Japan catches Whales

So Nakayama (Japan, AC 09-11)

Do you know Japanese culture? Manga, games, animation, technology, cars… are probably famous. But do you know about Japanese fishing?  Japanese eat fish very often, for example  sushi. We also “eat” whales.

Our traditional Whale Fishing, or Whaling, started around 8000 years ago. Whales have always been big parts of our lives. Ancient Japanese started catching whales because of their valuable parts. We use all parts of whales;  meat for eating, bones for making houses or harpoons, oil for fuel, skin for clothes and other parts for making fishing lines.

Ancient Japanese did not have many domestic animals because of the many mountains in Japan. These ancients then turned to whales as a form of food and as a resource. Our ancients respected whales very much. There are festivals about whales and temples for them as a form of respect. It seems like Japanese ancients were in great harmony with whales.

Atlantic College International Show 2010

Yuho Fuji  (Japan, AC 08-10)   

On the 26th and 27th March, students of Atlantic College came together to present their cultures  in the annual International Show. The programme consisted of 21 performances including outstanding dances from all over the world, a folk song from Russia, a story from the US, a poem from Africa, a Norwegian sketch (received with warm laughter）and drumming from Sierra Leone — to mention but a few.

Interview with Tristian Stobie, Vice Principal of Academics at Atlantic College

Gala Von Nettelbladt (Germany, AC 08-10)

GvN for UnitedWords: Tristian, you are relatively new here at the college. What were you hoping to achieve by coming here, what were your expectations of the students as part of the UWC movement?

TS:

My expectations were that students would be very interested in world affairs and international and cultural understanding, very passionate about making the world a better place, very interested in the relationship between academic studies and real world issues, committed to service, (in particular face to face community service) and inspired by Kurt Hahn’s philosophy.

 UW: How did you envision your job as Vice Principal Academic beforehand?

 TS:

Well, I was aware of the history of the school. I was aware that it offers the IB program; I was aware of the mission statement and its uniqueness in terms of bringing students together from all sorts of different backgrounds, many through scholarships, which is a unique opportunity. They generate an environment where international understanding really can develop… So this school, or the UWCs, have a unique potential for a higher level of international and cultural understanding than perhaps other schools have, because of what I would call an ‘informal curriculum,’ which is a relationship between students learning as much outside the classroom as they learn inside.

“Changing lives, one smile at a time”- Atlantic College’s Operation Smile Team

Jawad Al-Masannat (Jordan, AC 08-10)

In Summer 2006, my sister dragged me along to a medical student meeting concerning the launch of a new NGO. It seemed interesting enough for my parents and me, so I went along, and discovered that this new NGO in Jordan was for me.

I sat there looking at everyone’s friendship and passion for what they were beginning. The room was full of energy, something I had never experienced before. This team was planning another medical mission that was to take place in my hometown. I was about to learn and share much.

United Nations Climate Change Conference- Copenhagen, 2009

A recent AC graduate (2006-2008) is currently in Copenhagen with the Kenyan Youth Delegation. Below is a link to their blog.

(http://www.kenyanclimateyouth.blogspot.com)

Blog description:

Jambo!

We are the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change – Kenya (AYICC-K), a group of young Kenyans dedicated to fighting climate change.

Currently we are at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen! Follow this blog for updates, information, insider news and fun facts!

Your AYICC-K team.

-United World College Student Magazine-

A Month before Arriving at Atlantic Cult (College)

Jonathan Hadad (AC ’09-’11)

We Zero-Years were asked to write for the UnitedWords magazine about our expectations for the next two years at Atlantic College, and what better tool to help me than the notorious social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them? We all love to hate Facebook for being another guilty pleasure that bites off hours of our lives. It’s the ultimate long-distance relationship killer or keeper, depending on how much effort you’re willing to make other than just being another name on a friend-list. I’m sure that zero-years everywhere are looking for different ways to communicate with loved ones, and newfound friends after they arrive at AC. I hope Facebook will help us do that. 

A contribution from another Magazine: The Blink, based in Kigali, Rwanda.

Alexandra Sanchez (Republic of California, AC-’08-10)

Although the 2009 Atlantic College Rwanda Summer Project has been written about, and has been finished since late June, we know that many organizations, movements, and goals always linger. In fact, we hold to our ideas as writers and as observers of our world that we must maintain our communication, and our respect as well as our help onhand for those we truly believe engage in some sort of bettering of the community.

As Rina mentioned mentioned in her article, “Rwanda of a thousand stories,” we had the priviledge of working with a magazine in Kigali, Rwanda, The Blink Magazine. And yes, they do live the “Funky lifestyle,” the emotion for Rastafarians, HipHop and globalized underground culture seeping through the magazine. They also promote the cultural ideas that are inherent in Rwandan and most particularly, East African culture, whether old or young. It is notable that this magazine  was founded to promote a reading culture in Rwanda, and became one of the first magazines in the country. On one hand, there lie the desire to promote reading;  the promotion of eco-friendly toilets; the mandatory community cleanup on the last Sunday of the month; the miraculous attention to the Genocide of 1994, seemingly battling to forget it; the legislation of Vision 2020, a measure to improve health, education, and programs for youth; the installation of solar panels in a revolutionary sort of vocational school, and on the other, there lies a country without copywrights for its most famous artists. It baffles me, and yet, I have much hope for Rwanda. The foresight that The Blink, the government of Rwanda (as far as I investigated), and so many of the  NGOs (ministries revolving around orphan education, music, and the community)  have is impecable. Compared to  countries who use the excuse of developement in order to cut back on oil consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, Rwanda is at the top of its league. If, as word has it, Rwanda has been developing at a a quicker rate that Uganda in the last several years, there is much to say about the inevitable prosperity its children will create and flourish in. It lies in the movement towards better education, in the knowledge that “‘l’education est devenue notre voie pour l’avenir.” (“education has become our path to the future,” posted in an exhibit in the Rwandan Genocide Memorial in Kigali).