A Million Little Things

People said that once school started, we would develop routines and things would start to feel a bit more like real life. That doesn’t appear to be the case.

Every single day, be it school day or weekend is completely separate from the one before it. Some days there are no events planned or extra-curriculars happening, and yet we still find a million new things to do or new conversations to have. It is so fantastic that this place lacks the monotony and routine of life at home but it also makes for an intense, exhausting lifestyle.

Here are some highlights from the last 2 weeks:

Two weekends ago, I headed to the beach for the first time. We went to a popular surfing beach on the Pacific Coast, called Playa Jaco. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get there but spending the day playing in the waves and lounging on the beach were so worth it. It was so nice to get to see more of Costa Rica and not just San Jose.

The next day, the second years had a huge deadline so the firsties decided to surprise them with something. We planned a school wide water fight at midnight (that was the deadline). We had hundreds of water baloons as well as buckets and water bottles. We waged full out war for about half an hour. Then we invited the second years into the social center for snacks and a dance party. It was fantastic spontaneous fun.

Last sunday, about 20 of us went to a local woman’s house to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. I am not Jewish in any way and neither were most of the students that went, but it was a very intersting cultural experience. She talked to us about the meanings of the holiday and some Jewish folklore. And we got ice cream, which didn’t hurt.

Independence day was also a big deal. On the day when Costa Rica got it’s independence from Spain there are parades in every town. In Santa Ana, we are a part of it. Everyone dresses in their national costumes and carries their flags. You might not believe it but honestly sometimes you forget how ridiculously multicultural it is here. The parade really brought it to the forefront.

Of course, some of the best parts of being here aren’t specific events. Often the highlight of my day is staying up late talking to Shore from Nigeria about the mis-portrayal of Africa in the media or climbing trees and talking about art with Sophia from Wales. Somedays its lying on a friends bed and singing at the top of our lungs.

There are a million little reasons to love this place and I am trying to experience them all.

Hola Chicos

Strangely enough, the first time I have found time to write a post is the fourth day of school. That goes to show how wonderfully strange and chaotic the last two week shave been. I haven’t been alone for more than half an hour since I got here, and even that has only happened twice.

I arrived at the college at midnight and I was greeted by groups of second years hugging me. The Canadian second years came to visit when I got to my room. The next day or too was pretty much like that. Crowds of people from all over the world hugging me and telling me their name and country. Unsurprisingly, remembering the names of 160 students while sleep deprived and disoriented is almost impossible. By the end of the first week I knew the names of most of my fellow first years (called co-years at UWC), and by now I know most of the names of the second years.

Those hugs and early introductions really were symbolic of life at UWC, full of affection, curiosity and absolutely no personal space. I already feel like I am friends with many of my co-years and the girls in my residence (Hermosa). We have played about 400 ice breakers since we arrived. It has made these first two weeks really feel like camp. The first week was taken up entirely by meetings, games organized by second years and socializing. I didn’t go to bed before 11:30 and I didn’t wake up any later than 8. We played a school wide game of capture the flag, but I got caught with in the first ten minutes and spent the rest of my time sitting in jail playing mind games with the other people that got caught. We had a really good bonding thing called candle night, where anyone could speak about how they were feeling without any judgment. It really helped me feel closer to my second years.

On Saturday, I went on a tour of San Jose. It was really fun to get to see a new city but honestly it wasn’t that impressive. It’s pretty dirty and smelly and loud. Maybe when I get a chance to explore some other parts I will enjoy it more. The next day I woke up obnoxiously early to hike up to the top of a nearby mountain. We walked through Santa Ana (the district I live in) and then up a steep narrow dirt path. We stopped after about two and a half hours into the hike and went swimming at this fantastic secluded pool. From there the group split, some people went back down and about 20 of us continued up. The road up was ridiculously sleep and we were tired but the view from the top was fantastic. The walk back down was really tough and in total the hike took us about 8 hours. It was totally worth while.

The next two days were spent at Roblealto camp. This was a very canadian-style over night camp. We spent our time there playing more ice breakers and energizers as well as doing some reflection. We had a hilarious open-mic night on Monday night. The nicest part was when we were given 30 minutes to spend all by ourselves. I didn’t realize how much I needed some alone time until I got it.  That’s what this lifestyle of constant socializing does to you.

Some of the coolest things here are the animals. So far I have seen 2 armadillos, a tarantula, a snake and 2 geckos. There was even a very large iguana in my residence and a hummingbird in my room. This is what happens when every window and door in the residence is always open.

School started this week and it’s very strange. We got to school from 7:30 until 1:30 and we don’t eat lunch until the end of it. There are no bells or morning announcements so to me it doesn’t really feel like school. I have homework already a quiz next week but it still feels like we are playing school instead of really doing it.

I’m sure eventually this will all seem like normal life, truthfully it’s getting close, but for now its a wonderful adventure every minute of the day.

Pura Vida

40 years ago, my grandfather picked up a magazine in a dentist’s office. In it he read about this revolutionary new school in BC called Pearson College. It was a school for well rounded, intelligent teenagers to study at for the last two years of high school. With a high-level high school curriculum and a special focus on extra-curriculars, it sounded to him like the best place a kid could go to high school. He tried to convince my dad to apply, with no success. When my aunt was old enough she applied, but wasn’t accepted.

When I was in Grade 9, my dad told me about this school. I instantly latched on to the idea of attending and started researching the school. I found out that I could apply when I was sixteen. One of the more interesting discoveries I made was that there were actually 14 schools like Pearson around the world, which are all part of a group called United World Colleges (UWC).

When the summer before Grade 11 rolled around I was still interested in attending Pearson, so I filled out a detailed application and sent it in. I spent the next 3 months in New Zealand and the application was pretty far from my mind.

In January, the phone rang and they asked if Anique Baillon was home. The woman on the phone proceeded to invite me to an interview for Pearson. I did my best to sound professional on the phone and then screamed and ran to tell my dad as soon as she hung up.

I had about three weeks to prepare for the interview but I didn’t really know what they were going to ask. I kept up with news more than normal but there wasn’t much else I could do. So on Saturday morning, I entered a private school in Toronto to face 7 interviewers. They were very nice but I was still incredibly nervous. The questions were hard enough but I thought I answered them fairly well. Then I got to hang out with all the other candidates for a while. They told us we should know near the beginning of March.

By the beginning of April I was wondering if they had forgotten about me. Then I received an  email that said “We are sorry but you have not been accepted. We can place you on a wait list but its unlikely that there will be spots available”. I asked to be put on the wait list but I assumed that it would never happen and so I gave up on that dream.

A month later, I was sitting at home when my mom called me and said “Are you still breathing?”. I had no idea what she was talking about until she told me to check my email. I had an email that said that I had been nominated for a spot at the UWC in Costa Rica. A week later I got my official acceptance letter.

So on August 16 I set out on my biggest adventure yet. I am going to school in Costa Rica for 2 years with an intense curriculum and 160 kids I don’t know at all… And I couldn’t be more excited!