Samuel Vidal Flanagan, Grade 11
UWC Dilijan
At UWC Dilijan, there are many traditions that are carried out throughout the year. For example, the day you arrive, as you get off the bus, you are welcomed by a mob chanting ‘WELCOME! WELCOME! WELCOME!’. There are also yearly activities like the ‘Polar Bear Run,’ where students run around a snowy campus in their swimming costumes, or the trips to Tbilisi, Georgia, during the long weekends. However, the one that I remember the most is the ‘pillow fight/ambush’ the second years prepared for the first years.
As the name suggests, this tradition is of basically first years (those who are in their first year of the International Baccalaureate), being ‘ambushed’ on a yearly basis by second years (those who are in their second year of IB) and attacked with pillows. These terrible events take place in the atrium, where we, the first years, are gathered in search of our shoes, as the second years had stolen one from each pair of shoes early the morning of the attack. I remember that as we waited there for our shoes to be returned, teachers and staff gathered around us, and people started recording... something was wrong. Suddenly, screaming second years emerged from behind the sofas and attacked us. With no weapons to defend ourselves with, we had to try and steal their pillows to fight back. Unfortunately, despite the brave efforts of my co-years, we were defeated. After this phenomenal struggle, the second years gathered and took a photo together for posterity while we were left to tend the wounded and find our shoes, which we still hadn’t recovered.
This event was very memorable due to the exceptional circumstances we faced this year. Normally, this tradition would’ve taken place towards the end of the year, at some point in May.; however, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the school was forced to shut down much earlier, around the middle of March. We were given as little as a day’s notice in some cases to pack our bags and leave. Apart from the other implications, this had in terms of our studies and our lives at the college; this meant that the ‘pranks’ and other traditions that were still to come were not going to happen, However, thanks to the effort of the second years, we were at least able to carry out some of the end of year traditions and pretend, for a moment, that everything was normal.
I remember this event because of what it showed about the people at the school, their ability to keep on going when things were tough, their willingness to help others feel happy and safe, and, most of all, their love for the college and its people. It was memorable because of the school’s atmosphere the days around it, more than the actual event itself; as the few days before we left were an example of UWC at its best, with everyone collaborating to cheer up those who were sad, and maintain an air of normality throughout the storm.
As the name suggests, this tradition is of basically first years (those who are in their first year of the International Baccalaureate), being ‘ambushed’ on a yearly basis by second years (those who are in their second year of IB) and attacked with pillows. These terrible events take place in the atrium, where we, the first years, are gathered in search of our shoes, as the second years had stolen one from each pair of shoes early the morning of the attack. I remember that as we waited there for our shoes to be returned, teachers and staff gathered around us, and people started recording... something was wrong. Suddenly, screaming second years emerged from behind the sofas and attacked us. With no weapons to defend ourselves with, we had to try and steal their pillows to fight back. Unfortunately, despite the brave efforts of my co-years, we were defeated. After this phenomenal struggle, the second years gathered and took a photo together for posterity while we were left to tend the wounded and find our shoes, which we still hadn’t recovered.
This event was very memorable due to the exceptional circumstances we faced this year. Normally, this tradition would’ve taken place towards the end of the year, at some point in May.; however, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the school was forced to shut down much earlier, around the middle of March. We were given as little as a day’s notice in some cases to pack our bags and leave. Apart from the other implications, this had in terms of our studies and our lives at the college; this meant that the ‘pranks’ and other traditions that were still to come were not going to happen, However, thanks to the effort of the second years, we were at least able to carry out some of the end of year traditions and pretend, for a moment, that everything was normal.
I remember this event because of what it showed about the people at the school, their ability to keep on going when things were tough, their willingness to help others feel happy and safe, and, most of all, their love for the college and its people. It was memorable because of the school’s atmosphere the days around it, more than the actual event itself; as the few days before we left were an example of UWC at its best, with everyone collaborating to cheer up those who were sad, and maintain an air of normality throughout the storm.
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