Police World Edition 4 2015

Article

International Youth Gathering 2015

The annual event was hosted by IPA Section Spain. Section UK was represented by Fay Wills, London South Branch; Lucy Stenhouse, North Wales Branch and Grace Whittam, Thames Valley Branch.

Lucy continues with the programme. What a trip of a life time! I thank the organisers and participants who made it happen. It was a trip full of firsts for me. First time to travel on my own, first time abroad without my parents and first IPA event. The days were very long, usually getting up at 07:00 and I was going to bed for 03:00. There was a lot of socialising to be done! Days 6 to 10 were packed full of activities. On day 6 we visited the coastal area of Donosti City in San Sebastian with its beautiful Concha beach. For a panoramic view of the city we climbed the Igueldo mount. Each day for five days children from each country had to do a talk about their country. It was great to learn about the other countries home towns, cities and countries,

Fay accounts for the first five days of the programme, following the arrival in Barcelona. Like other participants, I was quite nervous, but also excited at the prospect of meeting so many different people from around the world and making new friends; this started the first evening at the opening ceremony. The first proper day involved a cycle tour of the city, and a tour of Barcelona Football Club. The second day included a trip to the theme park Port Aventura with its many roller coasters and attractions. On the third day, we visited the beautiful mountain of Montserrat, which was formed by an ancient river, hence why it looks so unique and interesting. We walked down the mountain after (thankfully) getting the cable car

up, and admired the stunning view, plus visited the church built into the mountainside at the base. The next day was paintballing; it was a hot day and a little uncomfortable in the heavy suits, but people seemed to enjoy it. Later in the day we visited the Vizcaya Bridge, which is really high up and we got a much better view of one of the cities in the Basque country. I thoroughly appreciated the experience and feel lucky that I had the opportunity to do something which few people ever get. I now have friends in different continents who I talk to every day, and we all plan on sending each other Christmas presents this year. I’m really grateful and I wish everyone else who went the best for the future! I hope many of us continue to stay in touch.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 60 No. 4, 2015