term three
And just like that my first year of UWC has gone by in the blink of an eye. I’ve learnt so much, not just about myself but also about the world around me. How the world is paradoxically complicated and similar all at the same time. I’ve been pushed to my limits, felt more emotions than I’ve ever felt or knew I could humanly feel, but also had the most fun I’ve ever had. Term 3 may not have been the most eventful, but it was nothing short of exciting. Here’s a run down on the final term of my first year at UWCT!
There’s never a dull or normal week at UWCT, and the week back from Songkran break was no exception! We dived right into Book Week, filled with days of dressing up as our favourite characters, evenings of poetry, storytelling to the younger kids and many more activities. I got a chance to share a childhood story from Malaysia, Sang Kancil (mousedeer), with the younger kids as well as try my hand at poetry slam with a poem I had written myself!
Then the following week welcomed Anti-Human Trafficking Day which the LUIB Committee had put together. At lunch we tied peoples hands together to mimic the experience of being chained as victims are trafficked, so everyone was forced to eat lunch single-handedly. We had then arranged for two workshops to be held, each lasting about 50 minutes, exploring both the generic as well as unconventional aspects of human trafficking which sometimes tend to go unnoticed. We found it vital to highlight the forms of human trafficking that were specific to the context of our audience, so we discussed forms of abuse with domestic help with the younger grades and sex trafficking with the older ones, though there was an overlap of both topics with both groups. We introduced the concept of human trafficking to those who were unfamiliar with it, showed a couple of videos (making sure we watched the videos beforehand to ensure they weren’t boring or too lecture-type but actually interesting and informative) before proceeding to discussions in smaller groups, each group moderated by a Grade 11 student. These discussions were held for students from Grade 7 to 11, and it was honestly heartwarming to see the younger ones especially so engaged and willing to share their opinions on the issue. I think for the short time and rushed planning the workshops turned out decent and sufficiently informative, but as always we want to strive for greatness. So advice for next years organisers would be to plan ahead, try to incorporate a more hands-on approach to keep people engaged and more specific talking points for discussions, and maybe even get a guest speaker in to share their own experiences in the fight against human trafficking!
That Saturday a bunch of us got up extraordinarily early for a Saturday to head out for a Cultural Village Trip by Kru Kanok, which basically involved walking a few kilometres down the road from the school and exploring the local village. We even walked up to random houses of the villagers and striked up conversation with their broken English and our basic Thai. It ended the way all good things end - with amazing food and good company (plus a bonus of beautiful photos).
The following week was a lighter week, which was much needed after a busy 2 weeks. The Malaysian elections decided to slide themselves into the middle of the week, which was convenient as I had the luxury of spending a solid 6 hours Skyping with friends back home and following each seat being won. It meant the world to me when my second years would come in every once in a while or message me to check in on how the results were going. Russell and I paraded around the school the next day with pure joy and beaming smiles in response to the unexpected results, receiving congratulations and finally having something to talk about in Global Politics class.
The restful week soon came to an end when we approached what was the final week of exams for the Grade 12s. That Wednesday all students who had been on trips during their breaks got the opportunity to share their experiences with the school community, hoping to encourage students to take up this opportunity presented to them and follow in the footsteps of their amazing Grade 11s (jokes). We celebrated our final Thursday Thought Night sharing candid anonymous confessions of our Grade 12s, which eventually broke out into a storytelling session of our favourite and funniest moments of the year.
That Saturday I got to sit in on my very first Board Meeting as StuCo Head. I thought it was a really great decision that my seniors had championed for to have a student sit in on these meetings because it gave the students a voice with the “big boys”, but also to express how students felt about decisions being made. The thought of it was slightly intimidating at first, but once I got into it it was a really interesting experience, you know, professionalism and all that. It was a fantastic opportunity to brag about all our achievements as a student body over the past year as well as voice our concerns, with loads from the report to take back to StuCo for discussion. All new and exciting experiences for growth!
Then came the Grade 12 graduation the same night, oh graduation. My friends back home know I’m not one to cry or get emotional about anything, but something about my connection with the people here must’ve done something to melt that icy-cold heart of mine I arrived here with, because goddamn am I going to miss the second years like hell. The tears shed for these guys were a clear reflection of all the memories formed and bonds forged over the past year, needless to say they left a lasting imprint on me. I’ve learnt so much from them, from commitment to the community to having fun and hardworking and balancing the endless list of responsibilities while having a smashing time and getting the most out of the UWC experience. The G12s were nothing like each other, but I loved them all in all their different ways.
lol also a bunch of us who were left crying post graduation ceremony decided we weren't going to sit and mope around so we all booked a taxi and headed for Boat Avenue to treat ourselves to a good dinner with each other's company and that's honestly one of the most impulsive decisions I've made haha.
I wrote a poem as a reflection of our time together, which Jasper and I recorded and paired with a video by Fleur which you can check out here!
Mocks came around way sooner than expected, but that must’ve been from the constant procrastinating and self assurance that there was time to study later. I’ve never studied that much since I’ve gotten here, but I’m honestly lowkey glad they had mocks because it forced me to recap everything I’ve learnt over the year, most of which I wouldn’t have looked back on if it wasn’t for the mocks. It didn't help that I was sick for the first time since coming to UWC this specific week, but you adapt and overcome I guess (especially when you have the best houseparent and adapting means chocolate). It was really nice that the villas were open during mocks, because it meant I could go to school for my papers and go back and have naps in between papers or even sleep in when I didn’t have a morning paper (everyone who knows me well knows the love hate relationship I have with sleep, either getting loads of it or nowhere near enough). In the end everything worked out fine and the stress of the week amounted to deserving results. The feedback from the teachers put me in a good position of what I had to work on for what’s looking to be a jam-packed second year.
Mocks flew by and we were all treated to a fantastically-planned Arts Week which was a much needed de-stresser from the hustle and bustle of the past weeks. We had workshops involving calligraphy, prints, balloon animals (it was so cool I felt like a clown Jasper is so cool) and other cool workshops + amazing exhibitions that displayed the magnitude of talent we have present in our community. Charlie from Grade 10 also organised a mini concert, where we sang the hit “Obadi Obada” as well as Charlie gracing us with his masterful improv. Jasper and I also completed our TOK presentation the same week which explored why it’s so important and your duty to vote (it was even more interesting to explore from a mathematical point of view rather than the conventional ethical and moral standpoint. I learnt so much from Jasper and his genius prodigy brain), so the week was definitely a positive mix of work and chill.
this is what I ended up doing with Chinese calligraphy and it was great
The Friday of Arts Week was interrupted, or rather included a different Homeroom session, in which the Peer Supporters organised a student discussion in the library for all Grade 11s to get together in small groups and reflect on the year - counsel style! (essentially what’s said in counsel stays in counsel, so everyone could speak honestly and openly) It was an incredible opportunity to look back on the whirlwind year we’ve had together, acknowledge both our strengths and weaknesses as well as think of what sort of culture we want to set for the incoming Grade 11s. We did however gladly notice that following the Grade 12’s departure, we had become that much more tight knit as a grade, and were indeed moving from strength to strength, overall what we collectively found to be a constructive and much needed space to get all that we felt out in the open.
Our Chinese class decided to head on a field trip that day to a Chinese restaurant for lunch, because what better way to immerse yourself in the culture than to eat the food! I was honestly, and pleasantly, surprised by our conversational fluency from just 9 months of learning the language. It was a great bonding opportunity for our small 5 person class, and an even better (if not the best) way for practical application of the vocabulary of food and ordering we had learnt in class.
Pictured left: A Zane with food is a happy Zane
Arts Week concluded with a night over at Kru Leith and Andrew’s house (where he made us Smooth(ie) Roos) and where we were introduced to Kru Leith’s brother and his girlfriend - two very cool people who work in video projection set design and contemporary dance respectively. We were also introduced to this new form of discussion by Kru Leith called ‘Pecha Kucha’, with a format loosely based on 20 images shown for 20 seconds each and then discussions after. It was exciting to be exposed to different ways that could fuel discussions, and even cooler to foster a stronger sense of community between us and our houseparents through evenings like this (with Friday’s tradition of game night of course going on as normal after).
The following day most groups departed for their Project Week adventures, of which you can find out all about mine in my previous blog post. My group returned early (Monday, 11th June to be precise) by nature of our trip, and all crashed as early as 8.30pm that night after being plagued with exhaustion. The next day we cleaned up all our equipment from the trip, before I decided to have a nap, which quickly turned into a 7 hour slumber. It was coincidentally my birthday, so I spent more than half of my 17th birthday sleeping before going to Greenshop with Zane and Alejandro for a classic pad thai dinner (eating more GS food that week than I had in the past term). We spent the rest of the week sorting donations, working on final bits of our EE and essentially toning it down and preparing to packup and leave. (THEY ALSO OPENED A SUPER CUTE CAFE DOWN THE ROAD WHERE WE WENT TO WORK AND IT'S THE CUTEST THING EVER)
Paige, our BH mentor, also organised a crafts night in the boarding house for the few people that were there (mainly the DOE project week groups and the younger students) as a bonding activity and I was honestly so glad that happened because I got to know some of the Grade 10s so much better and I’m so grateful for them, I only wish I’d known them sooner!
I left a week early for a wedding back home, which was bittersweet as I was going to see a lot of my family and extended family that I hadn’t seen in a long time, but I was also leaving behind a family I wasn’t going to see for 2 months (I’ve never been apart from these people for this long!) Nevertheless, it felt good leaving knowing I’d gotten everything out of my first year, and more, and was ready for a summer of adventure in Europe, rest and self-care to come back better than ever for a kickass second year!