Two more island nationalities booked for Summer 2017.

The bee orchids are out in Oxford, in preparation for summer, and we are eagerly awaiting our first influx of students, who will be arriving on Sunday!
We continue to be fascinated by the range of nationalities that sign up for our Summer School Programme each year. Some of our latest include two more island nations, The Philippines and The Bahamas.

The Philippines is an archipelago nation in South East Asia, to the far west of the Pacific Ocean. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire makes it prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but despite this, it is a beautiful country that is one of the most biodiverse in the world. Tropical rainforests, miles of coastline, and coral reefs provide homes for 270 species that are thought not to exist anywhere else on the planet. In the cities, colonial Spanish buildings mesh with more modern architecture, creating an evocative mix of old and new. The same goes for the food, which is a mash-up of robust Filipino flavours and influences from elsewhere in South East Asia.
Fun Fact: The English word “boondocks” (meaning an uninhabited area with thick natural vegetation) is a Filipino loanword from the Tagalog dialect word “bundok,” meaning “mountain.” The word came into use in the North American vernacular just as the Philippines became involved in the World War II.
The Bahamas consists of more than 700 islands in the western Atlantic, just north of Cuba and Hispaniola. These beautiful Caribbean islands have a somewhat bloody history. A haven for rum-runners and pirates in the 18th and 19th Centuries, the islands have also been the site of a variety of skirmishes over the centuries, including the American War of Independence and the abolition of the slave trade. Today, the Bahamas are a much-desired location for tourists to spend their holidays and boast some of the whitest beaches and clearest water on the planet.
Fun Fact: The Bahamas are right on the edge of the infamous Bermuda Triangle, where planes and ships have been said to disappear without a trace in mysterious circumstances. The Bermuda Triangle does not appear on any map, and its existence is debatable, though incidents of disappearances in the area have been reported for centuries. No proven reason for the phenomenon has ever been found.
Do you want to spend your summer with fascinating people from around the world? Enrol on a course now, and learn something new, both in and out of the classroom!
Images: banaue rice terraces