POLITICAL:
The start of the day was incredibly interesting . We went to the world bank and heard from a phenomenal speaker, Ms. Angelica Silvero, who is the head of the speakers bureau. She had an amazing presentation of visuals , including a video to aid in 3 of the major millennium goals, decreasing maternal deaths during childbirth, decreasing infant death rates, as well as raising gender equality. From every standpoint possible, this campaign is fantastic.
Later, we had lunch in union station which was fun. Shopping, food, crazy antics.
After lunch we proceeded back to the hotel to hear another speaker though it wasn’t quite a “presentation” rather a town hall simulation. I chose to attend the “Feeding the World” presentation by Abby Flottemesh who is a development consultant for ICDF. It was interesting because we created more of a discussion between the scholars while being lead by the speaker, rather than just sitting and listening to a speaker. We discussed the problems with malnutrition and lack of food and we concentrated the issues down to 3 problems: distribution, production, and education. I didn’t understand the people who were debating counter-education, because if you simply educate the mass populations, that can created solutions for distribution, production, and create a long-term self-sustainable plan . I fought hard for that one, thank goodness it paid off . World hunger , solved.
In the evening, we had our politics of trade simulation concerning Boeing and Airbus airline controversy. I was representing the governor of Washington, fighting for allowance of subsidies to increase our economy. After the debate, the WTO left to discuss a solution when we were left to discuss a solution of our own. If we were unable to come to an agreement in 10 minutes, the WTO would return and their decision would stick. I was absolutely shocked when we were able to come to an agreement that satisfied both the European Union and The United States, and surprisingly, when the WTO returned, their solution was almost exact down to the percentage of subsidies allowed. Talk about young leaders at work, we’re solving major crisis here. Ahah
After dinner we had our evening social which was a trivia session, and it was absolutely painful. People were being awfully disrespectful, though it was our first minute to be able to sit down and talk to a friend or two in three days!
SOCIAL:
During the first speaker, Abi and I had to sit on the floor because they didn’t set up enough seats, which was horribly difficult when you’re wearing skirts and dresses, and you don’t even have something to lean your back against for an hour and a half.
At union station, I ate subway, which was pretty classic, but I was craving it INSANELY. You don’t even understand how angry I was when there was no sub-sauce. What is this country?! I helped the Norwegian girl, Emily, order her subway because she didn’t even know what half of the words meant. “Buffalo chicken” turns out to be quite the American word. After I ate, the Australians and I proceeded to grab some Haagen Daz from the food fair (which we definitely do NOT have in Canada, I wish !) and headed over to Victoria Secret. I’ve never seen so many kids so excited for something for so long! A good half hour in, they’re all still jumping at the sight of pretty panties, or a 3x pushup bra. Holly and I ended up leaving with Yale, one of the Australians, to grab a drink. On the way a local guy at the station seemed to enjoy to grab my bum as I walked onto the stairs. Horrifying!
Abi and I laughed about the Canadian accent for a good hour during the prep for the politics of trade about saying “out and about”, and “house”. So Abi, who was conveniently the head of the National Defence stands up during the simulation and says “How would you feel if you were out and about and you couldn’t be safe in your own house?!” , and everybody in the room just about died laughing. Afroza, one of the Canadians from Toronto cant even recognize our accent.
Sadly enough, I’m losing my accent and picking up on the Australian one! What else can you do when the only voices you hear for 16 hours a day are Australian! Turns out that the Australians are amazingly nice girls, and the South Africans are the only intimidating ones left.
ROOMMATES:
My second roommate showed up! Her name is Bontle, and I cant pronounce it for the life of me. Ironically, she’s from South Africa and she is the sweetest little thing. They’re not all scary ! Im glad she came because now Kristina talks as well, which is glorious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e8xgF0JtVg
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Monday, 27 June 2011
- Day Two .
THE POLICAL :
The first half of the day was based on cross cultural communication. Spending the first two hours of the day in our LGM’s (leadership group meetings / country groups) , we began to look at the iceberg platform for discovering other cultures (its long and semi complicated symbolizing the surface of cultures vs. where cultures collide) . We headed out to Georgetown for lunch , where apparently “anybody who’s anybody lives . ” - My mom . I ate at a cute little place called “Five Guys Burgers and Fries”, where I got what was supposed to be a “little burger”, but it was larger than a BigMac … ?
After Georgetown and a bit of walking , we headed back to the hotel to hear a guest speaker , Dr. Gary Weaver from the American University , speaking on cross-cultural communication . He was hilarious , effective , and his speaking / presenting skills were phenomenal .
We touched on cultural norms , generalizations , and stereotypes . My lordy , Canada has some of the most stereotypes I’ve ever heard ! You know , when my polar bear is sick , I cant go to school cause I have nothing to ride there . It’s horribly sad having to stay in my igloo with a sick polar bear while my friends are all at school playing in the dark under a maple tree , eh ?
After Dr. Weaver spoke , we headed off to the Jefferson and Roosevelt memorials , which were absolutely incredible. Franklin Deleno Roosevelt’s memorial was split into 4 sections , each representing America and his influence during each of his terms that he served as president. The waterfalls of different dimensions , and the quotes engraved on the walls were incredible. The view that it was on was beautiful as well . The Thomas Jefferson memorial was of a different sort. Less informative, more on a larger scale . The pillars were huge , and the statue of him inside was exquisitely detailed. The stairs leading up to it were flawless, absolutely stunning, and by that point everyone of us was exhausted, so we sort of stationed ourselves there as the rest of the kids made their way through. At that point , I discovered the 1.5 cm opened blister on the back of my heel and wanted to die . I put a blister band-aid on it , but I was the world’s happiest person once we arrived back and I was able to slip on my Toms.
We had a second speaker , Jacqueline Mureketete , a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. She was 10 years old at the time , and by the age of 22 , she was speaking internationally against indifference and extremism .
Today was the first day I’ve noticed that I knew the curriculum in French and had to switch it to English, which confused most of the kids figuring I’ve been saying I speak English as my first language. It took me a decently long time to make the connection that the WTO (world trade organization) was the OMC (organisation mondiale de commerce). Mr. Juneau would be proud.
THE SOCIAL :
I didn’t see Becca much today, and my second roommate didn’t show up! Abby, one of the Australians who approached my yesterday, introduced me to most of the other Australian girls. They’re so funny. They all call me Miley Cyrus ‘cause apparently I sound and act identical to her … ? I spent most of the day with Abby and Emma , (Aussies) , and Emily , (Norwegian) , as well as Holly , who turns out to be from Toronto . They’re all in my LGM . Some of the other Australians are really nice , like Zoë and Simon and Yael .
Nic , (USA) , is helping me figure out what the “Canadian” accent is, and today it has blown my mind how significant it is. We pronounce EVERYTHING . Someone told me I have a pretty accent today , she was from South Africa , but I don’t believe her. They all sound so dainty , and to me , Canadians and Americans sound so butch . Lordy, my accent impersonations are getting to be FLAWLESS. I’ve pretty much got Australian down.
Im learning words like “sooky” which apparently is a mix between moody and sulking? Kind of like grumpy I guess. Its Aussie. Some of their words are ridiculous . At lunch today , one of the Australians told me that rootbeer tastes like “cinnamon and meat”, which I first heard as “cinnamon and mace” which I found funnier. The Australians laugh at everything , even if its not that funny . I was laughing in my head at how fascinated the exterior countries were with Mr. Sketch smelly markers. I explained the joys of Tim Hortons and the concept of a "timbit" , and everyone was so intregued. Its just a small donut?
I shared some of my Dora snacks with the other girls and they found it so cute that my grandma bought me them to take with me. They told me they were jealous .
TOMORROW:
World Bank , Town Hall , and a WTO Simulation , where I have to represent a governor from the United States. Oh , the scandals I could choose.
The first half of the day was based on cross cultural communication. Spending the first two hours of the day in our LGM’s (leadership group meetings / country groups) , we began to look at the iceberg platform for discovering other cultures (its long and semi complicated symbolizing the surface of cultures vs. where cultures collide) . We headed out to Georgetown for lunch , where apparently “anybody who’s anybody lives . ” - My mom . I ate at a cute little place called “Five Guys Burgers and Fries”, where I got what was supposed to be a “little burger”, but it was larger than a BigMac … ?
After Georgetown and a bit of walking , we headed back to the hotel to hear a guest speaker , Dr. Gary Weaver from the American University , speaking on cross-cultural communication . He was hilarious , effective , and his speaking / presenting skills were phenomenal .
We touched on cultural norms , generalizations , and stereotypes . My lordy , Canada has some of the most stereotypes I’ve ever heard ! You know , when my polar bear is sick , I cant go to school cause I have nothing to ride there . It’s horribly sad having to stay in my igloo with a sick polar bear while my friends are all at school playing in the dark under a maple tree , eh ?
After Dr. Weaver spoke , we headed off to the Jefferson and Roosevelt memorials , which were absolutely incredible. Franklin Deleno Roosevelt’s memorial was split into 4 sections , each representing America and his influence during each of his terms that he served as president. The waterfalls of different dimensions , and the quotes engraved on the walls were incredible. The view that it was on was beautiful as well . The Thomas Jefferson memorial was of a different sort. Less informative, more on a larger scale . The pillars were huge , and the statue of him inside was exquisitely detailed. The stairs leading up to it were flawless, absolutely stunning, and by that point everyone of us was exhausted, so we sort of stationed ourselves there as the rest of the kids made their way through. At that point , I discovered the 1.5 cm opened blister on the back of my heel and wanted to die . I put a blister band-aid on it , but I was the world’s happiest person once we arrived back and I was able to slip on my Toms.
We had a second speaker , Jacqueline Mureketete , a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. She was 10 years old at the time , and by the age of 22 , she was speaking internationally against indifference and extremism .
Today was the first day I’ve noticed that I knew the curriculum in French and had to switch it to English, which confused most of the kids figuring I’ve been saying I speak English as my first language. It took me a decently long time to make the connection that the WTO (world trade organization) was the OMC (organisation mondiale de commerce). Mr. Juneau would be proud.
THE SOCIAL :
I didn’t see Becca much today, and my second roommate didn’t show up! Abby, one of the Australians who approached my yesterday, introduced me to most of the other Australian girls. They’re so funny. They all call me Miley Cyrus ‘cause apparently I sound and act identical to her … ? I spent most of the day with Abby and Emma , (Aussies) , and Emily , (Norwegian) , as well as Holly , who turns out to be from Toronto . They’re all in my LGM . Some of the other Australians are really nice , like Zoë and Simon and Yael .
Nic , (USA) , is helping me figure out what the “Canadian” accent is, and today it has blown my mind how significant it is. We pronounce EVERYTHING . Someone told me I have a pretty accent today , she was from South Africa , but I don’t believe her. They all sound so dainty , and to me , Canadians and Americans sound so butch . Lordy, my accent impersonations are getting to be FLAWLESS. I’ve pretty much got Australian down.
Im learning words like “sooky” which apparently is a mix between moody and sulking? Kind of like grumpy I guess. Its Aussie. Some of their words are ridiculous . At lunch today , one of the Australians told me that rootbeer tastes like “cinnamon and meat”, which I first heard as “cinnamon and mace” which I found funnier. The Australians laugh at everything , even if its not that funny . I was laughing in my head at how fascinated the exterior countries were with Mr. Sketch smelly markers. I explained the joys of Tim Hortons and the concept of a "timbit" , and everyone was so intregued. Its just a small donut?
I shared some of my Dora snacks with the other girls and they found it so cute that my grandma bought me them to take with me. They told me they were jealous .
TOMORROW:
World Bank , Town Hall , and a WTO Simulation , where I have to represent a governor from the United States. Oh , the scandals I could choose.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
- Day One .
Lots of information came flying at us as soon as we arrived.
THE ROOMMATE(S?) :
Room 2624 , which you’d assume would be on level two? Nope , I got on the elevator , there’s no level two. It’s considered “M”, even though the main floor is on level one ? My roommate , Kristina from Macedonia , had arrived 3 hours earlier , unpacked , napped , showered , and eaten by the time I got there. I’m pretty sure she enjoyed having the room to herself because she seemed pretty unpleased when I walked in at 6:30pm . Apparently we’re supposed to have another girl with us from South Africa or something , but she may show up tomorrow cause she never turned up today.
THE FRIENDS :
Becca and Claire are two girls who live in Calgary as well, and so I stuck with them a lot of the time tonight . Claire is in my “country group” of India as well, so that’s nice. I met her at the airport before we even got here, so it was nice to know both of them by the time I got to the hotel. I also met a girl named Kim from Germany at the airport, and she’s a huge sweetheart .There’s also a kid from the US named Nic who’s pretty cool too , he’s in India with Claire and I .
THE INTIMIDATING:
There’s a group of 15 Australian kids who came from the same school in Sydney and they’re all friends so that’s a little intimidating figuring they’re all poised with their dainty little accents and their perfect little bodies, but a couple of them have come up to me and they seem pretty down-to-earth , thankfully. Apparently the customs guy made fun of one of the Australian girls, Abby, for flying 24 hours for a 12-day conference. He saw it as ridiculous apparently, haha . There’s a kid in my India group who attends a performing arts school in Australia, so I’m excited to get the chance to talk to him a little more about that. I’m curious what form of the arts he attends it for .
THE COUNTRY GROUP:
I’m hoping my country group loosens up a little, they’re so quiet , and I already have been the “awkward spotlight” too many times! I went to the bathroom at the start of country group meetings , and Claire didn’t save me a chair , so I walk in and its dead silent , and there’s no spots left and everyone is just staring at me for a good 30 seconds before Kimberly , our leader , came in and realized I needed a chair . My face was probably bright red , ‘cause you could probably have heard a pin drop and everyone was just staring. At least the Australian girls told me I looked good ?
TOMORROW:
Lunch at Georgetown , Presidents Memorials (Roosevelt, Jefferson)
THE ROOMMATE(S?) :
Room 2624 , which you’d assume would be on level two? Nope , I got on the elevator , there’s no level two. It’s considered “M”, even though the main floor is on level one ? My roommate , Kristina from Macedonia , had arrived 3 hours earlier , unpacked , napped , showered , and eaten by the time I got there. I’m pretty sure she enjoyed having the room to herself because she seemed pretty unpleased when I walked in at 6:30pm . Apparently we’re supposed to have another girl with us from South Africa or something , but she may show up tomorrow cause she never turned up today.
THE FRIENDS :
Becca and Claire are two girls who live in Calgary as well, and so I stuck with them a lot of the time tonight . Claire is in my “country group” of India as well, so that’s nice. I met her at the airport before we even got here, so it was nice to know both of them by the time I got to the hotel. I also met a girl named Kim from Germany at the airport, and she’s a huge sweetheart .There’s also a kid from the US named Nic who’s pretty cool too , he’s in India with Claire and I .
THE INTIMIDATING:
There’s a group of 15 Australian kids who came from the same school in Sydney and they’re all friends so that’s a little intimidating figuring they’re all poised with their dainty little accents and their perfect little bodies, but a couple of them have come up to me and they seem pretty down-to-earth , thankfully. Apparently the customs guy made fun of one of the Australian girls, Abby, for flying 24 hours for a 12-day conference. He saw it as ridiculous apparently, haha . There’s a kid in my India group who attends a performing arts school in Australia, so I’m excited to get the chance to talk to him a little more about that. I’m curious what form of the arts he attends it for .
THE COUNTRY GROUP:
I’m hoping my country group loosens up a little, they’re so quiet , and I already have been the “awkward spotlight” too many times! I went to the bathroom at the start of country group meetings , and Claire didn’t save me a chair , so I walk in and its dead silent , and there’s no spots left and everyone is just staring at me for a good 30 seconds before Kimberly , our leader , came in and realized I needed a chair . My face was probably bright red , ‘cause you could probably have heard a pin drop and everyone was just staring. At least the Australian girls told me I looked good ?
TOMORROW:
Lunch at Georgetown , Presidents Memorials (Roosevelt, Jefferson)
- Getting Here .
Off to Toronto to transfer flights and its already semi-interesting . I’ve never seen so many people on a flight sleeping with their mouths wide open. The walk to the bathroom was almost frightening. They‘re like zombies! It’s a pretty relaxed flight thus far. I got a thing of free Pringles because Air Canada lied about being able to use pre-paid Visa cards to pay for food on flights. The guy sitting beside me was super nice, though he pretty much told me that this conference will never benefit what I want to do with my life if I choose any program other than political sciences! He was still great company though really enjoyed to rub in the fact that I’m a dreamer and my “plans” wont ever fit reality… Thanks Moncton guy .
Toronto to Washington ! I completely forgot that at the Toronto airport, customs is on the boarding side of things, rather than landing! Talk about freaky. The guy hated me. I gave him my paper and all he said was “Not good enough”, and I wanted to start crying right then and there ! He wouldn’t even look at me and he said I wasn’t giving him enough information, so after he finally let me through, my brother and I were joking about what he could’ve thought I was actually doing. Running away to a Burlesque club? How’d he know! Anyways, after showing him my acceptance letter to GYLC, he finally let me through. He was not impressed. So on my way to Washington, freaked out about my plane delay because we took off about 15 minutes late. I hope they don’t leave without me?
BROTHERS !
Lordy, I’ve missed you on the long plane ride. I never realized how beneficial it actually was to be able to sleep with my legs up over your lap. I went to take a nap on my first flight and I had no room, and the guy beside me kept elbowing my ribcage as he typed on his freaky little tablet thing. I also miss watching overdramatic movies in sync. You guys are way better co-passengers. Flying alone has its downsides…
Toronto to Washington ! I completely forgot that at the Toronto airport, customs is on the boarding side of things, rather than landing! Talk about freaky. The guy hated me. I gave him my paper and all he said was “Not good enough”, and I wanted to start crying right then and there ! He wouldn’t even look at me and he said I wasn’t giving him enough information, so after he finally let me through, my brother and I were joking about what he could’ve thought I was actually doing. Running away to a Burlesque club? How’d he know! Anyways, after showing him my acceptance letter to GYLC, he finally let me through. He was not impressed. So on my way to Washington, freaked out about my plane delay because we took off about 15 minutes late. I hope they don’t leave without me?
BROTHERS !
Lordy, I’ve missed you on the long plane ride. I never realized how beneficial it actually was to be able to sleep with my legs up over your lap. I went to take a nap on my first flight and I had no room, and the guy beside me kept elbowing my ribcage as he typed on his freaky little tablet thing. I also miss watching overdramatic movies in sync. You guys are way better co-passengers. Flying alone has its downsides…
Saturday, 25 June 2011
- Eleven Hours To Go .
Only eleven hours from now , i'll be on a plane off to Washington, DC to start what could be the most incredible experience of my life? We'll see how it all goes . First time flying internationally alone ? Good freaking luck , Morgan .
Washington , Philadelphia, New York , get ready 'cause Meneghetti's comin' to town .
Washington , Philadelphia, New York , get ready 'cause Meneghetti's comin' to town .
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