Anyway, evident from this post title and as mentioned in my last post, I am going to tell you more about UWC Atlantic, the the school I will be studying at in Wales. Before I had access to my computer to type this out, (in this case, before I mustered up the energy needed to retrieve my laptop and log into my blog account) I wrote out my whole experience thus far in my little Shakespeare notebook (I'll attach a picture of it at the bottom of this post, it's pretty essential to this blog after all!). After using up four pages and knowing I would need a lot more, I realized when I typed this out, I was going to need serious edits to keep it short and sweet. I then tried to cut out different parts of what I had written, but the hacked up entry I was left with was not something I was pleased with; rather like watching a play with a storyline so pathetic that you actually feel like leaving midway. Therefore, I have decided to split up what I have experienced so far into different posts, so that like watching an awesome gig, with each song the band plays, a new rush of adrenaline pumps through your veins and you're dancing like a lunatic all over again(;
This one will be focused on the general overview and a bit of the history of UWC. So let's start shall we? I've been using the acronym UWC quite a bit. What it really stands for is United World College. You might think that's not quite appropriate because it's bit of a stretch to consider Wales or even England, as the world. Actually, the name is fitting, because under the UWC movement are 12 different schools (UWC Atlantic is just one of the many) and even more (140) national committees worldwide. Moreover, due to the great number of national committees, students at each college come from all corners of the globe! Hope that explains the name(:
Now just a quick history lesson: 'The first UWC college, the United World College of the Atlantic, located in a 12th Century castle set in 90 hectares of grounds in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales, United Kingdom, was founded in 1962 with the initiative of Kurt Hahn, a German educationalist. Kurt Hahn's vision was based on his post-war experience at the NATO Defence College, where he had observed discussion and collaboration between former enemies. He wanted to transmit a spirit of mutual understanding to young people to help them overcome prejudice and antagonism through living and working together.' Another fun fact, Kurt Hahn also started the Outward Bound program!
What I have given you so far is a very skimpy explanation which does no justice whatsoever to what I feel is a remarkable organization. Nevertheless here is an attempt to summarize its core belief.
"UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future."
I think I'm going to stop here because this post is already getting pretty lengthy. If you would like to find out more about UWC though, I am going to include some links for your reading pleasure, so do check them out!
Official UWC website: www.uwc.org/
Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_World_Colleges
I hope that with this basic understanding that when I write in the next few posts relating to my own UWC journey (though it is still a rather short one) that it will be easier for you to read as you will have a bit of background context.
Also, I have decided to end all my posts with quotes from music, films or plays I have heard/watched because I am a nerd when it comes to these things. It will also make this blog truly mine. SOOO today something about how I kinda feel at this very moment thinking about my imminent departure...
" Time's moving really really slowly. My heart's beating really fast. I swear to God, it feels like... it feels like it's beating like three times as fast as it should be." - Aron Ralston, 127 Hours
*as promised my little Shakespeare notebook
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