Currents

College

Winter 2010
Currents - Winter 2010
College

Cato Zahl Pedersen

During his visit to the College and Haugland
Rehabilitation Centre Cato Zahl Pedersen finished
his talks in the auditorium with a riddle. What is the
difference between “Impossible” and “I’m possible”?
Using experiences from his own life, Cato gave an
example of how your focus in life can make a huge
difference. He shared stories from the sick bed –
having lost both arms in an accident as a teenager
– and from his expeditions to the South Pole and
Mount Everest. And then he had to venture into the
unexpected– as our philosophy students invited
him to an early breakfast dialogue. Cato was game
– and added it to his already busy program before
addressing patients and staff at the Rehabilitation
Centre.
And what is the difference between Impossible and
I’m possible? Just an apostrophe
... and a state of mind.

2 3
Currents - Winter 2010
College
Sabrina’s Story
When Sabrina Szeto visited the
RCN campus this summer, it was
not purely out of nostalgia for
her UWC days. Since graduating
in 2008, she has bounced back
to Flekke whenever possible,
often interrupting the long
journey between her Singapore
home and the U.S., where she is
studying at Princeton University.
What pulls her back time and
time again is traditional
Norwegian gammaldans, the
music and the people who play
and dance to it.
Sabrina’s first year in Norway
developed her attachment to
the Norwegian people and
culture, which had fed her
imagination through the stories
of Roald Dahl from an early age.
Here finally she experienced
seasons, fishing, and hiking for
the first time. She spent
weekends with a wonderful
host family in Leikanger who
made her feel very much at
home, introducing her to
attitudes and a lifestyle that she
compared and contrasted
eagerly with her own. And in
the course of the Nordic Studies
program at the college she was
taught a few traditional folk
dances by Knut David, a patient
dance instructor, accompanied
by a local musician, Andreas.
In the autumn of her second
year, Sabrina made a decision
that had a profound effect on
her life. One evening she had
intended to cook with a friend,
but when a Norwegian student
on his way to gammaldans
invited her to come along, she
abandoned her earlier plans
and went. From the start she
was hooked. “At first I didn’t
know how to dance reinlander,
but people were very encourag-
4 5
ing and danced with me even
though I didn’t know how...
carrying me around the turns
when necessary! After about 5
weeks I finally got it – a moment
of rejoicing!”
Sabrina became a regular at the
weekly dances (even when she
had an Economics test the
following day!), looking forward
to the cheerful, friendly
atmosphere, the happy live
music, the joyful activity. It was
a great way to de-stress, and
being with a community of
people who enjoyed the same
thing was powerful. Each week,
a group of UWC students and
teachers would fill the college
minivan and head off to
Straumsnes, Dale or Flekke for
the dance. Anticipation and
laughter bubbled amidst lively
chatter there and the way back.
After each Thursday evening,
the positive feelings and
memories would linger into the
next day.
Over time Sabrina grew closer
to some of the musicians and
dancers. They supported school
events, offered transport to
dancing events in the regions,
and took pleasure in interacting
with the students during the
matpause, the break which
occurred in the middle of the
dance evenings. When applying
to U.S. universities, she did
research into Scandinavian folk
dance opportunities within
travelling distance of each
choice. From Princeton the
nearest dance was in New York
City, an hour and a half away by
train. She found a Princeton
professor who plays the
Hardanger fiddle and wrote to
him (prior to accepting an offer
from Princeton), and he assured
her that the dance in NYC was
accessible; she needed to
ascertain this before accepting a
place!
When she graduated in 2008,
Sabrina stayed on in Norway,
worked in Trømso for a month
as a tour guide, then returned to
Flekke and travelled to a folk
music festival with musicians
from the local spelemannslag,
or dance orchestra. On the way,
she was invited to sing some
Singaporean songs, one of
which (a Chinese love song,
“The Moon Represents My
Heart”) caught the ear of the
musicians, who asked her to
repeat it until they had
mastered it on the Hardanger
fiddle and accordion. Knut
Skoghei, the leader of the
orchestra, recorded the tune on
his phone and later played it to
the orchestra, who now claim it
as part of their repertoire,
though it has been retitled
“Sabrina’s Song”.
Once Sabrina arrived at
Princeton, she made the journey
to New York armed with a map
she downloaded from
Googlemaps, and found the
dance group there simply could
not replace the Thursday dances
in Norway. Undaunted, she has
found some of that same
atmosphere in American folk
dancing (contra-dance) nearby
the university. She has shared
what she has learned by
organising and teaching other
Princeton students to dance
gammaldans on the Norwegian
National Day the past two years.
In the summer of 2009 Sabrina
was back in Norway, learning
Norwegian at an intensive
summer course in Trondheim. “I
didn’t expect to fall in love with
the culture and the music,” she
said. “I wanted to be able to
come back and talk with
members of the orchestra who
didn’t speak English. This
motivated me strongly.”
The summer of 2009 also
marked the beginning of
another special relationship.
Before she travelled to the U.S.
to study, Knut Skoghei had
urged her to invest in a
Hardanger fiddle, since she
could sing the tunes already. At
Princeton she worked in the
library and dining hall to earn
money, and by the end of the
year she had saved enough to
buy a fiddle. She and this new
love finally met in May, 2009,
but they had to be separated for
the academic year so the fiddle
could be repaired in Oslo, but
not before she had learned the
basics, guided and encouraged
by the orchestra. When the
festival-going was done, Sabrina
delivered her instrument to
Oslo, where fiddle-maker
Anders Buen, who had worked
on Sabrina’s fiddle when it
belonged to the previous
owner, fixed it for free after
hearing her story of music and
dance, friendship and
culture-sharing.
In the summer of 2009, one of
the key orchestra members,
Helga Åsnes, presented Sabrina
with a Dalsfjorden
Spelemanslag t-shirt for her to
wear when the orchestra
performed. This gift foreshad-
owed her officially becoming a
member of the orchestra in
summer 2010, during the
registration process at the
national folk music festival that
year. Sabrina plans to write her
thesis for her undergraduate
degree on folk music and dance
in Fjaler municipality.
Sabrina’s story is a simple one,
but one which has gently
changed lives, both hers and
those of others.
Currents - Winter 2010
College

Yuan Feng

Yuan Feng was selected I knew that Norway was

by the Chinese People’s beautiful, rich, and very
Disabled Federation to cold - that’s all! My
attend RCNUWC. Here’s parents were quite
what he has to say about worried that I couldn’t
his selection and early look after myself,
days at the college. because in China I never
took care of myself. I
CDPF told me about this
could only go to the
opportunity in May.
toilet and dress myself,
They wanted to send a
and sometimes I even
student to study here,
got help with getting
so they got in touch
dressed. In school, I
with all the schools in
didn’t need to move
the province. I was at a
much, because all my
government school. It’s
classes were in one
common for these
room. Before I was 16, I
schools to have a few
always walked with my
students with disabili-
mother’s help. Then I Yuan Feng with Cato Zahl Pedersen
ties. Many students
used my crutches, but I
applied. We wrote
was busy for doing the and closing doors. I walk
about 150 words in
school work, so I didn’t up and down stairs,
English, and I didn’t feel
practice much. even though it’s
good about it. After
that, we had an inter- The most challenging difficult. I have started
view. I was interviewed thing for me at the visiting people. At first I
by Mark Wang and college is doing every- didn’t know how to do
teachers in CDPF. They thing for myself, being it, but everyone is very
asked me about my independent. helpful, and I find ways
school life, my favourite Sometimes I don’t know to manage. Living with
subjects, and my how to use my strength. people from other
communication skills. I have done many things countries is very nice.
Then they informed me for the first time. I am From others I am
that I was going to walking alone with a learning how to take
Norway. rollator, doing my care of myself and live
laundry alone, opening with others.

6 7
Currents - Winter 2010
College
First Impressions
Asria Taleb and Galia Larosi are
living and working at the College
for a year as part of our
Fredskorpset-funded exchange
project with Western Sahara.
Their home is in the refugee
camps in south-west Algeria ... in
the heart of the Sahara desert.
We had arrived in Oslo from
Algiers – that was already an
adventure. We stayed overnight
and then missed our flight to
Forde! So we traveled overnight
for 10 hours by bus from Oslo to
Forde, then drove to Flekke and
RCNUWC where Galia and I will
be staying for one year. On the
journey I was wondering,
“What’s does Flekke look like?”,
“What’s the College like?”, “Can I
live with all these people?” - so
many questions came to my
mind, but one constant thing in
my mind and my heart was that
I would always keep in my heart
the sufferings of my people.
I spent much of the travelling
time uncomfortable with travel
sickness, in the plane and in the
car, but I cried many times when
I remembered my people, our
children, our difficult life. All
these sad memories give me a
new energy to make the lives of
my people better, even though I
don’t yet know how - but I am
sure I will do it! I will remember
my people in every beautiful
place, in every special food I eat,
in every new place I visit. I will
always carry my people in my
heart. I think that my part in this
exchange program came by
grace and I say “Thank you!” to
FK for me, and on behalf of my
people. What Fredskorpset does
for dialogue, exchange and
understanding of other cultures
is really wonderful.
8 9
When you are born in a desert
with nothing, you don’t know
anything different - but you are
happy because you think that
this is the world that every
person knows.
Then I discovered that we do
not have so many of the things
that everyone else has.
The life of the refugee is not like
the life of other people: in our
difficult life we never play like
the children in the world; in our
hard life we never eat like the
children in the world; in our
poor life we never have the
chance to buy games.
Once I knew about the way that
other people live, I told myself
that these things were not really
important, but when I came
here I realized that we miss so
much in life.
Asria and Galia
In our refugee life we don’t
know what it means to live an
ordinary life.
It is the responsibility of the
Saharawi youth to educate
themselves and take the
opportunities to be in different
situations. If we do, maybe we
can make the life of our people
better, and tell the world about
our situation which is the result
of long years of colonialism, and
long years in exile.
------------------------
But now I want to describe my
first impressions of this
beautiful country - Norway. It
seems to me to be completely
unique - it’s a place where you
see people of different colors,
religions, cultures; it offers an
example of the coexistence of
civilizations, and the evidence
With the Fredskorpset project participants
that we can live together,
despite the multiplicity of our
backgrounds.
We arrived in Forde and there
we met our Fredskorpset
project coordinator Edmund
(Galia and I now call him ‘Dah’
(‘father’ in our dialect) because
he takes care of us like a father!)
When we were on the way to
Flekke, Galia couldn’t stop
talking about the beauty of this
country. I was like her but I
couldn’t talk a lot because I
couldn’t find the words to
describe this amazing land. How
could I find words to describe
something I have never seen
before?
It took an hour from Forde to
the College and then we were at
the school ... Oh! It’s not a school
– it’s a paradise, a magical place,
so very beautiful! We were very
tired, but we didn’t feel it
because we wanted to explore
this place, and we found it so
much more than we expected!
Everything you think about you
will find in this College. In those
moments we were so excited
about the school.
After two weeks at the College
– learning about the Project,
about the college, about
Norway - we traveled to Oslo for
a Fredskorpset Preparation
Course (which is given for all
participants of FK exchanges)
and it was another interesting
experience with this organiza-
tion that has given us this
chance. We came back to RCN
and suddenly all the students
arrived - 200 students from 80
different countries! It’s a chance
to meet all the world in one
year, in one place. What
happened with the beauty and
organisation of the school
happened also with the people
- we found them to be so much
more than we expected: friendly
and with open minds and a
great desire to know and to
learn from others.
It happened that the first weeks
of the term was a special time
for us Muslims, as it was
Ramadan – the holy month of
fasting. We shared this beautiful
Ramadan experience with
Muslims from many different
countries, and we also had the
chance to explain Ramadan to
people who had never heard
about it. I was so happy to have
this experience here - it was
different for us, and interesting
(except the time 18 hours of
fasting required by the long
Norwegian days - which is
something neither the school
nor Fredskorpset could do
anything about!)
At this college we can discuss so
many different topics, topics
that I never could have
imagined that I would talk
about! In this college we are
learning how we give to people,
and take, all at the same time.
In this college school you don’t
only discover others, but you
also discover
yourself.
So, finally “Thank
you!” to
everyone who
helps, even a
little, to keep
this college a
beautiful
example of
cooperation
between human
beings, and I
hope that
Fredskorpset will
continue this
program with
my people of
Western Sahara.
We are looking
forward to the
year ahead.
Currents - Winter 2010
College
Christine Meiling awarded Clinton Global Initiative University grant
RCNUWC and Luther alumna
Christine Meling has been
awarded a Clinton Global
Initiative University (CGI U)
Outstanding Commitment
Award grant for $5,000 to fund
her commitment titled “Sewing
for the Next Generation.” Meling
will oversee the production of
school uniforms for families that
can’t afford them in the village
of Yari, Boma in southern Sudan.
Meling will use the Clinton
Global Initiative University grant
to purchase uniform materials
and sewing machines, train
women to sew with the
machines, and educate them to
reinvest the profits from
uniform sales to sustain the
village’s new sewing industry.
Meling says this will not only
empower women whose
10
livelihoods have been restricted
by two decades of civil war, but
will also provide a sense of
equality for the students who
receive the uniforms.
“Sewing for the Next
Generation” is a continuation of
Meling’s previous project in Yari,
“Constructing Classrooms—
Promoting Peace,” funded by a
Davis Projects for peace grant in
2008. She traveled to her home
village in southern Sudan to
build a two-classroom
schoolhouse that now provides
a sheltered learning environ-
ment for elementary students.
Clinton Global Initiative
University Outstanding
Commitment Award grants are
given to currently enrolled
college students to be used on
their commitments to action
aimed at improving communi-
ties and lives around the world.
There are five focus areas for the
grants: education, environment
and climate change, peace and
human rights, poverty
alleviation, and public health.
President Bill Clinton launched
the CGI U in 2007 to engage the
next generation of leaders on
college campuses around the
world. CGI U Outstanding
Commitment Award grants
were created in 2008 to provide
financial support to innovative,
student-driven initiatives and
are made possible by Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc.
CGI U hosts a meeting each year
for students to discuss global
issues and possible solutions.
The third annual CGI U meeting
was held in the spring of 2010 at
the University of Miami. Meling
was one of four Luther
representatives to attend the
annual CGI U meeting this year
and presented her commitment
titled “Sewing for the Next
Generation” in the education
category.
Funded CGI U commitments
range from installing energy-
efficient light bulbs to
establishing campus bike-share
programs, from distributing
life-saving water filtration kits to
designing medical backpacks
for nomadic doctors in Africa.
Since its inaugural meeting
almost 2,000 commitments
have been made.
For more information about CGI
U, visit http://www.cgiu.org/.
SaFuGe (Save the Future Generations)
SAFUGE completed three
projects this summer led by
students representing their
countries and helping their
communities. Fundraising is
done by all the group in jobs
in the community, cafes at
school and the Clothing Store
sale. Students then vote on
projects presented by
members.
The theme for this academic
year was voted as WATER, one
of the biggest concerns of the
XXI century, so the three
projects revolved around
bettering underprivileged
students’ educational
environments by improving
premises where water plays a
huge role.
The ongoing Cheshire school
refurbishing in Sierra Leone is
our flagship project that runs
every year. This time it was led
by Alim Kaloko who gradu-
ated in June 2010. It was
supported by oncoming
second years Fatima Bassir
and Kome Musa, who will in
turn be full project leaders in
June 2011.
They painted and outfitted the
school cum orphanage
kitchen, installing new
windows, building a chimney
and counters, doing the floor
and buying pots, pans, plates,
plastic glasses and cutlery.
They enlisted the help of
community members that
have become like a team after
all these years of successive
cooperation.
The second project was the
first one in an Asian nation
won by second year Irina from
Nepal, who built two taps and
installed running water in a
kindergarten for poor working
mothers in Katmandu. This
replaced the only source of
water, a hose hooked to the
ground. Irina also bought
wholesale rice bags to feed
the children until another
NGO managed to store a
year’s supply of rice. As a
bonus, the wall surrounding
the premises was raised to
prevent breaking ins since the
area is also home to drug
addicts.
The third project took place in
a primary school in a poor
area of Marrakesh where first
year Myriem had new taps and
water connections built in two
bathrooms, together with
painting jobs and toilet fitting.
We expect to continue next
year in this school by building
a new wall lacking in a
building so it can become
operational.
SAFUGE is a student-led
organization that fundraises
and allocates funds without
any outside intervention and
it operates with no school
budget or support, but rather
with the good faith and
willingness to help of staff
members. Colleagues offer to
generously drive us to cafes
and job venues and the
community in Dale calls us for
jobs such as the Dale Art
Center (gardening), the
Vevangen school (wood
cutting), the UKM organization
(show café), NAV (old people’s
home cleaning).
Our plan for this year is to
continue with the flagship
school in Sierra Leone and we
hope to be able to finish off
the Marrakesh project and to
offer first years the opportu-
nity to propose projects to be
voted by the group.
Since we depend on the
availability of jobs, we always
keep our fingers crossed;
however, we have always been
blessed with very good
fundraising. In former years,
we have managed to have
projects in a school in the
highlands of Peru where we
built and stocked their first
library; we have refurbished a
whole school in Madagascar
(roof, painting, bathrooms,
supplies) that doubled its
enrollment after this and last
year we built a playground
complete with swings for the
Cheshire home in Sierra
Leone.
SAFUGE was founded by a
student and is run as a
cooperative where decision-
making at all levels is done on
a discussion and voting basis.
It is therefore a clear example
of how UWC ideals can be
actually put into practice
when young, caring people
are offered on site leadership.
11
Currents - Winter 2010
College
Beekeeping
We are grateful to our founders
that made it possible to be here
and work for the mission:
The aim of the foundation is to
promote peace and interna-
tional understanding,
sustainable development and
the dissemination of ecological
knowledge through education,
research, seminars and other
initiatives.
This we do through a variety of
means, including strategic
planning. Our strategy plan
states:
3.2 Provide opportunities and
activities that will instill respect
and reverence for nature in all
members of our community
and re-invigorate their
appreciation of our natural
surroundings.
Many people within the College
work to make this happen. Each
project depends on persons
with ideas, determination and
ability. And when it comes to
bees, the former student Craig
Christensen (2008-2010) was
instrumental.
Craig: I began thinking: How
could I make people start
caring? I started to consider
why I cared about environmen-
12
Eivind Vereide and attentive learners
tal issues so much. Coming from
an isolated, rural area in
Northeastern Alberta, Canada,
I’ve always been in close sight of
the interactions between
humans and the natural
environment. Agriculture, up
until very recently, has been the
main livelihood for a lot of
people, and our standard of
living is still at the mercy of
Mother Nature. If our weather is
bad for crops, or we mismanage
our natural environment, we
later suffer. I’ve always been
aware of that fragile sustainabli-
ity, but perhaps my friends,
mostly from urban centres, may
not be so conscious of that
connection. The answer I
realized was getting them to see
that connection for themselves,
and to realize their own
vulnerability.
I wanted to start as many
practical environmental
activities as possible.
Composting, vegetable
growing, farming: I wanted it all,
but with only a few spring
months left at RCNUWC, I had to
focus my energy on one thing. I
figured unless it was something
unique and far out of the
ordinary, interest could fizzle
out and my impact reduced.
Thankfully, I had something
very unusual to offer: beekeep-
ing. My father, uncle, and
grandfather are three of the
approximately 100 commercial
honey producers in Alberta, and
together, they make a living off
of 3000 hives. It’s been
something I’ve been exposed to
all my life, and I figured it would
be the perfect legacy to leave
behind.
Growing and thriving
The plan of the first agricultural
project at RCNUWC started to
form in the early spring 2010.
With Craig’s lifelong experience
and good knowledge with
beekeeping from home,
together with good help from
the eager, local beekeeper
Eivind Vereide, we decided to
start up with two hives on a nice
spot just 10 minutes walk from
the college. May the 16th,
Eivind came with the bees, and
gave a course about the basic of
bees and beekeeping for the
interested students and staff.
It has been huge amount of
interest from staff and students,
eager to get involved. Despite
some unexpected challenges
during the summer, the
bee-colonies were strong
enough to collected around
20kg of honey from the
heather-blooms, during early
August. Some eager students
have just started to harvest the
first heather-honey, that soon
will be extracted and tapped on
glass. During the fall and winter
the “Beekeeping-EAC”-students
will, be trained in beekeeping,
the different products from the
bees (honey, beeswax, propolis,
bee pollen, royal jelly), and how
to refine the products for use
and for sale.
Thanks to all involved!
------------------------------
Stig Moltumyr is the leader of
the Environmental Committee
at the School. RCN students working with the bees
What is the effect of this
project form the Schools point all go to care. Then we got to them, the fear was replaced by
of view? know about the nature. We fascination and understanding.
think that by learning about and A feeling of belonging to the
SM: All people have their way of enjoying the beauty and eco-systems arose.
learning, and mixing theory wonders of the nature, a love
with more “learning by doing” towards it will be established. Anything else you would like
might be good for many to add?
students. To make theory into But why bees?
SM : Yes. Many people have
practice is good not only for the
SM : With bees we see this been involved and many more
students, but also to the Staff.
clearly. In the beginning of this will be. I’d like to thank all of you
It’s the physical evidence that
beekeeping project this was that make this project, and all
something actually happens.
unknown territory with a creepy the other environmental
Why does this project fit so fear of insects, stings and pain. projects that is on at the
well into the strategic plan of As we went on and got moment, happen. If you are
the College? fascinated by the complexity of lucky you might have a taste of
these eco-systems and learn these delightful golden drops of
SM : To turn the world around more about how to control good consciousness!
towards sustainable lifestyle we
13
Currents - Winter 2010
College

Peter Wilson - Thoughts from the Adriatic

When I decided to take a Volunteer Programme

one-year ‘permisjon’ from to UWC Adriatic and
RCNUWC I had no idea that a also see if I can raise
few months later I would find some funds towards
myself living and teaching at my ongoing
UWC Adriatic, nesteled on the school-building
Adriatic coast between Venice project in Ethiopia.
and Trieste, but here I am a The coming months
month into my one-year are going to be full,
contract as Head of English, varied, challenging
Residence Tutor and learner of and stimulating in
Italian. equal measures, I am
sure. But my heart
“The college here is slightly belongs to Flekke,
smaller in number of students and, no matter how
but otherwise there are many persuasive the balmy
similarities between the young climate and fantastic
folk here and there: keen, coffee, I shall return
idealisitic, full of energy and thence next summer
opinions. Here, living in the refreshed, recharged
village of Duino also means the and re-stimulated. For
students come and go to classes now, though, it is of to
via the street cafes, pavements the staff room for an
and pathways of a ‘real’ place. espresso then nip
Saturday nights at Mickey across the road to the
Mouse’s bar are pretty lively! cafe for a brioche. Ciao
“As at RCNUWC the staff here is a presto!”
an international one, with a
strong core of Italians in the
administrative and support
areas. From the Canadian
Rettore to the South African
Physicist, from the Bulgarian
Mathematician to the Dutch
Economist, all have made me
and my fellow new colleagues
feel incredibly welcome.
“My enjoyment at being able to
hop on a bus literally outside
the staffroom door and be in
downtown Trieste 30 minutes
later has yet to wane, and of
course the cafe life in the towns
is wonderful. It is worht noting,
however, that one can quickly
grow a bit weary of pasta,
served though it is in dozens of
different ways.
“My plan during this year is to
introduce the RCNUWC
14 15
Currents - Winter 2010
College
Summer Course 2010
Summer seems a long time ago, as
the ice grips the fjord ever more
tightly. But remember.....
Towards the end of the summer
break, 24 nervous but eager new
students participated in
RCNUWC’s Summer Course. Over
the four weeks the students
enhanced their English and
developed skills such as public
speaking, planning and preparing
events and getting involved with
the community; all of which are
essential for a UWC student. At
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the same time they were eased
into the routine and structure of
the RCN way of life. This process
was aided by a small group of
enthusiastic RCN graduates who
generously volunteered their time
and came back to help support,
mentor and pass on their wisdom.
The group participated in several
community events; starting with
the Jakob Sande festival.
Alongside the Jakob Sande
Company the students got their
first opportunity to organise and
run a cafe for one of the festival’s
evening events. This was a huge
success and a great way for the
students to meet some of the
locals. At the International day
during the Dale festival the
students showcased their
national dress, dance and musical
talents. Further opportunity to
meet and mingle with locals took
place at Flekke with a BBQ and
bonfire to commemorate St Olaf’s
Day.
Throughout the course the
students spent their mornings in
class improving their English,
learning how to debate, give
presentations and developing
their writing skills. Discussions
were always rich and varied as
students shared with each other
their own cultural view points and
experiences. The afternoons were
spent exploring the local sights
on excursions and hikes, playing
sport, swimming, canoeing and
relaxing in the afternoon
sunshine.
The summer course culminated in
five fantastic days spent at
Hegnes; a lovely old farm house
that the school is using for
projects that promote environ-
mental awareness and allows staff
and students to experience life
without the usual mod-cons. For
five blissful days the students
worked in the veggie garden,
built fences and paths, swam,
cooked together, learnt about
and used composting toilets,
sang and played games. They
rediscovered life without
computers, the internet and
mobile phones. It was a special
experience and life-long
friendships and bonds were
sealed. On the hike back home to
school excitement grew as the
realization that the 2010 school
year would officially begin the
next day. As we came down the
final hill we could hear drums and
horns and as we rounded the last
corner we were met by a sea of
smiling and excited second year
faces who were there to welcome
their new first years.
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