Abingdonian 2018

67 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term Talent . The picturesque mountain walk proved quite a challenge in the heat, and we had great fun in the rowing boats on the Red Lake. During the evenings we played games with the children; one night, we even made our own board games and played them with each other. I believe the moment at which the ten days of hard work truly paid off was the last night. We had just said our goodbyes and thanks to all the staff and translators. As soon as the presentations ended, the children began to cry. Realising the impact of ten short days on these children was something incredibly special to see; for them, the Abingdon visit is something they really cherish and look forward to hugely every year. This is just one of the many reasons I would encourage as many Abingdon boys as possible to go on this trip. For some of these kids, meeting English boys of a similar age is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Our thanks go to Mr and Mrs O’Doherty for accompanying us on the trip and to Mr Jenkins for organising the whole venture. We had so much fun with them and the children we were helping. My time in Moldova made me realise how fortunate we are to live in a country such as the UK and how privileged we are to have the opportunity to attend a school such as Abingdon. It is something I will remember all my life. Henry Steinsberg, 6SAE Each morning we split ourselves into three groups: six of us teaching English, four of us running sports activities and another four running art activities. Although, at first, controlling the 120+ children proved to be demanding, we got to grips with it as the days went on, realising that we could grab their attention much more easily through the use of gestures and a smiling face. The children showed real determination in all the activities they took part in, and evidently loved the opportunities on offer for them. Their enthusiasm to learn and obvious enjoyment of all we organised was a real incentive to us in our planning and made it especially rewarding. A particular highlight for the Abingdon boys in Ialoveni was the annual Moldova v Abingdon football match, during which, any hope for peaceful relations between the two nations was quickly wiped out by Howard Hawkes’ crunching challenges. England were convincing winners, a feat that sadly couldn’t be replicated by the national team that evening, as, whilst sitting at a local restaurant which wasn’t known for its speed of service, we saw them bow out of the World Cup to Croatia. During the afternoons of the days we were in Ialoveni, we immersed ourselves in Moldovan culture. One afternoon we visited the largest wine cellar in the world at Milestii Mici. With 34 miles of tunnel underground, it holds 1.5 million bottles of wine, and is certified by Guinness World Records. Another day we went to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, although only ten kilometres from Ialoveni, it couldn’t have been more of a contrast, much more sophisticated, with an industrial and commercial centre, but with the old Soviet-style clusters of living blocks still dominating the skyline. We also did some community work and helped one elderly woman fix her broken fence, a task that, even though completed in the baking heat, really gave us boys a sense of fulfillment thanks to seeing her face light up at the sight of the completed project. This task also gave Mr O’Doherty a chance to prove his fence-painting skills, some fine work of which even Mrs O’Doherty was proud. At the end of our time in Ialoveni we said our final goodbyes to the children for whom we had been running the activities - it was fantastic to see the impact that we had made on them while looking after them for the past few days. We then set off for Romania in two coaches: one full of Abingdon pupils and one full of Moldovan children. The much talked about eight hour drive was upon us. That evening we arrived at Lacu Rosu, a national park in the mountains of Romania, where we were surrounded by gorgeous countryside and incredible scenic views; yet of course, it was the idea of free WiFi that thrilled the Sixth Form boys no end! This was to be our home for the next few days. These days were filled with a huge variety of activity, ranging from some questionable acting, if we can call it that, from James Madeley during our filmmaking day, to some even more questionable dancing from Andrew Russell in the internationally-televised Lacu Rosu’s Got