2014 School Magazine

BARCELONA KATIE MITCHELL (11H)

In July, I was fortunate enough to attend the Oxbridge Academic Program to La Academia de Barcelona in Spain. Although I had no previous knowledge of Spanish, this did not matter as the programme caters for all levels and nearly half of the twenty courses offered are taught in English. The programme is held in a university residence in an upscale residential area of Barcelona called The Residencia Universitária Josep Manyanet. My two courses were Marine Biology and Filmmaking, which were both very interesting and I gained lots of valuable knowledge from them. The courses also allowed me to really explore the city and visit heaps of

amazing landmarks each lesson. In our spare time there were many activities organised for us, such as visiting the Roman ruins in the Barri Gòtic, attending a classical music concert, being guided to some of the finest tapas restaurants in town, visiting Barcelona’s renowned architecture including Parc Güell and the Sagrada Família as well as day trips to beautiful beaches in the towns surrounding Barcelona. The programme was an absolutely life-changing experience and over the month I made incredible friends and memories that I will cherish forever. ■

NEW YORK MEERA PRASAD (11O)

June 28 may have been the best day of my life and July 29 the saddest. On June 28 at approximately 3 am, eight Grammar girls, took off for an amazing four-week adventure to beautiful and picturesque New York City. Words can’t come close to describing the amazing time we all had, the memories and experiences we had there will stay with us forever. Everyday we did something new, ate something different and made more lifelong friends. Keeping in mind we didn’t just go there for the food, the sight seeing, the people and let’s not get started on the shopping, we went for the main purpose of academia. The New York College Experience Program, or as we called it #NYCE2014, opened our eyes to what else was out there in the world. It’s encouraged so many of us to study and make careers overseas; in a nutshell #NYCE2014 potentially changed my life. It sounds dramatic I know, but this trip wasn’t just another school trip, it made me realise what I want to do when I grow up, how I want to live my life, and most importantly, that I can actually do it and get there as long as I put in the effort. I am so grateful that I had this amazing opportunity to go on this trip and I would highly recommend more girls do it — it’s truly a trip you’ll never forget. ■

CO-CURRICULUM / 101