New York New York!  2011 Adventures

A party of 45 travelled to New York this year in February, bravely led by Mrs Parker and the R.E. Department.  The 4 am start from Whitchurch did not dampen the enthusiasm of the assembled party as we began our trip. The year 10 pupils led the way in their multi-coloured personalised WHS sweatshirts with Amir and Jack looking particularly fashionable in pink whilst the girls opted for a variety of other bright colours.

After a ‘musical chairs’ procedure on the flight which resulted in most pupils changing their seats, we settled down to lunch and films. 7 hours later we landed at Newark ready to face the rigorous customs procedures but were somewhat delayed by Sam Macdonald’s frantic emptying of his hand luggage in a bid to locate his passport. As passengers proceeded to trip over his belongings, it soon became apparent that Sam’s passport has gone on its own journey and so Mrs P and Mr Hopkins bravely tried to re- enter the aircraft but to no avail. After various air stewards had climbed under the seats, the wayward passport was eventually discovered and we hurriedly make our way to Immigration.

At this point, Sam Alldis informed us that he had been sleeping when the immigration info had to be filled out on the plane! As Sam could not be admitted to the country without it, another mad scramble took place to fill in the required details. What is it about boys called Sam? Is forgetfulness hardwired into their psyche?

Some of the girls also made their presence felt in a dramatic way. Lara Cordle collapsed in the queue having overheated from wearing about ten coats! As we proceeded to relieve Lara of the unnecessary clothing, a collection of officials stood watching, evidently debating from whence these ‘mad’ people had come. Paramedics appeared but all Lara could say was “I just want to lie down” (This was in the middle of the queue of people who watched, bemused by the antics of the eccentric Welsh party.)

After convincing the paramedics who had now arrived that Lara did not need to go to hospital, they nevertheless provided a wheel chair, oxygen and took her blood pressure but not before immigration had taken her fingerprints and her picture!  (After all we could have been smuggling a hardened criminal into the country. Yes! Lara the terrible had arrived!)

As Lara’s temperature returned to normal, Mrs P’s blood pressure started to rise as the coach to transport us to the hotel appeared to be nowhere in sight. Eventually our driver appeared and we were on our way. We had actually escaped from the airport! At last! Surely nothing else could go wrong?

“Please could you tell me your name?” Mrs P asked the driver politely.

“Why?” was his reply.

“Because I would like to tell the students your name!” replied Mrs P (thinking “What a rude man!”)

“I know” he replied “My name is Wai, Chan Wai!” (He was Chinese) Ever wished you could start a conversation again?

As trips go the rest was pretty uneventful in terms of traumas but really eventful in terms of enjoyment. Where do we start? What about the Ice skating in Central Park with the skyscrapers framing the skyline at dusk? Watching teachers imitating Bambi on the ice as pupils dragged them around feeling sorry for them! Seeing Mr Taylor escorted from the ice as he was considered too hazardous with his rucksack on his back.

Mrs Wallington gripped on to the sides of the rink as if her life depended on it and Miss Hollings insisted that she had actually skated around once on her own but who had witnessed this? Mr Hopkins showed off his speed skating skills as Mrs Floyd methodically skated at a snail’s pace but with such elegance. Mrs P. was impressed with her own inimitable style of skating but had failed to master one crucial skill – how to stop!

Crashing into the barrier resulted in a cracked head on the ice! Ouch!........ Gallant pupils Ollie and Sam managed to scrape her off the ice but this definitely affected the orienteering skills afterwards, as we took over an hour to get out of the park, walked round in a large circle and then walked back in again! How lucky to have a geographer and a trusty sat nav. to locate our whereabouts! (Thanks to Mr Taylor and Mr Hopkins for this, as we could well have still been there today, wandering round in the dark!)

More highlights included walking through China Town and visiting the magnificient Mahayana Buddhist temple with the impressive golden Buddha and an insistent Chinese lady who was determined to give our pupils gifts of oranges. (Did we really look like we needed that much vitamin C?). Hollie and Lauren had eaten a dodgy Chinese meal prior to the visit but were afraid to admit this to the temple occupants! Keep eating the oranges girls! Occasional sickness seemed to occupy some of the girls whilst the boys appeared to have stomachs of cast iron.

The teachers bravely played the roles of surrogate parents; Mrs Floyd administered various potions to her brood as they suffered from a variety of ailments. It is also now official after the airport episode that Mrs P has adopted Lara and adoption papers are on-going for Monica and Charlotte! Miss Hollings meanwhile formed firm bonding sessions with her sixth form girls as they suffered from ‘shopitis’(an addiction to shopping! Keep up!)

Mr Hopkins kept the wayward ‘Sams’ under control but after their airport experiences they did not wander far! Mrs Wallington’s girls were worrying well behaved and enjoyed the trip far too much!  Meanwhile, Tom and Lloyd from the sixth form bought Mr Taylor a piece of ancient rock! (Well he does teach Geology!)

But back to the itinerary…….. which included other sights such as the Empire State Building, Staten Island Ferry, Ground Zero, St Paul’s Chapel (with the moving tributes from around the world after 9/11), Grand Central Station, South Seaport with picturesque views of the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square. Macys, Bloomingdales, Abercrombie and much more! Cramming 45 people into subway carriages packed with New Yorkers was a feat in itself but we all got the chance to travel in a New York taxi and so sampled other modes of transport.

How much shopping can be done in so short a time? Miss Hollings’ Year 12 ‘Bloomingdale girls’ shopped to beat the record for the most medium brown bags purchased, whilst in Abercrombie (Mr Hopkins’ spiritual home!) the other Whitchurch pupils bought most of the shop’s resources.
 The Welsh flag played its part in leading the way on our travels; versatile but deadly, it nearly took out the eyes of any New Yorkers in its path! An exhausted Charlotte Pearson asked Mrs P if she was on ‘speed’ as the school party struggled to keep up with the relentless pace of the travels. She was promptly given the Welsh flag to carry and James John our trusty professional photographer captured every magic moment on film! (See our website pictures!).

The final meal in Planet Hollywood was a fantastic end to a brilliant trip. All the students were presented with a picture of Times Square to commemorate their travels.
 The pupils are to be congratulated for their impeccable behaviour, the teachers for their incredible stamina and the New Yorkers for their amazing patience in dealing with us all!

After another ‘musical chairs’ episode on the return flight we all arrived home tired but happy.

Here’s to 2013!