ORA students at Balliol finished week 1 with an exciting variety of activities, from a very British picnic to yoga and TED Talks.
British Picnic
As our pupils are currently living in the UK, it seemed only fitting that they were thrown a typically British picnic during their stay. Complete with tea, coffee, scones, jam, cream, cupcakes, strawberries, cookies and flapjacks there was no way our students would go hungry at an ORA picnic!
During the picnic, some garden games were laid on the lawn for everyone to enjoy. The classic game of croquet was a big hit, with many recognising the British sport from TV programmes. In a relaxed manner, students enjoyed hitting the balls through the hoops and chatting in the shade.
Seated beneath the glorious Union Jack bunting, our pupils immersed themselves into British culture and dined in splendour in the warm sun. Everyone was well and truly stuffed afterwards and rolled slowly back to their rooms.
TED Talks
TED Talks are fascinating speeches given by expert speakers on an incredible variety of different subjects. ORA students at Balliol were lucky enough to watch 4 different yet inspiring recorded talks, only lasting around 20 minutes each, but providing interesting snippets of information. The topics included Talent, Game Theory, The History of Tattoos and How to ‘Get’ Contemporary Art, highlighting the distinctive variety of topics.
Though unique in their own ways, the talks fascinated our pupils and, due to the selection of subjects covered, enabled many students with very different interests to find common ground in unusual areas.
Yoga
With so much intellectually stimulating material surrounding our students staying at Balliol, they were given some time to let their brains rest with a yoga class. Finding inner zen and peace was just what the students needed, enabling them to relax and enjoy stretches and calming exercises.
During the class, pupils tested their balancing skills as they created impressive human pyramids and shapes, stacking themselves on top of each other. If you don’t believe me, check out the photos below!
Week 1 might be over but week 2 is here and raring to go. There’s a lot in store so keep an eye out to hear what they do.
