Embedded Files
5th - 6th February
Bicester Village and Christ Church
(5th of February) As usual we had our 9.30 am to 1.00 pm classes, except that this week a whole group of Italian students came to the institute, as a result, we ended up changing rooms.
After that, we took a bus in Oxford centre and headed towards Bicester village, a beautiful place full of shopping centres. This place is known for having expensive items at shops but with a huge discount. Once we arrived, we had some free time to look around and visit some of the shops, and we had the opportunity to buy things that were probably more expensive in our country.
Once we finished looking around, we took a bus to head back to Oxford and everyone went home to finish the day.
(6th of February) The next day, we had the same routine as always, having our classes in the morning until 1.00 pm.
Once the classes had ended, we took a bus to Oxford centre and headed to a place called “Christ Church”, this place is known for being one of the biggest colleges in Oxford and for being also a Cathedral. Unfortunately for us, it started to rain just as we arrived, but we had a pleasant time inside the church. For the majority of us, the room that we loved the most was the dining hall. This room was used to produce one of the most famous scenes in “Harry Potter’s” movie “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone”, where at the Great Hall the Sorting Hat sorts the house Harry and main characters will belong to while at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, definitely a special place for Harry Potter lovers .
We also went to the gift shop after the tour, where they sold many things, but the most unique ones were related to the movie/novel: “Alice in wonderland” since this famous character was inspired by Alice Liddell, the 10 year old daughter of H.G Lidell, a dean of Christ Church, whose author was Lewis Carroll a mathematics lecturer in Christ Church when he first met Alice. When looking inside the cathedral garden, a little door is noticed, which is said to be the door through which Alice entered Wonderland.
After leaving the church, we all went home happy.
Written by Martin Gresa and Felipe Rojas
3rd - 4th February
London and Camden Town
We started our last Saturday in England, waking up early to take the train that would take us to London. Arriving in London, one of the first things we did was take a tour boat, where we saw lots of beautiful and famous buildings and attractions such as The London Eye and The Tower of London. After that little tour we went to The Buckingham Palace, while on the way we passed through a beautiful and enormous park, Saint James Park, where there were many animals such as ducks, squirrels and geese grazing. Afterwards we headed to the centre of the city and went to eat something and explore the famous stores. At the end of the day we went back to Oxford and the group returned to their homes. As yesterday most of the boys ended up tired, today Sunday only the girls, except forAgustina, went to London again.
We woke up early again to do the same first part of the trip, to arrive in London. The first thing we thought after getting down the bus was "what are we going to do today if we don't have exact plans?" We just knew and wanted to make the most of or time there. A little later while we were walking into a random street, Julieta suggested going to a market where she had been before and had a great time. After walking a little bit and struggling with subway tickets we managed to arrive at Camden Town. A very interesting and enormous market. We walked a lot, we did a stop and some shopped at a very exotic electronic store called Cyberdog. We had lunch there and at the end we went all over the place and Miss Alejandra proposed the idea of going again to Saint James park but previously we went to a random grocery store to buy hazelnuts for the squirrels who were very friendly and cute. Then we headed to Piccadilly Circus Street. In the middle of all this we saw lots of luxury cars. Martina and Nicolette were excited to touch a Ferrari, as well as others in the group.
At the end of the day the last shop we visited was the M&M's Store where Miss Alejandra bought M&Ms with the faces of her children.
We ended the day taking another bus to Oxford and each one going home, tired and excited for the experience gained and shared.
Written by Nicolette Yuraszeck and Agustina Buljevic
1st - 2nd of February
Ice skating at Ice Rink and Amazing Museums
(1st of February) As usual we had classes until 1.00 pm and the most memorable an expected activity we had as a group was going to the Ice Rink, a place where we could do ice skating, also having some painful falls, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
However, before the ice skating we also went to a curious area in Oxford, it wasn't the city centre, it was actually more likely the edge of Oxford; Cowley, which is a residential and industrial area of the city. We splitted up, some went to a market, and some went to the Templars square shopping. We ended up finding each other in a KFC for lunch.
That was our Thursday, pretty fun for most of us only because of the ice skating, and as for me, I personally agree, but it was painful too.
(2nd of February) Today we started our day like any other, going to our classes. Except that we had to take our test with the purpose of knowing how much we had learned during class work.
In spite of that, the rest of the morning was a breeze, not the more interesting one, but still a breeze. Afterwards we took our regularly scheduled 400 bus and journeyed towards Oxford, then we headed towards a double museum (the one we didn’t get to enter before) The Oxford University Museum of Natural History. This museum was filled to the brim with different interesting preserved animals and skeletons from prehistoric and contemporary ages and there also were gemstones and rare rocks. This amazing and well maintained museum was interestingly connected interiorly to another great museum, The Pitt Rivers Museum which had an expansive exhibition of different religious imagery and sculpture from different beliefs. The second floor displayed an exhibition of tools and their evolution whilst the third had an exhibition of weaponry, mostly consisting of swords, armours and some guns that were issued during the world wars.+
Written by Manuel Ávila And Sergio Araya
30 - 31 January
Getting to know the City Centre through markets and a Museum
As every day at the institute, we had classes from 9.30 am to 1.00 p.m. Then we went to a nearby supermarket to buy our daily lunch meal.
After lunch we went to Oxford by bus to tour the city again, this time roads around the University of Oxford passing near different tourist attractions in addition to some shops, we entered a beautiful two-story bookstore where we bought some souvenirs.
After the bookstore we continued touring the city at night and at the end of the day we decided to go to eat all together at the Westgate Oxford shopping centre,
For our third day in England after our daily day of classes, an exciting thing was waiting for us. We had planned to go to the Oxford Natural Museum but once there we were told that we had to book the visit although it had no cost. Since the centre of the city is amazingly occupied by interesting museums, we headed towards the Ashmolean museum because we had been suggested to visit it as well. This is the museum of the Oxford University of Art and Archeology that was founded in 1683. In it, you can find some of the ancient Egyptian mummies, contemporary art and how the history of the human being is shown through different cultures among the Roman, Greek and Egyptian.
Personally, our favourite part of the museum was being able to observe the replicas of the sculptures of Ancient Greece at the beginning of the tour, so far this has been one of our most interesting days while staying here in Oxford.
Written by Micaela Vargas and Julieta Olavarría
29 January
From Edinburgh Scotland, to Oxford England
On Saturday we stayed at the house to pack our bags and also our host family wanted to make us an especial dinner. Some of us went to Water of Leith, which is a beautiful place with squirrels and ducks which follows the path of a river that runs along the Dean Village.
Sunday morning was the last moment in Edinburgh and a taxi went to our houses at 7:10 in the morning to take us to the train station.
To get to Oxford we had to go on 3 trains since the first train was cancelled due to industrial work. The first train took 1 hour and we had to get off in New castle, the second one up to Birmingham took 3 hours and 25 minutes and the last one in which we finally reached Oxford took an hour but the train was terribly overcrowded so we had to stay in the hallway of the train next to the bathroom, standing with our suitcases by our side. We arrived in Oxford and went to the institute where our host families were waiting for us.
Today, Monday 29th of January, we went to the institute so as to have our classes in the morning. They explained everything to us and showed us the place. Our classes ended at 1.00 p.m. Our schedules will be the same as in Edinburgh. For lunch we went to a bakery.
At 2.00 pm we took a bus to the centre of the city where we visited the University of Oxford, the second oldest in Europe and the oldest in the UK. Some scenes of “Harry Potter '' were filmed at this place. The biggest library here and every building you can see surrounding you has a connection to the university within its different campuses. Old classrooms still keep their names in Latin and we were explained that the graduation ceremonies are still conducted in English although classes are no longer dictated in this old language. Above all of this, it is the importance and prestige that this university has all over the world, and we feel proud to know that our level and use of English will be certified by this outstanding University by the end of our secondary studies.
Later, we visited some shops in the centre and at 6 o'clock we came back to our houses, but since it was the first time we got a little lost, so we had to search our house on google maps. When we were near our destiny we had to cross a little dark road. We turned the light of our mobiles on and while we were crossing that road we realised that there was a cemetery next to us, which belongs to St Marie’s church. We started running until we arrived at our house. It was a scary anecdote, but then we laughed and thought that it didn’t really matter, because we were running scared, but at least, in Europe.
Written by Javiera Ayala and Martina Fajardo
26 January
Film Club and Calton Hill
Today was a special day for us, we started with classes from 9.30 am to 1.00 pm as usual, but during our break time, every student on the trip got his certificate from the Center of English Studies, because today was our last school day here at Edinburgh. There is a mixture of feelings since this has been a great experience but we are also excited to start our classes in Oxford.
After the classes were done, the film club was about to start, with a comedy British movie named “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, a bizarre British comedy from 1975 which tells the story of king Arthur and his brave knights in a quest of finding the holy grail. As the movie goes on, the movie throws some scenes where they show us a little perspective of each knight trying to get clues about the grail, but in the end, all of them get arrested for no reason whatsoever. It was hilarious at moments and some others were reflecting on British history and monarchy.
Moments later the movie had finished, Manuel, Martín, Sergio, Felipe and Miss Alejandra went to visit Calton Hill, which had a really similar architecture to Rome, and some precious views along with an observatory and a tower. However, the girls were not with us. As they had offered a special dinner for their host family and they had had to go so as to prepare everything.
Some facts about this place. It is mostly used in photographs and paintings of the city, and also we were able to see a captured Portuguese cannon on exhibition there. Last fact is that Calton Hill was owned by the “Logan family of Restalrig”. We captured beautiful views and once more we admired the beauty of this city which has been our home for two unforgettable weeks. Definitely a city to come back to in the future…
Written by Martin Gresa and Manuel Ávila
25 January
Dungeons and Burns
We started the day as usual, with classes from 9.30 am to 01.00 pm.
After classes most of us went to buy lunch at a supermarket near the institute. Today, part of us, girls and one boy, went to Edinburgh Dungeon, a scary attraction with a Freefall at the end. It was an entertaining and hilarious experience, and definitely a different form to learn through terror and mystery a little bit more about the history of this charming nation.
Afterwards we went to a cafe to chill out some time and rest from the experience of the dungeons. We talked for a while and after a few minutes we headed to the mall where an interesting celebration was carried on.
Today in Scotland, it is Burns’ Night. Celebrating the birth of Robert Burns, 25 of January, is a Scottish celebration that commemorates the life and work of the poet, author of poems such as “Auld Lang Syne ''. Burns' greatest works were a vivid insight into the aspirations and anguishes of the less-privileged, his hopes for equality and a better world. Words that maintain their powerful meaning today.
This is a celebration where families enjoy Scottish traditions and celebrate the renowned poet Robert Burns with a classic combination of haggis, neeps, tatties, some reciting of poetry, and maybe even a warming dram such as their famous whisky. It's also an opportunity to celebrate Scotland's enduring legacy of creativity with typical funny dances.
So, once at the mall we waited for the show to start, there was a bagpiper presentation first to prepare the audience for dancing. At first we didn't know whether to dance or not, but just a few minutes later we cheered up to do it since we saw all the people dancing, laughing and having fun. As things don’t last forever, we went back home responsibly on time, to prepare for our last day of classes in Edinburgh and prepare ourselves to start a new week in Oxford, England.
Written by Nicolette Yuraszeck and Agustina Buljevic
24 January
Edinburgh Castle, entrance to the dungeons
Today began as normal, with the exception of having to take buses earlier because of the weather that messed up the traffic this week. We had classes and learnt some new vocabulary regarding persuasion and logical fallacies. After that, we left early from school, at about 1.30 pm so as to get to the castle on time.
We arrived at Edinburgh castle. As a crucial aspect of Scotland, it is necessary to mention that its history and legacy lies on these astonishing walls which support a building inside, St Margaret’s Chapel which dates from 1130. It was built by King David I and it was named after his mother Queen Margaret, who was said to have done many acts of charity and was canonised by Pope Innocent IV in 1250.
Scotland’s royal family once knelt to worship in this little, serene and private chapel. Nowadays the walls of the castle are open to the visitors from all over the world and the chapel continues to host weddings and christenings.
We visited every part of the castle that was available for tourists, such as the prisons, the war museum, military museum and a part dedicated to the royalty of the museum to name a few.
It was very nice, everything was really pretty and we took a lot of photos. It wasn't as windy as yesterday; however, it was still windy. There also was a dog cemetery which is the final place of soldiers’ loyal canine companions.
You could see most of the city from the top of the castle and it was a very neat and fabulous view.
Once we left the castle we went our separate ways. My group went on a crusade in search of cheap games, but we didn't find what we were looking for, so we headed back home.
Overall, very straightforward, I would have enjoyed the castle to be just a bit bigger and not have that many rooms shut off. But still the trip was very nice and the prisons did look very intimidating on their own, it felt almost as if they weren't part of the castle, I still wonder what atrocities might have happened in those dungeons as we learnt that a considerable number of people died there. Would I visit it again? Definitely.
Written by Sergio Araya and Felipe Rojas
23 January
Edinburgh Castle first trial
As usual we started our day by going to school. Funny aspect to mention is the experience we had had with wind and rain which apart from making us all wet it makes us laugh and enjoy nature and its power in this part of the world. We particularly went through a very strong wind, drizzle and rain today. We had our classes until 1.00 pm and then we had lunch. Afterwards, we gathered at the ground floor at 2.00 pm to go to visit the Edinburgh Castle; however, when we arrived we had some problems with the entrance tickets and also the weather was not ideal to visit the castle, so we decided to buy the tickets to go tomorrow. Of course there was a special moment to admire the imposingness of the Edinburgh Castle where this country started its history. We look forward to being inside and appreciate not only its beauty but also learn more about the history of this amazing country.
Then we all together walked through the Royal Mile, which is now a known and special place to be in; and, where there is a tourist attraction about optical illusions called Camera Obscura.
Later on we split up and those who had not been at the camera Obscura attraction could spend some time there, while the others walked along the main street up to Princes Street, where they could get to know a little more of the city and also took the opportunity to do some shopping. Some interesting acquisitions were done today, that in tomorrow's diary will be explained by their authors.
Finally everyone went back home with their host families to have dinner and rest for the next day.
Written by Julieta Olavarría and Micaela Vargas
22 January
Bridges
Like every day, we started classes at the institute at 9.30 am and for lunch, they gave us 25 pounds for lunch, because it is 5 pounds a day. We have a lunch hour but today we had less time to eat because we went to buy our lunch at a supermarket. We met new people, because new students arrived at the institute, and many of them are from Chile too.
Then we travelled about 45 minutes by bus to Queensferry, to visit “The Forth Road Bridge”. We learnt that this bridge was just for trains, and it was the largest in the world outside the United States, measuring 2.517 metres. And between the two main towers it has a length of 1.006 metres, and it is one of the oldest railway bridges which was completed in 1890, its construction took 8 years.
While in Queensferry we went to a little museum that had information about the bridge and some random things. One of those things was the “whipping school” that was used to punish young people that made vandalism or theft.
Another one was “The Burry Man of South Queensferry”. People have a tradition during the ferry day. Every year a resident of the town is dressed with burrs, it takes 2 hours to get dressed, and he has to keep the custom for 9 hours. The Burry Man is known to attract good fortune.
Something else that called our attention was one of the rooms of the museum which is called “Equality and Diversity” and it has information about how communities of LGBTQIA+ faced discrimination and even criminalization. In one of the walls there was the following information: “In 1974, the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard launched. In the same year the International Gay Rights Conference was held in Edinburgh. The conference involved a march to the Scotsman newspaper, a precursor to the first Scottish Pride march which took place in Edinburgh in 1995”.
It was an interesting way to start this second week at Edinburgh and we look forward to the new experiences we’ll surely enjoy in this magical historical place of the world.
Written by Martina Fajardo and Javiera Ayala
20 January
New city, new discoveries
Today’s plans were quite different from the other days, we headed to Glasgow, the 2nd biggest city in the UK. To reach Glasgow, we took a train to the city, taking us 30 minutes inside to reach Glasgow’s station along with a tough rain and cold wind.
After arriving, we headed towards a place called the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, inside there were many exhibitions such as paintings, historical elements or even some animals, each one inspired by either another country/continent or an old time (e.g. ice age).
Another place that we visited in Glasgow was its university, one of the pioneers of English learning, asides from Oxford and Cambridge, which also had a small but noticeable museum in it, where the most remarkable part was the evolution of the living beings, and some other curiosities such as mummies, old elements from ancient civilizations as well as stones and meteorites that impacted on Glasgow .
Finishing our visit to the Glasgow university we headed to George Square where all of us splitted up so we explored Glasgow by ourselves for the next three hours. Some of us did amazing shopping which is among others, an interesting and fun thing to do.
As the time had passed, we took the train back to Edinburgh and then the buses each of us needed to go back home.
Written by Martin Gresa and Manuel Ávila
19 January
Fun in the simplest things at Edinburgh
We began as a normal day, starting classes at 9.30 am to finish at 1.00 pm. Every Friday at the Institute, it is the day of the movie night (which is not really at night, it's at 1.30 pm). After eating lunch most of the students stayed in the common room waiting.
People here in Scotland are very polite and punctual so it started on time. Before starting, a teacher introduced us to the movie and the background of the story, starting with simple things like the actors’ lives to the studio back owners. The movie for today was "The LadyKillers' (1955), a British, black comedy film.
The plot tells about a group of thieves who are planning a big robbery and eventually manage to stay at a grandmother's house by posing as musical teachers. As the film progresses, the grandmother finds out that her supposed teachers were thieves, while they try to kill her so that she does not confess and ruin their great plan. At the end of the film, unexpected events happen and the story ends taking a big turn.The film also has some important details that represent big things, like how the United Kingdom suffered in the Second World War.
Then, we headed to an American candy store with a new friend. Her name is Selene, she is a Mexican exchange student. There were many varieties and we found many famous sweets. We bought some candy and then we went to a makeup store.
Finally, the day ended, the light was gone at 4.30 pm. Some of the group stayed to have something to eat and we returned home as we were supposed to have dinner with our host family and then prepare this recount to let you know today’s adventures.
It was a calm day but we had a great time.
Written by Nicolette Yuraszeck and Agustina Buljevic
18 January
Edinburgh shopping odyssey
As per usual, we started the day by going to the institute. Classes started at 9:30 am, we had a lunch break of about 30 minutes and then we had our second class which ended at about 1 pm. Our classes mostly consisted of practising the new vocabulary we had learnt this week.
After that, we decided to head to the Royal Mile street, the most important street in Edinburgh which connects the Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Its length gives origin to the Scottish mile. Along this amazing street you will find dozens of closes and courts and while being there you totally immerse yourself into the mediaeval era. Since I went there with Felipe, we also found out that the street was filled to the brim with stores, such as souvenir stores, clothing stores, etc.
When we arrived at the street, me, Felipe and Miss Alejandra went to a mediaeval weaponry store called ‘’Knight’s Vault’’ where we tried to get a sword of our own, but given the circumstances that would have to wait.
After that, we snooped around some stores, including Harry Potter ones and cafes.
Finally, everyone reunited and went to the nearest convenient bus stop, the girls left for their homes, meanwhile the rest of us explored a bit more of the stores, bought souvenirs and had some starbucks hot chocolate. We took the bus and left for our homes.
Written by Sergio Araya
17 January
A pleasant afternoon visiting an art gallery
Today we started as a normal day going to the Institute. Our classes started at 9.30 am and finished at 1 pm. Then, together with more students from various countries like Korea, Italy, Oman, France, Switzerland and Mexico, we ate lunch that the institute gave us. It was an enjoyable time because we could meet people and learn a little bit more about their cultures. Then at 2 pm we walked to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery where we could see multiple paintings, sculptures about important people in the history of Scotland. We could also read what was the story behind each painting and the respective painter of each one. We learnt about some men and specially women who were important so as to build Scotland as a nation. Although not all of them were recognised while they were alive, at least descendants and people like us can understand and know how important they were which also allows us to be grateful for the progress our society has made in relation to women in different aspects of multicultural communities.
There was a picture of a girl with a deer, Lady Charlotte Bury, an English novelist who lived between 1775 and 1861. We liked this painting a lot, for the amount of details and the feeling of warmth that it transmitted to us. Another interesting woman was Margaret Graham, therefore member of the Graham clan, Lady Napier, d. c 1626. Sister of 1st Marquess of Montrose and wife of 1st Lord Napier. After we finished touring the gallery we went to the cafe where some of us bought a small snack.
Finally, we decided to walk back to the shopping centre which also allowed us to continue sightseeing so as to locate ourselves correctly and also keep impressing ourselves with the beauty of the city. Once at the shopping we separated and each one saw what he wanted depending on their interests, after that we gathered at the entrance so as to head towards our host families. And that is how our day concluded.
14 - 16 January
A new year and a new astonishing beginning
Learning and using a new language is always a challenge. One that everybody should be able to take advantage of.
Our group of 10 students: Julieta Olavarría, Agustina Buljevic, Micaela Vargas, Javiera Ayala, Martina Fajardo, Nicolette Yuraszeck, Felipe Rojas Veas, Martín Gresa, Manuel Ávila and Sergio Araya along with our teacher Mrs Alejandra Campillay have had the great opportunity to start this 2024 putting English into practice and more learning in the amazing and utterly beautiful city of Edinburgh in Scotland.
We had our first fourteen hour flight on the 14 of January and then a second one and a half hour flight that made us touch down smoothly on Scottish land the 15 of January.
Although we were tired, the excitement allowed us to complete our amazing first day schedule.
As soon as we arrived at the English Institute, we were warmly welcomed, we were given some food and then quickly organised so as to have an orientation tour through the city centre. We had the chance to immediately appreciate the beautiful difference between the old and the new town. We walked through the Princess Street Garden, which is at the Edinburgh Castle feet. We entered Saint Giles cathedral, known for its amazing architecture and pipe organ, we also briefly visited the New College, The University of Edinburgh, which is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the UK, we walked and crossed streets until we reached the Royal Mile, the most important street of Edinburgh which connects the castle to The Palace of Holyroodhouse. We will come back to this place to tell you much more about it. There’s plenty of history and attractions we are willing to visit and learn from.
Full of excitement we returned to the institute from where we were taken by taxi to our host families where we had dinner and prepared for our next full day.
Tuesday started at 9 am with our first module of English classes. We enjoyed the time and had fun and interesting lessons which not only covered content in a very dynamic way but also immersed us into Scottish amazing culture.
At 1 pm we had our packed lunch at the institute and punctually at two o’ clock we walked to take a bus so as to reach Arthur’s seat. Unfortunately due to the weather we could not reach the top, but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery at St Margaret’s loch. In the same place, located above Haggis Knowe on the north side of Arthur’s seat was the ruins of Saint Anthony’s chapel which is thought to have been built in the early 15th century. There are records that show the Pope gave money to repair it in 1426. It is said to have been associated with the Knights Hospitallers of Saint Anthony and Leith and its position was chosen so as to see ships arriving at the Firth of Forth and welcome the ships with a light from the tower. As an extra fact, Saint Anthony was related to healing skin conditions and the chapel lies above Saint Anthony’s Well which was believed to have healing properties. Whether this is true or not, we felt thankful for learning new things in such a wonderful place and it is a fact that we were able to breathe fresh, relaxing and pure air as well as enjoy the superb view of the city and the loch.
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