UWC LINKING NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the March linking newsletter. This month we’ve got ‘news and views’ from three colleges: Adriatic, Pearson and LPCUWC. Read on to find out what goes on at Pearson College when the lights go out, the ‘open day’ experience at LPCUWC and a report on Adriatic College’s choir tour.
For those of you reading this ‘on screen’ you should also notice the addition of hyperlinks between the contents and the articles – let us know if they make life easier or if there is anything else that we can do to improve the newsletter.
Apologies for the lack of Spanish translations in this edition – they will hopefully still appear in future editions – remember it’s your newsletter so if you want to see it – make sure you include it!
As always keep sending your contributions in – get in touch with the linking coordinator at your College (see the list at the end of the newsletter) if you have something you’d like to share with students at the other Colleges – whether it’s a piece of news, an article, or an idea for how to make UWC linking better and easier.
Items in this edition:
· Bridge over troubled waters – Ayana,Italy, Adriatic College (pg 1)
· Chinese Cultural Evening – Ju Li, Malaysia, LPCUWC (pg 3)
· Open Day Shenanigans – Kamil Hamid, Pakistan, LPCUWC (pg 4)
· UWC! – Tendai Musakwa, Zimbabwe, LPCUWC (pg 5)
· A Question of Faith – Priyanka, Canada, Pearson College (pg 6)
· Cultural Understanding – Ahmad, Afghanistan, Pearson College (pg 6)
· Drinking – Scott, Canada, Pearson College (pg 7)
· Social Inter-Connectedness – Sam, Netherlands, Pearson College (pg 8)
· When the Power Goes Out –Tom, Wales, Pearson College (pg 9)
· Contact Details – Linking Coordinators
Ayana Fabris, Italy, Adriatic College
Last Christmas break 40 students from Adriatic College travelled from Vienna to Budapest, through Bratislava and Prague, accompanied by the sound of their own voices! Led by our student-choir-director Lelde Ilzina, their enthusiasm was transformed into a very successful Street Performance!
This is what Lelde and Elliot, who took responsibility for the whole organisation of the trip, said after coming back to Duino…
“This has turned out to be a very successful student initiative, how did you get the idea and what did you do to make it real?”
Elliot: I was in Riga last summer, visiting Lelde; together we thought about having a street performance with the choir. In September when we had an ‘open space’ morning we wrote down our idea and people got excited about it!
Lelde: A lot of people did not believe that it would actually happen. But we put a sign up list in mensa and many students wrote their names down! Eventually it was the participation and the enthusiasm that made it happen.
“You had many non-choir people as well. How did that work with the project?”
Elliot: We made a lot of presentations in schools about UWC and we wanted to publicise our College as well. During the last days in Budapest we visited seven schools! That was so hilarious; we would participate to their English class so that our presentation had an academic value as well! And Hungarian students had to take vocabulary notes, they were tested afterwards! Anyway the message got through and there will be probably many students applying from Hungary this year!”
“And you also ran some workshops in Bratislava, right?”
Elliot: Yes we visited an IB school in Bratislava and held some workshops there: Italian politics, American foreign policy, environmental issues, cultural games – which was lots of fun – and Martin’s workshop where he led a discussion about the IB and that was a very nice sharing of experience.
“What about the concert at the UN?
Elliot: That was in Vienna, we gave a lunch concert which was good publicity. We met diplomats working for IAEA and a graduate from Atlantic College who works there. The UN headquarters had 4000 employees, and we performed in the entrance lobby, with the non-choir students handing out leaflets and talking with people who dropped by. It was very important building of bridges between the UN and UWC.
Lelde: Actually we had another great concert in Vienna in front of the Schonbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Hapsburgs. Franz Gammer, our beloved ex-maths teacher, introduced the College and UWC. We had a proper stage and Christmas markets in front of us…
“Which was the best concert?”
Lelde: The one we made in Prague. We were in a theatre and the event had been arranged by a graduate, Marketa Krajnikova. She made a slideshow of the College from five years ago on the background. Somehow the whole atmosphere got really touching and when we sang ‘Bridge over troubled water’, with the piano accompaniment, those who did not sing well thanked us; they said they felt part of the group. It was really good.
Elliot: Yeah. We had very good concerts in Budapest too. We had five in the same day! Two on the streets, one we went singing for old people and another for the Hungarian UWC party. We also sang on the Castle Hill next to Saint Mathias Church. That was awesome! There was an important concert going on in the Church and journalists and television which eventually got interested in us too.
Among the songs we sang was Silent Night – first in English then Italian, Chinese and Afrikaans. That day people around us started singing in Hungarian!
“Lelde how did you find conducting the choir during such an adventure?”
Lelde: Challenging – and lots of fun. We needed to have simple songs which did not require any instrumental accompaniment. Sometimes we would get cold and extremely tired. Oh, did we get tired! But Elliott was very confident and helped me realise that if I gave them my energy, the choir would give it back! It was kind of like being in symbiosis.
“Elliot, what is your best memory from the trip?”
Elliot: While in Vienna, we were sleeping in a place 30 minutes by bus from the city. Once, we started singing on the bus and suddenly the passengers of that bus joined their voices to ours and we all sang together. The entire bus was singing, until the last stop.
“What song was that?”
Elliot: ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’
“Now, the final question. What was it, in your opinion, which made your experience so good?”
Elliot: It was being in a community where everyone had his own role. It was the team-work and the closeness of our community. We were busy together day and night: we slept in the same room, ate breakfast all together! We were not people who used to hang around together in College or a group of very close friends from before.
The street performance brought people together in an amazing way.
When you’re down and out,
When you’re on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
will lay me down.
Ju Li, Malaysia, LPCUWC
Chinese Cultural Evening was held on a winter’s night, January 21st, 2006, deliberately made one week before the Lunar New Year as a prelude to this most celebrated Chinese festival around the world. Situated in the courtyard, there was a sizable crowd of parents, teachers, students and their friends braving the chill and sitting through more than two hours of performance. This year, the theme was ‘Crimson Storms’, which, although different from the Chinese version, (the Chinese version translates loosely into “Iron Blood, Red Heart”, with “Iron Blood” symbolizing determination and strength of the Chinese nation, and “Red Heart” mirroring our never-defecting loyalty) encapsulated the essence of the evening nonetheless.
The actual evening was preceded by a ‘Pre-Evening’ which included movie shows about martial art and night stalls which highlighted intriguing aspects of Chinese culture – fortune telling, gambling, calligraphy, and traditional costumes. On that night, the College was filled with echoes of Gong and hawkers clamouring to get things sold.
Little red packets containing personalised invitation memos started appearing on students’ dorm doors, and parents of current and prospective students were also informed of the cultural event. Having received our cordial invitations, guests started arriving at College to attend a semi-formal banquet in the canteen, greeted by enthusiastic Chinese students who had volunteered to serve our guests through a course of Chinese cuisine, and later joined by other fellow students. It was a colourful sight as people showed up clad in Chinese costumes ranging from the traditional qipao to their own interpretations of what represented the Chinese culture – a Communist hat.
Climax of the cultural evening came when the show in courtyard started revving up. Weeks of hard work had finally come down to one decisive opening, where all contributors held their breath as the first music note – announcing the beginning of the show – vibrated through the cold air.
Scene after scene of short plays were presented to reveal stories and myths vital to the history of China – victory of a Qin general in war, Mulan the legendary female warrior, the multitude of concubines of the Chinese emperor. Written by Victoria Cilley, who was also the stage director, the plot was multi-layered to bring in the true variety of Chinese culture.
On that night, teachers, students and guests alike were treated to a display of Chinese traditions, philosophies and values; albeit some escaped comprehension due to overly generic explanations that perhaps did not do justice to the ancient Chinese culture that it was rooted in. However, laudable acting and performances made up for it, and the evening was concluded with the finale, brought by the school choir, giving a solemn spin to a popular Chinese song ‘Songs and Smiles’. After a final acknowledgment of all the contributors who made the evening a success, the oriental adventure ended with boiling cheers and was concluded in a Chinese New Year festivity.
Kamil Hamid, Pakistan, LPCUWC
Instead of the boring, dull reports one usually gets on College events, this is how Open Day went for this student. Word for word…
Open Day in LPCUWC on Sunday 15th January 2006 started in a rather odd way for me. I’m used to waking up blissfully late on Sundays, with the sad recollection that it will be five whole days before I can enjoy this luxury (sleep) again.
This Sunday however, I was awoken at the ungodly hour of *gasp* 10 am, by noise in the corridor outside my room. When I opened the door with a peevish expression on my face, ready to condescendingly ask the offenders to quiet down, I found myself face to face with over a dozen people I had never seen. Not only that, they were mostly adults! To my great embarrassment, the moment they saw me, many began laughing and pointing. I quickly shut the door and let out a groan.
How could I have forgotten? I had to give a TOUR of our campus today to some unlucky visitors. Wonderful.
I decided to dash to the showers since I had to get ready. Unfortunately, just as I was brushing my teeth (a sight you DO NOT want to see, since I look slightly rabid), I heard the pitter-patter of their feet alarmingly close. Before I had time to frantically dash to the shower stalls, the door opened and a fellow student chatting animatedly in Cantonese proceeded to lead the entire crowd into the Block 2 boy’s bathroom. They all stopped dead when they saw me (and I think I saw the enthusiasm in some of their eyes die as well). The next thing I knew, they all turned and left in a great hurry. Well, one of them stayed behind and proceeded to chat with me as he used the bathroom. I’ll stop there and spare you the details of THAT incident.
Back in my room, which was an utter mess, I had almost finished changing when the doorknob turned and in entered ANOTHER crowd. When their tour guide saw me and the state of the aforementioned room, he looked more then a little puzzled.
Too annoyed to speak, I furiously jabbed at the wall next to my bed indicating that it was the NEXT room he should be in. Thankfully, he understood and quickly bade his entourage leave. I shudder to think what would have happened if they’d walked in 10 minutes earlier (aside from an extremely angry South Asian yelling incoherently in Urdu).
Sunday Brunch was painfully short (though that omelette shall always be fondly remembered) since I had to run and lead the sheep, er, visitors on their tour. I was stopped mid-way by my second year, Shehrbano and given the additional responsibility of handing out “Initiative for Peace” flyers and supervising the stall after my tour.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, I was more then a little surprised at how much the school had decided to advertise itself. In addition to an “Initiative for Peace” stall, we also had a GCAT stall selling its infamous (in a good way, don’t kill me!) calendars. And of course, we had the LPCUWC souvenir group in their full glory, selling everything from T-shirts and jackets to mouse pads.
Large boards advertised the numerous other UWCs all around the world (Adriatic College seemed to be the most popular browsers choice).
I quickly got to the desk and receive a large placard that stated: CAMPUS TOUR (ENGLISH) and a sticker that read “TOUR GUIDE” and then stood outside the lecture room waiting for the end of the lecture.
I waited there for 15 long minutes questioning my sanity in volunteering for this event (and don’t even ask me what I’m doing for the one in February), when the doors of the lecture room opened. I let out a deep sigh of relief and walked forward holding my placard.
Unfortunately, I was forced to start the tour with only six people (two juniors included) since all of them seemed in an extreme rush to get away from the lecture room.
Fine then, I thought. Off we go.
What followed was probably one of the most embarrassing hours of my life. Primarily because I couldn’t stop stammering. That and the fact that my group of visitors liked to lag behind some times and then dash ahead at others. Wherever I led them, it seemed that all the other tour guides had decided to lead their groups as well. Hence the library and Block 2 corridors were VERY crammed with people in the end. We followed a pre-assigned route from the lecture room to the labs, (which were locked, much to my embarrassment) to the Academic centre, to the tennis courts and sports centre, to Block 2. While I didn’t end up walking into someone else’s room, I DID manage to stammer and speak so fast; I may as well have been talking in Urdu. Despite this, they amazingly had quite a few questions to ask me, though I doubt they got the answers they were looking for (enigmatic, am I not?).
I then took my tour group to the canteen where they got to enjoy… something (I’m not entirely sure, but I think I heard it say “ouch” when they ate it).
The disastrous tour ended at the courtyard again, where I walked away ashen faced after mumbling goodbye to them.
I then proceeded to randomly hand out “Initiative for Peace” flyers to anyone who seemed interested. Sadly, no one did! Then, after sitting at the stall for an hour, during which time no one give it or me a second glance, the courtyard began to empty. And within 20 minutes was empty.
And so, as the last guest left, LPCUWC was once again left in peace… or at least it has been until the next open day!
Tendai Musakwa, Zimbabwe, LPCUWC
When I first heard about the UWC movement, I imagined austere, bespectacled youths with grave expressions sitting on a round table discussing how they would save the world.
It will be boring, I said to myself, but then again it would be a welcoming challenge for me to interact with intelligent youth’s from all four corners of the earth. And the school website with a photo of LPCUWC almost smothered with foliage with a green mountain as the backdrop did have a certain exotic appeal.
So here I am. No, LPCUWC does not have groups of Clark Kents discussing how to save the world, and no, it is not boring in the least. What we have is a group of intelligent young people doing a lot for the betterment of the world whilst at the same time bettering themselves and nurturing their talents. From service where we perform acts of charity and learn a lot from other people to cultural evenings, LPCUWC is an environment, which does do justice to the UWC ideals, no doubt. The question is: are we doing enough?
Is it enough to hold service with those less fortunate than us, but not really identify with them? And if we do, how are we helping them in the long run? After we go away from LPCUWC, not even after two years but during the summer holidays and Christmas breaks, what are we doing for those less fortunate than us? The efforts of those who contributed to the Sponsored Walk for Education in East Timor by asking for sponsorship during the holidays are duly noted and applauded. I believe that more efforts like these are needed when we are away from LPCUWC to show that we really are concerned with the plight of others. I hope that an UWC education is changing or nurturing our humanity and that this does continue outside of LPCUWC. So, maybe next time you are in your comfortable bed ruminating on the colour of the ceiling at home, think about what you can do to help those around you.
Priyanka, Canada, Pearson College
Yesterday, during my night-time travels, I met many people (remarkable and random in their own right) and yet, one sticks out. It was not because this person was strikingly different in any way from the others but mainly because we had a really interesting conversation dealing with many things, mostly revolving around faith. We talked about how faith plays in out in our lives in the most mundane ways.
Earlier that day, a whole bunch of us were discussing the recent outrage over the cartoons published in a Danish newspaper, portraying the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in various forms, such as with a turban bomb. The argument about whether the right to the freedom of the press takes precedent over the right to religion was going round in circles, but at the very least we were talking about it; as well as stimulating provocative discussion on faith and religion and how closely tied it is indeed to culture.
Why is talking about faith so taboo in our society? Many people say that it plays a role in their lives and especially in a place like Pearson where we talk about anything and everything, it really is surprising that we don’t talk about it more. Of course, we have things such as Special Topics Day where we talk about world religions but we rarely talk what role these exactly take in our lives.
Go out on a limb. Talk to people. Find out what people have to say about these topics rarely touched on. You might find another dimension to someone you already know.
Ahmad, Afghanistan, Pearson College
As we know that all the United World Colleges have students from all over the world. The basic idea behind the mission is to gather students from all over the world in order to create a cohesive bond between each student, as well as to make students aware about the other cultures and people, and teach them to respect each others culture.
I have not a single noticeable regret about this mission. It is indeed very worthy to live and study in an international environment and integrate with all the members of the society. But one thing I find hard is that every member of this society expects that all students should have the same qualities, ethics, and reactions, regardless of their past life, their situation and condition in their own society. Every student who attends a UWC does not have the same capability of interaction or the same ‘norms’ as every other student – some students belong to a poor background, some to a rich background, some to a very restricted background and some to a very liberal background. The influence of a person’s background has a big impact on a person’s personality and their ethics. It takes every student to change their attitude and to interact with other people and their cultures, if this is true and every one is aware of it then why don’t people in UWC accept the exception? The person who recently attended UWC is victimized by the burden of the society’s needs and expectations – what normally happens is that some students leave the College after a short time.
The second issue that arises in my mind sometimes is about the new culture adaptation. It’s obvious for all the students who attend UWC, that in the end they change all of their character, personality, and attitude by integrating with other people. In some sense it’s good and in some sense it’s bad, because if the student goes back home its really hard for him to change his attitude back to his past, because he needs to be the same as he was in the past so he can survive in his own society. Because one person cannot change the whole society he must change according to society’s needs, but it will be a dilemma for students who are going back home after UWCs.
The third thing that I always think about is the enforcement of a new culture – whether you accept or not, you have to obey it. We say that UWC is about international understanding, but if you understand someone’s culture, you should respect why your own culture is not accepted or respected - this is what I think most of the time. I say that every one accepts the culture and normality of living in this society but they can’t demonstrate their own culture or even try to describe or following their own culture. No-one is there to hear about it and no one is there to accept or compromise. Having National days is the best way to show the costume, language or music but not the whole situation of the society, no-one even asks about it.
In the last part, I just want to add that I am happy being among the international students and in an international environment.
I have learned and achieved more than what I have lost and I will try to not lose my new achievements.
Scott, Canada, Pearson College
In the 16th century, a large influx of European fur traders travelled down various rivers into landlocked Saskatchewan. Their initial contact with the people from my region, mainly Cree and Dene, was peaceful. Later, European traders took a more proactive approach, attempting to control monopolies on the fur, and crafts from the region. Among many tools to gain favour among tribes, alcohol was traded to the indigenous populations.
There are several facts in my town: alcohol is a pertinent issue, it affects all ethnicities, and the education about alcoholism is limited. You might wonder, what does my community’s alcohol problem have to do with European fur traders? Assimilation and early interests in the fur trade brought alcohol to the indigenous populations in my region (and other regions of Canada) which, prior to colonization, had no familiarity with alcohol.
The lasting effects of this are obvious if you have ever been to the North. Foetal Alcohol Spectrum disorder is not always easy to spot, but it is not invisible either. I grew up in a school system where my fellow classmates may have had various disabilities due to lack of education about alcohol during pregnancy, and alcoholism. Throughout school, I volunteered to care for three severely disabled students in my school. When I was in Alert Bay for project week, I saw the same thing. This did not surprise me at all, because I believe that alcoholism in indigenous communities is directly related to the initial contact with traders. Although some traders did not trade alcohol, a significant amount did, enough so that the police were commanded with the task of controlling and banning the sale and trade of alcohol to indigenous peoples. It is a generalization, but reasonable, if I conclude that alcohol was used as a destructive tool to control indigenous people.
A common argument in my community is that, “This happened over a hundred years ago”, and that the indigenous people have had enough time to nurture a tolerance for alcohol. This statement is not true. The people in my community will never adapt to respect alcohol unless educated. Another argument made is that, “White people face alcoholism in the community also”. This statement is true in some regards, but grossly neglects the effects that alcoholism has on each particular “group”. For indigenous people, alcoholism contributes to stereotypical images of the people being presented as drunks and ruins appreciation of culture. Another point is that alcoholism was never an issue before settlers arrived, nor was it a part of the culture. European settlers have at least some tolerance towards alcohol, and as some students might say here in defence of alcohol “It is a part of European culture”. There are issues regarding alcoholism that have been brought up here at Pearson: its fine in moderation, it’s a social activity, people who abuse alcohol are “fools”. Originally introduced as a tool for assimilating and trading, alcohol has become a deeply ingrained community issue for me. I am against drinking excessively, and in favour of education. My personal values do not differ much from others.
Some of you say “In my culture it’s okay to drink.” Yeah, well, it’s killing mine.
Sam, Netherlands, Pearson College
As I sit in the computer lab, thinking about what I could possibly discuss in this Edition of By the Way©, my eyes wander and rest briefly on the screen adjacent to mine. Knowing that it is, strictly speaking, unacceptable (and not to mention impolite) to gaze at other people’s work/email/ personal business, I automatically move my eyes back to the screen in front of me. “Bad form” my father would call it, sticking your nose in other people’s affairs “you mind your business and other will mind theirs” is a phrase that I have heard once too often from my parents.
Coming from a place in which people would rather spend their day looking up at the sky rather than meeting your eye in the street I have experienced at Pearson a sort of “everyone knows what is going on, even before it actually happens” feeling. This metaphysical interconnectedness of which we all seem to suffer has made me think about the nature of mankind’s social interactions and the extent to which our innate behavioural traits, explain the way the average Pearsonite behaves.
So, back to minding your own business, Pearson has led me to appreciate privacy. Seeing as privacy in our daily lives includes, and is limited to a rushed bathroom trip, or the occasional (perhaps if you choose to, very occasional) shower, I have actually become afraid of solitude. Luckily my fear of Cougars well surpasses my fear of being alone and therefore this fear does not pose a major problem to me. However, there is a slight apprehension, which I would describe as a caged animal unwilling to leave the confines of its enclosure, when learning that freedom or in this case social seclusion is an option. Being social animals, we all fear exclusion, and consequentially seek the company of others in order to consolidate our sense of belonging.
In dealing with my trepidations at being alone I decided to ask my peers whether they shared these feelings. In general, the responses I met were along the lines of, “Seriously, what are you wasting my time with” or “Don’t you have better things to do?” When scrutinizing these responses, I came to the conclusion that I am in fact not absolutely crazy, but merely have the privilege of having realized this phenomenon. Past articles in By the Way© have described the fear of leaving Pearson, or have dealt with the exploding of the “Pearson Bubble” at the end of each year. I definitely feel that there is some truth in the assertion that we fear the end of this adventure, but feel that “the great unknown” after Pearson is in many ways a fabrication of our mind and a response to our addiction to the metaphysical, sociological network of Pearson College. People have accused me lately of “going crazy” which, in my opinion, regardless of whether it’s true or not is a testament to my personal enlightenment. When I say enlightenment I don’t mean the way a Buddhist achieves spiritual enlightenment, what I mean to say is that just like an addict ready to leave his habits forever I have been struck with sudden apprehension when anticipating my own “coming down” from Pearson.
So what am I actually getting at? I don’t exactly know. I know, however that my fear of being alone, and perhaps everyone’s fear at being alone is what facilitates the closeness of our relations and makes it so that we know, to a ridiculous extent, almost everything that goes on in this place.
Tom, Wales, Pearson College
When the power goes out, life slows down. It is Saturday, the 28th of January and I’m sitting in the ‘caf’ waiting for brunch to be served. It’s funny that with all power down I find refuge in one of the few sources of electricity left to me, my laptop battery.
Still, I am relaxed, without mains electricity there seems to be no hurry, no must do, no apparent deadlines. People talk slower it seems, and more quietly. Last night (before 10:30 of course…) I was sitting in a friends room, watching a bad film when the power went out (an hour and a half earlier in that particular room than it did anywhere else… it’s hard to lie convincingly while maintaining a believable timeline) and we sat there in total darkness, turned the film off and had a conversation. Nothing had changed except the light intensity but still the laptop closed and the conversation started.
After a while I left and walked back to my house, and I was surprised to find the path full of people, magnetized to social contact through the lack of electronic stimulation. I talked for a short while and then went to bed. I would usually have worked or listened to music till I fell asleep but last night I found it more appropriate to read in bed, by candlelight (I had moved my bed outside of course so as not to break fire safety rules.) This morning, instead of being customarily woken up by my alarm, I slept till I woke naturally. These strange phenomena I can find no explanation for, but I find quite pleasant.
I have a theory, as yet unproven and possibly wildly inaccurate: I theorize that the school authorizes the random power-outs as an alternative to budget cuts. It is understandable that they would cover up such a seemingly malignant action with all the usual phone calls and rumours of BC Hydro. There are however some inconveniences of unplanned life without power so I propose to timetable a day once a month, without electricity so that students can plan for these events, while the College still saves a few dollars…
Linking coordinators: Contact Details
Atlantic College: Nick Lush, nick.lush@uwc.net
UWCSEA: Matthew Raggett, mar@uwcsea.edu.sg
Pearson College: Dave Skilling, dskilling@pearsoncollege.ca
Waterford KaMhlaba UWC: Mike Watson, watson@waterford.sz
UWC-USA: Elizabeth Morse, elizabeth.morse@uwc.net
Adriatic College: Cristina Leban, cristina.leban@tiscali.it
Li Po Chun UWC: Magan Savant, magan@lpcuwc.edu.hk
Red Cross Nordic UWC: Daniel Toa Kwapong, daniel.toa-kwapong@uwc.net
Mahindra UWC: Andrew Mahlstedt, amahlstedt@muwci.net
Simón Bolívar: Eglée Zambrano, prensa_fundacea@cantv.net
International Office: Nancy Owen, nancy.owen@uwcio.uwc.org
