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Boston Visit St Aloysius' College 2018
Delight in Learning
Boston Visit St Aloysius' College 2018
Focusing on our common Jesuit roots, traditions and relationships, the ‘shared values’ programme between the College with Boston College High School and Notre Dame Academy (Hingham, Massachusetts) seeks to introduce participants to the transformative nature of global experiences through building strong relationships within the Jesuit network.
During this programme, students stay with host families, participate in a daylong retreat, attend classes at the College, explore both Glasgow and Edinburgh, and engage in the St. Aloysius’ outdoor educational programme where they canoe in Loch Ard.
On Saturday the 9th of June 2018, our Bostonian 'brothers and sisters' flew into Glasgow Airport from Logan Airport in Boston. Two of our S3 Pupils, Maria O’Neil and Scarlett Morris have written a short piece on the exchange.
"All the host families arrived early at Glasgow Airport feeling tired yet excited. We were all very eager to finally meet our 'brothers and sisters' who we had been communicating with through email for a number of weeks before.
Coming off a seven-hour flight, they were exhausted but little did they know that sleep was not an option as all families had prepared wonderful plans for a fun-filled weekend. For some of the girls, they were going to Hampden to see Beyoncé later that evening.
On Sunday, we had a day free where host families had the opportunity to show their 'brothers and sisters' a glimpse of Scotland, its beautiful countryside and all that it has to offer. From our experience, we travelled to Stirling Castle, learned about medieval Scottish history and ended the day with a group barbecue. This is where we got a chance to meet and talk to the other Boston students from Notre Dame Academy and even played a game of Scottish verses American Chinese whispers. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon, especially as it was really sunny and warm. We learned later that our Boston College High students shared similar experiences on Sunday, revelling in beautiful weather.
This morning we learned how to paddle in the canoes and even had competitive races around Loch Ard. It was so much fun and afterwards, we had a delicious barbecue in the sun, cooked by our very own 6th years. With everyone singing happy birthday to me [Maria] was quite embarrassing, however, the chocolate cake provided by my Mum and Dad was a really nice treat. Everyone agreed! The day was topped off by everyone jumping into the loch and swimming in the warm-ish water. This day has been a great day to get to know our host brothers and sisters and bond with them.
Throughout the week our Boston brothers and sisters are participating in various exciting activities such as a bus tour of Glasgow city centre, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and a trip to our beautiful capital. Yet we are most looking forward to Thursday where we will be participating in an inter-faith pilgrimage. It will allow time for us to reflect on the exchange and on our own lives. All of these activities help us build our global network of friends with shared values in life and faith.
We are looking forward to the rest of the week and hopefully, the days ahead are as good as today.
Signing off for now, Scarlett and Maria."
See more photos from the exchange- https://bit.ly/2yEKzrx
