitude of work the buildings must have taken to build.
The pre-teen and teenagers were excited to do some souvenir shopping in the midst of their sight seeing around the quaint town - while the younger kids were just as happy to find an ice cream stand, and a sweets shop! For lunch everyone met up at McDonald's, which was a very special treat for all the kids!By 3 PM everyone had met up at the buses, and we were now on our way to XUK camp in Eccles.
The late afternoon started off outside with all the kids from XUK English playing ball games and keeping themselves warm by running up and down the field.
Later on, we all enjoyed some yummy barbeque, prepared by the staff of XUK. By the time the kids finished eating, it was time to start the evening activity.
The smell of hamburgers and sausages still lingered in the air as the kids ran around, and lots of laughing and smiles were seen as the staff led in the evening activity.The following day, we were all excited to go to the beach, for a slightly more relaxing day than the one before. Southwold is a small seaside town situated on the North Sea.
Catering primarily to the tourist who wants to escape for the afternoon or weekend, it has a rustic feel with lots of games at the arcade for kids, several souvenir shops (for that postcard collector), and offers the "99 Ice Cream", which is an ice cream cone with a Cadbury flake.
The kids enjoyed the sunny afternoon leisurely strolling about the town, happy to bask in the warm sun that has been absent in general the last couple of weeks, and take in the beautiful view of the Atlantic.That evening, the kids and staff alike had a great deal of fun participating in "man hunt". A longer and larger scaled version of "hide and seek" the staff members (and selected students) were all assigned to dress in black, and the rest of the kids had to spread out around the premises trying to find them! For over an hour the the staff hid in tactical places around the camp, including Chloe who hid inside of a duffel bag!
On Saturday the 30th, the kids had another splendid evening at their weekly disco/goodbye party. The kids that departed for the summer were all sad to leave, but happy to receive their individual certificates of completion! The star student of the week was Roberto Coloma-Nadal, and the team of the week was the blue team. Congratulations blue team! Congratulations also to Roberto who showed a great deal of improvement in his English skills, and also showed a tremendous amount of support to staff and students alike during his time spent here!
The party started at nine PM and all the boys and girls were in their fun attire and enjoyed dancing, "tuck shop" and laughing the rest of the night. They knew they could party hard, as the next morning, they would be able to sleep it off on their more restful Sunday.