Saturday, April 10, 2004

Stuttgart- London- Singapore

That's the plan for today!

Yay! I get to go home today. It's been a wonderful experience here, learning so much from people, from the championships and from just being away from home.

What have I learnt... let's see.

1. I learnt that Slovenia is not part of the former Czechoslovakia
2. I learnt that top Latin American students get offered places in American schools as part of an effort to help Latin America emerge politically, economically and socially.
3. I learnt that the South Korea team learnt how to debate by watching one debate training video
4. I learnt that Stuttgart is part of the state of Wuttemberg which is in the Swabean area of Germany.

5. I learnt that politicking exists the minute a function or an event has more than 10 people.
6. I learnt that the flip side of German efficency is German INefficiency, but you need to organise an event for 500 people over the course of 2 weeks to see that clearly
7. I learnt to judge at Worlds. I am now a full adjudicator for the world schools debating championships and if you talk like a teacher, no matter where the kids are from, they respond to it and listen.
8. I learnt that Canadians think they have something to prove- being so near the US and are almost equal to the Americans in arrogance and excessive self-assuredness
9. I have learnt that toilet paper is prettier in Strasbourg, France, than it is in Stuttgart. It's a lighter shade of pink there and it looks like badly recycled kitchen towel paper here, if you're lucky.

10. I have learnt that I don't work well without Dan. Not so much that I stop functioning, but it's just lonely when you have no one to turn around to and make the most inane of observations. And that there's no one to comfort you, when you're cold, miserable or sick.
11. I have learnt that I cannot live without chilli. Having discovered tabasco at breakfast one morning, I have proceeded to douse all my food in it for taste and that fiery sensation in my mouth.

So there, it has been a learning experience. Now, for the 17 hour flight back to reality with the onset of a cough and a cold. My room mate is concerned that I might be picked up as a potential SARS case on my stepping onto Singapore soil. I told her they were more worried about the birds.

Now to go sit on my suitcases and zip up my bags. See you back in Singapore.

Ondine tossed this thought in at 09:46

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