(Almost) History in the Making

The day started off in more typical English fashion, in that it was cold and grey instead of the sunny, 30-degree mornings we’ve been treated to so far on Immerse Education. The two intellectually stimulating academic sessions were broken up by a tour of St. John’s College – one of the richest and biggest colleges in Cambridge. The students marvelled at the stunning architecture that John’s had to offer, including the chapel and famous bridge of sighs. The Biology tutor even took their students to Cambridge’s very own Fitzwilliam’s museum, an institution renowned for its art and antiquities.

Down By the Riverside

After the second academic sessions, our three cohorts set out on their afternoon activities. The students from Christ’s college ventured out to the river Cam and went punting, one of the most classic Cambridge tourist destinations and activities. Punting turned out to be a big success, with everyone getting fully involved with the tour guide’s commentary and enjoying getting to see another side to the riverside colleges, which they have walked past multiple times before. The St. Catherine’s students took some time-out from their very packed timetable to find some inner peace when they headed to Sidney Sussex so that they could practice their yoga skills, under a professional instructor who was very impressed from some of her pupil’s flexibility levels. In stark contrast to the quiet and zen that the St. Catherines students experienced, the Sidney Sussex cohort decided to completely let loose and play krashball. Krashball describes itself as the new sporting craze, and upon seeing the enthusiasm with which Immerse students dived into it, it’s clear to see why. Putting a protective bubble around you and running full speed into everyone else turned out to be extremely popular with everyone – who would have guessed?

After some rest, recuperation and a Cambridge college dinner, all the students set off together, towards St Catherine’s college to watch the highly anticipated football game. The whole city of Cambridge was buzzing with excitement to see the England team take on Croatia in the world cup semi-finals. With the scores tied 1-1 at the end of full time, the atmosphere was tense. The English immerse fans surprisingly found themselves outnumbered, with most of the crowd rooting for the Croatian side. Heartbreakingly for the home fans, England ended up succumbing to the persistent Croatian attack and losing 2-1. The walk back to college for those not staying at St. Catherine’s was a sombre experience, with the entirety of Cambridge feeling like a ghost town, with a sad silence sweeping the streets.

For those not as interested with the football, students found themselves able to take part in a supervised private study session, with the students finding studying in the same building as Ian McKellan “pretty cool”. With another day wrapped up at Immerse Education, the students are greatly looking forward to a formal dinner at St. John’s College tomorrow after some much-needed rest.

First, second and fourth picture by Catarina Rodrigues.