#Comunidad

21 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
21 Dec 2012 | Comentar

Oxford, London, Harry Potter… and soon, back home!

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Thank you, Mónica Bruck, for this report.

Wednesday, December 19th

The day was rainy and cold but the girls were ready lo leave Cardiff at 8 o´clock in the morning and we all headed to Oxford, one of the oldest university towns in Britain. The drive took over two hours. We arrived in the beautiful medieval university town and got off the bus at The Randolph, a famous five star hotel, and walked along High Street up to King Edward’s Road to merge into Merton Street, in search of Merton College, one of the colleges that dates back to 1264.

Unfortunately many colleges were closed and we were not able to visit them due to the Christmas holidays. The city’s Cathedral is the chapel of Christ Church College founded by Cardinal Wolsey, during the reign of Henry VIII and it is one of the most beautiful buildings of Oxford.  As it kept on raining, after lunch we boarded the bus that would take us to London, our next and last stop.

London: musicals and a rainy first night 

We arrived in the late afternoon and got ready for our first night in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Some girls had already bought tickets to famous musicals like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and others got tickets to We will rock you and The Lion King as soon as they arrived at the hotel.

Another group decided to stay and rest after the long day. The West End was packed with people during this Christmas season in spite of the fact that it was raining heavily. The bad weather could not ruin the girls' first night in London!

Thursday, December  20th: the magic of Harry Potter... and the last hockey match

Thursday would be a different day for some girls. They had booked the Making of Harry Potter tour from Buenos Aires.  We had an early breakfast and headed to the train station and then the shuttle bus that would take us to Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.  This is a behind the scenes walking tour where we were immersed into the world of filmmaking, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series. It was an exciting adventure and it is unbelievable the work that goes into filmmaking and how talented each one of the hundreds of participants have to be.

The rest of the girls went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which specializes in decorative art and design. It features an Islamic Middle East Gallery, a China Collection and Japanese Gallery, a Photography Collection, a Fashion Room, a Jewellery Gallery among others. Some girls visited a special exhibition of costumes worn in very famous movies such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Cleopatra. They were even able to see Marilyn Monroe`s white dress from the 1955 movie "The Seventh Year Itch", which was kept in a special glass cabinet. After visiting this museum, some girls went to the Natural History Museum next door. There they visited the Dinosaur Gallery, the Earth Gallery, they were impressed by the huge blue whale and the Darwin Centre. They were impressed by the interactive activities offered by the Museum.

At around four o’clock the girls returned to the hotel to get ready for their last hockey match of the tour. For some girls, it would be the last match for good because they are finishing school! The B team played against the Eastcote Hockey Club and the A team against Old Loughtonians Club. Unfortunately our girls lost in spite of their enthusiasm and will. Vicky and Carolina, their coaches, said some very moving words because it would really be the last match for some of them and we all wished the “ex S6” all the best.
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20 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
20 Dec 2012 | 2 comentarios

Cardiff Castle, Bath and a victory in Hockey!

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Mónica Bruck reports on the last few days. Thanks, Mónica, for such eloquent pieces and vivid photos!

Monday, December 17th

It was the gilrs' turn to visit Cardiff Castle, one of the most fascinating buildings in Britain! With a long history stretching back to the Roman invasion, the site is a reconstructed Roman fort, an impressive Norman castle and a Victorian palace, all in one. The girls were excited and looked forward to visiting the beautiful buildings. Some of them climbed to the top to enjoy the view, toured  the tunnels used as shelters during the Second World War, explored the keep and visited all the beautiful rooms of the Victorian palace.

Congrats, BDS girls!!

Later, it was time for the first hockey match to be played in the United Kingdom. The second team played first and was able to defeat the Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf team 1-0. Our girls played with enthusiasm, energy and will. We all celebrated our first success! . The Welsh school´s coach congratulated Martina Díaz Fernández for her excellent performance.

The first team also played the best game of the tour. It was an exciting match because after superb collective action Agostina Dasso scored the first goal. The other team scored twice but in spite of their initial disappointment, they never gave up and Florencia Bortman scored a second goal.

After the match, we all shared hot chocolate and Christmas sweets and exchanged presents with the other team. The girls from the other school spoke Welsh and it was interesting to listen to young girls speaking such an ancient language. We were told that some of their parents spoke only English.

After the match, we toured Cardiff streets to admire the beautiful Christmas decorations.

December 18th

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and headed to Bath. It was an hour and a half ride and our first stop were the Roman Baths. The gush of hot mineral water which bursts from the ground in the centre of Bath has always been a subject of wonder and the girls were just as fascinated.  In the first century AD, the Romans chose this site to build one of the most astounding public buildings of Roman Britain.

We saw fragments of the magnificent Temple of Sulis Minerva, Goddess of the thermal spring, and the remarkably well preserved bath-house frequented by residents and pilgrims nearly 2000 years ago. Also on display are coins and curses thrown into the Sacred Spring, and numerous other treasures unearthed through archeological excavations over the past 300 years. The girls loved to make a wish and then toss a coin into the thermal waters. Hopefully their wishes will come true.

We then walked around Bath, which has justly earned its status as a UNESCO World Heritage City due to its splendid architecture, its Georgian crescents, squares and streets lined by elegant townhouses built in the particular Bath stone.

A few hours later we left the city and made our way to Bristol. This is a busy city with streets lined with shops, quiet different from Bath. It is a port, though not on the sea but on the Avon Gorge.  The highlight of Bristol is its beautiful Cathedral, founded in the year 1140. The Cathedral has much of interest including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and an historic organ. After visiting the Cathedral we went back to the hotel for an early dinner. The girls had to pack to get ready for their trip to London.

To read about the boys' experience in Spain, please go to the Spanish version of this post.

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17 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Dec 2012 | 1 comentario

… Boys and Girls Switch Destinations: the Girls in Cardiff

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Mónica Bruck reports:

Saturday,  December 15th

The boys left to Barcelona and the girls arrived and we went from Heathrow to Cardiff.

Sunday, December 16

By Sunday morning the rain had stopped and we looked forward to a sunny day.  After breakfast the girls went to a neighbouring field to train because they have an important hockey match tomorrow. We had an early lunch at 12 and left at one o´clock to the visit Big Pit National Coal Museum.
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17 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Dec 2012 | 1 comentario

Cardiff: Castle, Stadium, Volley… and about to leave the UK

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December 14th

After breakfast we visited Cardiff Caste. Unfortunately, it was a short tour because it was raining heavily. We were shown the beautiful rooms and we were led to the tunnels which were used during  World War II as anti-bomb shelters.

We did not have much time because we had booked a tour of the new Millenium Stadium, right across the street. We were shown the changing rooms, the press conference room, the field with its artificial light and recreated the moment when players enter the field.

When we returned back to the Centre we were advised that the rugby match had been  cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. The boys were very disappointed because they had trained very hard and were looking forward to the game with optimism.

On the other hand, the volley team faced the U-21 Welsh National Team and unfortunately lost 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20 after an unbelievable performance. The level of the Welsh was considerably superior, but our team nevertheless rose to the occasion. Once again Ezequiel Ibarra was the man of the match along with Hee Jung Lee and Tomás Rocchi. In spite of the strength of the Welsh, we consider that our boys improved their game significantly. Their coach, Roberto Fiondella, highlighted the fact the rugby team attended the match, cheering and supporting the volley ball boys.

Mónica Bruck

In the meantime, the girls visited Terrassa (near Barcelona) and got ready to say good-bye to Spain...