The Daily Grind?

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I realize I haven't written in a while, but don't worry, I am not dead or maimed in any other possible way. Even if I was, I would know how to resuscitate myself, as First Aid Week started today. While the second years are in London recovering from the stress of finally finishing their Extended Essays (called the 'EE', in any language), the first years get three days of training in first aid techniques, which ironically gives us less free time than the normal class schedule. However, the voice of my Physics teacher saying at the end of class "All right then. No more codes until next Monday... I guess I'll see you next week!" was definitely one of the sweetest sounds I have EVER heard. I finished my two days of classes this week with a surprisingly easy Spanish test (my first so far); it definitely helps having so many Spanish speakers in the house to correct and occasionally snicker at my pronunciation. The Spanish theme continues to my English class, where we just started a translation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' Chronicle Of A Death Foretold (reading it, not translating it. obviously). Refreshingly, the entire core curriculum of my English class consists of reading world literature, with not a To Kill A Mockingbird or Beloved in sight! Now that we've had about a month of classes - I can't and don't really want to believe that I'm actually going home in less than a month now - I'm really falling into a daily routine, which is a bit worrying because I'm just sort of taking for granted or at least no longer fully appreciating the fact that I walk to an UNDENIABLY HAUNTED castle for meals and hike the highest mountains in Wales every weekend. Last Saturday, all the CAVRA first years left for the first hike that we actually planned ourselves, using compass bearings and terrain maps to find the quickest route, but for once the sun was shining, and the mountains were so beautiful that we just took the long way anyway. It's not all about the Mars Bars, you know. Not only can I eat them...I can now actually save you if you choke on one. By that I mean I'm off to my next workshop, where we get to bring dummies back to life. I'm far simpler than an unconscious dummy, though; all I need is one of the oddly delicious chocolate espressos from the purring dining hall coffee machines.

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