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London Lovin'

SMCHS Model United Nations journeys to the United Kingdom and France. By Dessi Gomez & Ryan Ramos, Staff Writers

By Dessi Gomez

December 4^th, 2015

London: THE LONDON EYE

We, Dessi Gomez and Ryan Ramos, will share our experiences from the 2015 SMCHS MUN London trip. Fifteen junior MUNer’s began their 10-day adventure abroad with a grueling 10-hour flight that lacked quality entertainment due to technological difficulties. The MUN team had to adjust to an eight-hour time change between the U.S. and the U.K. Not to worry, full-IB and stacked AP curriculums had prepared us for such adversities.

It wasn’t until we set foot in London that the fantasized trip became reality. Our advisers, Tessa Fleming and Bryn Dubious, history teachers, started the trip off with a bang. We drove by the Big Ben, the Tower of London, the London Bridge and of course the London Eye. Needless to say, London made quite the first impression on us newcomers. And yes, the accents made the country that much more attractive.

LONDON: COVENT GARDEN

Our first encounter with London culture occurred at Covent Garden (day one). As tourists enjoyed good at one of the many surrounding eateries, street entertainers and magicians begged them for a pound or two.

Being tourists, we needed to experience the most iconic London cuisine, fish and chips. We were shocked to find out that in Britain when the say “fish and chips” they literally serve an entire fish. We felt extremely English eating our fish and chips.

LONDON: TRAFALGAR SQUARE

Next, we marched on to Trafalgar Square, a fountain-filled memorial of the naval battles of World War II, where Fleming and Dubois showed us what our world history textbooks had always talked about. It was humbling to experience what we learned in our classroom lectures.

london: BUCKINGHAM PALACE

From Trafalgar Square we walked to the Queen’s palace. The best part was definitely observing the disciplined statures of her Majesty’s red-coated, black-hatted and emotionless guards.

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LONDON: THE TUBE

With our first day of touring coming to an end, we were faced with the challenge of successfully navigating through the London Underground, also known as “The Tube.” The Tube reminded us of the G-building stairs: crowded, inefficient and in need of a remodeling.

London’s rustic persona left us American tourists eager to go exploring, but we had to set our emotions at bay for our priority was MUN and the conference was almost upon us.

Conference: ROYAL RUSSEL SCHOOL

Royal Russel Boarding School was the venue of our intense debate. However it felt more like a museum rather than a campus. The campus’ grand architecture and aged brick structure reflects how old the school is and the history it has been through. It was founded in 1853, and served as our second home for the next four days.

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Conference: ROYAL RUSSEL International Mun

Day two saw the start of committee and consisted of informal lobbying, which basically translates into selling your resolutions and making allies that will support them. It concluded with the submission of these resolutions to the approval panel, and the anticipation of whether or not the resolution would have the opportunity to advance into further debate.

Day three involved a more scrutinizing form of debate beginning with policy speeches and later discussion of resolutions. During this session delegates were given the opportunity to speak for or against the resolution with suggestions for amendments.

CONFERENCE: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Day four contained both committee and General Assembly sessions. General Assembly was held in a large auditorium where 800 delegates would participate in debate about the most elite resolutions from each individual 60-delegate committee.

On day five, delegations finished debate on resolutions in General Assembly. Delegations once again voted for or against resolutions.

conference: AWARD WINNERS!

By the end of the conference, the SMCHS delegates were rewarded with eight individual awards: (L-R) Cecelia Nepple, Dessi Gomez, Sarvien Keighobad, Quinn Webster, Justin Wittekind, Isabella Murdy, Madeline McFadden and Ryan Ramos. The group of students that represented China earned an unprecedented Distinguished Delegation Award.

London: BIG BEN & WESTMINSTER ABBEY

With the weight of the conference finally off our shoulders, we could fully relax and drink in the wonders of Europe. It was much more fun traveling without energy-draining debate and award anxiety.

On day six, we explored London. We took the Tube to Westminster Abbey, a gorgeous church. Westminster Abbey is adjacent to Big Ben, so as we walked out of the Underground, we saw the stunning clock tower standing tall in all its grandeur.

There was also the Poets’ Corner, dedicated to various popular authors, writers and poets in English literature. It was so surreal to walk through this section and view the memorial plaques that recognized writers we learned about in our English classes. Poets Dylan Thomas, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Keats were listed. Standout novelists such as the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, C.S. Lewis, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens and Lewis Carroll also had memorial plates.

Our second stop of the day was the British Museum. Upon entering the building, an enormous skylight roof greeted us. Our chaperones challenged us with a contest of who could bring back the most interesting fact from the artifacts and exhibits. It was amazing to see so much history from so many different countries and time periods contained in one place. We were reminded of how big the world is and the length of its existence.

Paris: NOTRE DAME

On day seven, we ventured into Paris! The Eurostar train took us from King’s Cross Station (the home of the Harry Potter series’ legendary Platform 9 ¾!) through the Chunnel to Le Gare du Nord in Paris in two hours.

Our first French destination was Notre Dame, the grand cathedral with beautiful rose windows that stands near the Seine River. The architecture and stained-glass windows were admired by all, and inspired a feeling of awe.

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PARIS: THE LATIN QUARTER

The next stop was the Latin Quarter for free time and shopping. Here we split up to discover delicious French food and find souvenirs.

paris: CRÊPES

While in search of crêpes and escargot, we discovered this beautiful crêperie where we ordered delicious crêpes. The French bookstores had a cozy feel and quaint atmosphere.

paris: LE PETIT PONT

It was stunning to see in real life, a famous restaurant that I, Dessi Gomez, stare at every day in Ms. Delfolie’s classroom on the second floor of the S-building.

paris: THE LOUVRE

From the Latin Quarter, we journeyed to The Louvre and walked through the gigantic building to the heart where the glass pyramid was. From there, we trekked to the Eiffel Tower.

paris: THE EIFFEL TOWER

Standing in front of the Eiffel Tower was one of the best moments of the trip, at least for the first-timers to Paris. There, we were standing in front of such an important landmark that so many others have stood before.

paris: AMORINO GELATO

As our day in Paris drew to a close, we headed down a cute little street in search of food. Amorino Gelato served refreshing gelato that was both beautiful and tasty. The flower petals made it even more delicious.

london: TOWER OF LONDON & BEEF-EATERS

On day eight, (back in London) the Beef-Eater soldiers gave us a tour of the Tower of London, which houses the Crown Jewels of England.

london: St. Paul's Cathedral

Then we visited St. Paul’s Cathedral, another gorgeous piece of architecture. London was a one-of-a-kind experience. It was an honor to represent our school on such a rewarding and exciting trip.

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