Today was a test of trust that shook the group to its very core. Despite a restful night before, the group met the early morning breakfast with yawns all around. This was most definitely not brought about by several individuals remaining awake to an ungodly hour. However, the restfulness was just an illusion. Waiting for the travelers after breakfast was Word Assassins, a game of deception and lies that would turn friend against friend, each trying to assassinate another at the mention of a single word. After the last person, Valerie, left through the dining hall doors, the game was afoot.
The first domino to fall was Akhil at the whims of Nick’s pop culture references to the classic song: Fergalicious. And he was far from the first to go. The trickery ranged from website-form-building to kind requests to backstabbing subterfuge, and the death toll was steadily mounting. Alliances crumbled, and paranoia was everywhere.
But despite the chaos, the day had to go on. After several morning sessions, the leaders gave the group a different type of assignment: an all-out hunt to find spots around the great city of York. Students were divided into several groups, with objectives including a trio of swanish pubs, a quintet of elusive stone cats, and scattered structures of various historical significance. Again, the explorers were pitted against each other as this scavenger hunt had a unique twist: the ability to block other’s scavenging goals. Some groups went straight for their objectives, while other groups played the menacing role of sabotaging as many groups as possible. After running, walking, scootering, and countless ussies (slang for selfie for the Brits), the groups all completed the objectives they could and returned to base. The winning team, AAAK, was neither the fastest nor the slowest, but returned the most pictures before the other teams could prevent their victory.
After the scavenger hunt game, a freshly hungry team raced to the dining hall for some chicken Kebabs and Belgian waffles before splitting yet again. They ventured out across York, some journeying to lush parks near York Minster, some to the magnificent train station, and still others to find a pitch (field for sports), to varying degrees of success. With promises of more excitement tomorrow, our heroes returned to the dorm to hit the bed. Until tomorrow…
Written by the now wordily deceased ghosts of Aidan and Dhruv
Note: If you weren’t reading this blog in an English accent, you clearly haven’t been traveling with us. Might be worth re-reading for the full experience 🤓