Leeds Castle

Today we visited Leeds Castle, which is about an hour away from Bedgebury.  We left the Bell School as it was beginning to rain.  It did stop raining on the way to the castle but when we got there things got really wet.  Though they didn't say it, the children were glad they had their blue jackets.  When we went inside the castle the rain stopped and, as we walked outside, we were met by dazzling sunshine.  Such is the English weather.  

I took some pictures:

Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16

Dear readers,

On Thursday 14 we visited London a second time.  First we went to see the Tower of London.  If you go to the following link, you will see us approaching the Tower.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEtqWn7zGpE

And here is a picture of the group before we entered the Tower of London.

We then returned to our coach and after a short ride got off at the Imperial War Museum.  This is a picture of us outside the museum.  Notice the two huge cannon in the background.

On Thursday, the children had lessons in the morning and sports and activities in the afternoon.  The following two links show video footage of the assault course that both boys and girls had to go through.  They did very well and had tons of fun getting through the course.  I was particularly impressed by the girls' performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awt3jsyYhsg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRnl8Po-Ss

On Friday we had a full day at the seaside city of Brighton.  We visited the Royal Pavilion, the Pier, and walked and shopped the city streets for souvenirs and presents for our friends and families.

For some video footage of Brighton go to:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wBtoJP_7OY

We have three more day trips:  Leeds Castle tomorrow, Canterbury on Monday, and London on Wednesday.  I'll try to keep you in the loop.

Tuesday at Hawkhurst and Bedgebury.

Dear readers,

Today we visited Hawkhurst Primary School.  Hawkhurst goes up to year 6 only, which means that its pupils leave for Secondary School when they are 12 years of age.  There are about 140 children in the whole of the school.  As soon as we arrived we noticed the warm atmosphere and the smiling faces.  They were expecting us, and the pupils had even learnt a few words in Castilian that they practiced with their Chilean visitors.  It was a marvelous experience from every point of view.  Our students established excellent rapport with the Hawkhurst children and shared their break and joined in their games. The school staff had organized a treasure-hunt type of game where the Chilean and English pupils had to locate clues around the school while getting to know one another.  When they finished they came back to the assembly hall and had biscuits together.  Then we were invited to attend assembly where we showed the Chilean cuecas that our students had prepared for them.  The Redland contingent looked very smart in their typical huaso and huasa outfits and performed magnificently.  All in all a wonderful morning.

Below is a photograph of assembly.

The following are two links to You Tube where you will be able to view the two cuecas our students prepared for the occasion.   The first is La Rosa con el Clavel, while the second is La Consentida.  Enjoy the show.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJTPw1E48Z0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24jlcns6vCI

The events above took place in the morning.  After lunch, our young people gathered for a lesson on how to make gingerbread biscuits.  Once they were ready, they put them in the oven and left for the lake.  Once there, they were separated into three groups and were given instructions on how to build  rafts which they would then race to a buoy and come back.  

The following are two videos I took of the seventeen after they had built and launched their rafts.  The racing competition was fierce.  Judge for yourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onImMaluPCk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqaeCRLxKR4

After the regatta was over, the boys and girls helped to dismantle their craft and stow away all their components.  Once that was done, they returned to the main building, took a shower and headed for the kitchen to see how their gingerbread biscuits had turned out.  They decorated and devoured them on the spot.  Their teachers, who'd expressed a wish to sample said biscuits, were completely forgotten in the feeding frenzy that took place.  Words fail me to convey our disappointment.

Until our next post.

Casino Night

Dear readers,

Tonight was Casino Night, in which we share with Mayflower.  On this special evening the boys and girls get to dress up and play different games of chance which are organized by the Bell staff.  They win token money at the different games which they can then use to bid at an auction that takes place when the games are closed.  The children have to bid for "Mystery Packages".  They are called this way because you can't see what's inside.  Tomás got lucky and auctioned a box of chocolates, and so did Axel.  Both, Tomás and Axel, became suddenly very popular with their friends.  Between Pablo and Cristóbal they bid on another surprise package and  won a girls' magazine.  They took it in very good spirits, hooting and screaming, while Magdalena begged them to give it to her.
Below you can see some pictures of the evening's entertainment.

Three more videos!

Dear compatriots and friends,

As the title of this entry suggests, I have uploaded three more videos onto You Tube.  All three are from yesterday's expedition to London.  The first two show our merry band still on the river cruise on the Thames:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIf18ZgacbY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nYsQgDaFqg

The third video was taken when we were already back on dry land and were standing right next to that most famous of landmarks, the Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  Fridays are busy days in most cities around the world, and you will notice that London is no exception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuP-tDvRGPM

I hope you have enjoyed watching these scenes.  I will try to continue loading video footage onto the net so that you can share in our wanderings around England.  Stay tuned.

We have video!!

Dear parents and friends,

I have finally had access to You Tube, which means that you will now be able to view some of the footage I have taken so far.  I hope you enjoy watching your children as they visit this interesting country.  I have uploaded the movies in chronological order.  I'm afraid that some of them are a bit long.  Still, if you click on each link you will be on your way to seeing our explorers in action.

Friday, Sept. 2.  I took this first clip during our flight Santiago - Madrid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WElz_eUfeII

Monday. Sept. 5.  The second movie was taken in Rye:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTQStFvO6d8

Monday, Sept. 5.  The third movie is also Rye:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFuVYT0caoc

Wednesday, Sept. 7.  Next is a movie I took while we punted on the river Cam; in Cambridge, naturally:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuh4ri9v8o8

Wednesday, Sept 7.  The fifth clip show us leaving King's College in Cambridge, after visiting the spectacular King's College Chapel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fiiH2nDbAk

Friday, Sept. 9.  The next  clip shows the seventeen boys and girls during the river cruise we took on the Thames after visiting the Observatory at Greenwich.  It is a bit long, but very interesting at the same time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvA_6RTO48E

Visit to Cambridge

Dear readers,

Today was a wonderful day.  We visited Cambridge, which is a two-hour coach ride away from the Bell School in Bedgebury, Kent.  We walked the city as much as we could, the children bought more souvenirs, we went for a chauffered punt on the river Cam, and we took a guided walking tour with Chris Rigge's grandfather, Michael Wood.  Chris is the gap student currently at Redland helping us in English. His sister, Sophie,  joined us on our walking tour.  She was also a gap student with us a few years back; it was very nice to see her again.  Chris is the young man who spoke to you about England at our last meeting before the trip. Chris's family lives in Cambridge.
One interesting bit was when Mr Wood took us to The Eagle, the pub where the Nobel prize winners, Watson and Crick, first announced that they had discovered The Secret of Life,  DNA.  There is a blue plaque commemorating the date in 1953.  As the story goes, in 2003, James Watson himself unveiled the plaque as quickly as he could - so that he could go back into the pub.
So, we punted and walked the city for several hours.  We visited Saint Catherine's College, and also King's College Chapel.  And we had spectacular weather to boot.
Have a look at some of the many pictures I took of your children while they visited the beautiful city of Cambridge.  By the way, if you click on the photographs you can enlarge the pictures and see these places, and your children, in greater detail.  Enjoy.