They wanted us to come!

Going to London with twenty others, staying there five days, eating similar sandwiches each day… That’s what I’m usually not very fond of. After being asked so kindly to be a guide, how could I have hesitated longer? Let’s go to London!

Ok, it rained cats and dogs!  I do dislike English sandwiches! We did seriously get into trouble on the way back! But I definitely wish I were in South Kensington or in any place we visited in London.

As soon as I realized the trip was on its way, my first idea was to include subjects I’m supposed to talk about as a History and Geography teacher according to the syllabus. What can be more interesting than having a look at Chinatown, the Shard or the Gherkin in the City, Buckingham Palace… Everything we had been talking about since last September during classes? And how exciting it was to spend time in front of Gainsborough’s paintings at the National Gallery, or the Klein’s blue we didn’t find at the Tate Modern! How funny it was to check for the tube stations – West Kensington or South Kensington? And the dance floor in Covent Garden! And laughs in the kitchen, the corridors where we were often lost between the ground floor and the second floor, shops where so many beautiful « souvenirs » were bought, the streets with cabs and double-deckers… We were laughing all the time in fact!

I’m sure the twenty others are going to be better witnesses than I am, that’s why I only say I did enjoy my trip. I did appreciate my stay.

Thanks a lot for all of that and to the other guide it was so easy and pleasant to prepare the trip and travel with!

Jean Marc Bernard

I didn’t want to go!

When students approached me with the challenging project of a trip to London, I must confess I was not all for it at all. Tales of previous projects had taught me better. But these were not ordinary students. They came up with a project so well crafted that I could not refuse to be part of it. But still, it was early days and I could not help thinking that the ship would wreck somehow. However, if I am not optimistic by nature, I like being pragmatic. Moreover, the other tutor they had chosen for the trip was a quite interesting choice. And London! What a city!

So time went by and the project was taking shape. The students raised money to cover our costs, while we scrapped our brains to make this trip look like a class in the open air. London in March, it could not have been a better choice! The rainiest winter for years… But aren’t we used to British weather here in the Basque Country?

The day of the departure was coming. Everything was in place and the students had agreed on the programme. Yet, I could not make up my mind to pack… London, in winter… 20 students…  And here I went, under a fantastic March sun, to the station.

What a fantastic personal and professional experience it has been! This was really a fantastic bunch on young people. Enthusiastic, open-minded, pragmatic, reliable, they all contributed to the success of our winter outing in London. We discovered some unexpected human qualities in all of them. Our chef was a control freak, when it came to the preparation of dinner but the sous-chef had her way. They got around the tube in no time. They shared our enthusiasm for art at the National Gallery and at the Tate. They understood better how the British work and never missed an opportunity to communicate even in the middle of the busy Oxford Street. They, the froggies, painted the town red in Covent Garden! They did not even complain when we had to fight our way back with Easybus. They hardly said anything when I lost my way to the hostel after an exhausting trip. They walked for miles, never missing the best sights to shoot with their cameras. Okay, some of them were absent-minded and forgot to get on the tube one day, but we knew they would manage to find their way home.

Whatever happens in the future, a strong bond was created among them. They are on their way to a very promising future and I am so proud of them. I did not want to go, but I would go again without second thoughts.

At last, a special thank to my dear colleague with whom I had endless and fulfilling late conversations. I could not have gone through it without him.

Nathalie Latour

NL