On the 15th February, eleven of us from the lower sixth, accompanied by Anu and Nick (staff from Brampton), set off to Folgaria, Italy for a ski trip. With a 25 hour coach journey ahead of us, we were all dreading the travelling – however, once we realised the coach had USB ports to charge our devices, we recovered a little from the panic!
When you’re on a coach with around 20 scouts you would expect out of tune singsongs on repeat, but we were very fortunate as the driver put on Disney movies instead. We stopped off for a break every two hours and the journey went surprisingly faster than we expected. We arrived on Sunday afternoon, and Anu and Nick took us to a traditional Italian restaurant for lunch. The pasta was impressive compared to the pasta all of us would prepare at home using £1 Dolmio sauce. At the hotel, the girls were separated into a different room from the boys and there was a games room below, allowing us to meet up and interact with other schools.
On Monday we were off bright an early, waking up at 7 am to kick-start a full five days of skiing. We were split into ability groups and had special tuition from Italian instructors. They may not have spoken the best English but their sign language was excellent!
In the mornings, 9-11 am, we’d have a lesson then we’d all meet for a very unhealthy but delicious lunch. (Some of us were convinced that the fries served were the same as McDonald’s!). After refueling, we’d ski together, 1-4 pm, and laugh at each other falling over in front of many 5 year old skiers – who seemed to be doing at least 100 mph compared to us 17 and 16 year olds who were just about making 10 mph.
On Tuesday evening we all went tubing! We could go in pairs or separately down an ice slope with a big donut float and it was exhilarating. However, at times the speed was so fast that you would sometimes fall off the float. I even lost my shoe coming down the slope. It was definitely an experience.
On Wednesday evening we had a movie night in the games room area where we relaxed and unwound after an exhausting day of falling over/skiing. On Thursday evening, we were treated to a pizza night which we enjoyed sitting together to devour. We discovered some of us have weird pizza tastes such as putting ketchup on margarita pizza. These individuals will not be named due to possible embarrassment. After devouring a 20 inch pizza, we hit the sack early in preparation for our 25 hour journey home the next day.
The journey on the way back was what one would call ‘stressful’. However, with our group it was simply humorous. We ended up on a ferry at 1 am on the following Sunday, eating fish and chips or roast chicken which was oddly good as far as ferry food goes.
Overall, this trip was a true bonding experience where many positive memories and friendships were made. I hope Brampton College continues this trip next year as it was truly a trip to remember. Thank you to Nick and Anu for making it extra special, their hospitality really made the trip.
By Asha Persaud, student
