Bullis Blog | Global Studies Trips

大家好！My name is Chris L. '25, and I am currently a junior traveling on the 2024 Taiwan Global Studies Trip. Today, we wrapped up our third day of travel on this trip, and I keep finding that the beautiful city of Taipei keeps one-upping itself. After our first two days here, all of us were able to play out the amazingly thought-out itinerary and realized just how jam-packed this trip really would be! While all of us are wiped out by the time we fall into bed, we keep waking up the next day with smiles, sensing the adventure that awaits us. On this third day, we were able to do a variety of activities that allowed us to explore many different aspects of Taiwanese culture and cuisine. We began the morning by having a slightly shorter breakfast than usual (for the need to stock up on Taiwanese snacks and transfer out some cash at a nearby 7-11) and then briskly departed to catch — as we learned on the first day — the incredibly efficient metro. Our destination was one of the most inf

By Ryan T. ‘24 Today was another packed day, beginning with a bus ride to a tea plantation in the mountains surrounding Taipei. The “Wen Sun Farm” farm is gorgeous and filled with hundreds of variations of tea. We got the chance to learn how to pick our own tea. Afterwards, we learned how tea is turned from the leaf on the plant into a drink. This included a tea-making competition where we used our new skills to compete in making the best-tasting Baozhong tea (包种茶) that was harvested at the farm earlier. I enjoyed this experience and got to try some exciting foods at a store on the plantation, such as tea-flavored ice cream and Coca-Cola Gum. The owner of the store graciously offered to privately showcase making black tea for Nathan, Emily, and me, which was a truly one-of-a-kind experience. After taking a quick tour and returning to the city, we visited the National Palace Museum. Here, a guide explains the valuables and their history. One of the most famous pieces is a jade that lo

Some of us got an extra special treat on our third day in London! Ms. Adams was able to arrange a trip to the  Chelsea Football Club's home field for part of our group who really wanted to have a chance to visit a football stadium! They were treated to all sorts of behind-the-scenes access, including a visit to the player's locker rooms, sitting at the press box, and visiting the trophy room! It was definitely a treat for the soccer fans among us! The rest of our group headed over to Notting Hill, and, yes, our first stop was the bookstore! After the bookstore, we were able to browse the neighborhood and visit the famous market on Portobello Road. Once we all reunited for lunch, we ate and then headed over to the  Victoria and Albert Museum  for a quick visit, and then it was on to our first theatre workshop! The  West End Workshop was at a dance studio, and we had a lot of fun learning to use our bodies to communicate and embracing techniques used in devised theatre! We en

你好 (Hello)! Welcome to our Taiwan Global Studies Blog, where students on the trip will be writing exciting daily stories about this unforgettable cultural and language immersion trip. I’m Nathan C. '24, a senior, and I’ll be writing the first entry of the blog series. After 20+ hours of travel, we finally made it to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. On our first full day in Taipei, we familiarized ourselves with our surroundings; we walked around the city and navigated our way through the intricate yet easy-to-understand metro system. Led by our fearless Bullis chaperones and local tour guide James Yen, our first destination was 象山 or Elephant Mountain. After stopping at a local stand to buy drinks and ice cream, we hiked up the mountain (it was much harder than we expected, haha). It was all worth it, though, as we were met with breathtaking cityscape views of Taipei. One building stood out amidst the dense skyline of the city: Taipei 101, our next stop. After a quick photoshoot on

We woke up early on Saturday and headed about an hour outside of London to visit the Harry Potter Studios . While there we toured the sets from Harry Potter films for hours! We learned all sorts of fun facts and got a behind-the-scenes view of everything that goes into making the movies. It didn't seem like we were there for half the day because there was so much to do! After the studios, we went to the South Bank of London, which is on the side of the river opposite  Big Ben . We were able to take pictures, browse vendors near the river, and enjoy street musicians. We also saw the Covid memorial  created by people in London who lost loved ones. After dinner, we headed to our first theatre performance! We attended " Dear Octopus " at the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain (aka the National Theatre). It was great and the set was beautiful. We had lots of fun doing a post-show critique on the bus! Ms. Kathleen Adams, Chair, Upper School VPA

After a 7-hour flight between two continents, we finally got to the United Kingdom and hit the ground running! After landing in London on Friday, we dove right into discovering the city. We settled into our hotel and then went on a walking tour. One of our day one stops was  Covent Garden . There, we went shopping and - oh my gosh- there was so much to see! There were pop-up shops of antiques anywhere we looked! One of our favorites was a shop that had cameras from the 1920s to the 1970s! We ended our first day with an evening visit to the  National Gallery  to see some incredible works of art, including rooms full of beautiful impressionist paintings! We look forward to sharing our adventures with you! Ms. Kathleen Adams, Chair, Upper School VPA  

Good afternoon from the San Jose airport,  The time has come to say goodbye to Costa Rica. Students are checked in and ready to board their flight. At our group debrief this morning with Dr. Moreno, there were many different emotions - sadness, joy, nostalgia, and excitement at the thought of reuniting with families. Students also shared their highlights with the group - zip lining, white water rafting, meeting students from the Zeta Trece school, and the hot springs at Hacienda Orosi. Eden S. '28 shares her favorite moments from the trip:  My three highlights of this trip are: the beach. It was so much fun, and I played volleyball with my friends. I also loved zip lining with my classmates, and seeing the mountains. We also had a karaoke party on the girls bus singing Party in the USA. I loved the trip so much! Yolanda J. '28 reflects on the highlights of the trip: The hot springs were my favorite part of the trip because they were really calming. Since we had done