Just one day left before arrivals day!
What did I do?
During the final weeks leading up to the conference the student steering committee were fitting in some last minute dance rehearsals for our opening ceremony performance. Each and every one of us managed to learn it off by heart which made for an amazing opening performance! The response from the audience was so great that we ended up being asked to perform is a second time during the closing ceremony as well. Standing up on that stage after our performance, no one could take away that feeling of pride and accomplishment which each and every one of us felt from listening to the endless gasps and applause coming from the hundreds of delegates.
The Steering Committee's opening performance
The last week before the conference was actually a school holiday but the steering committee came in everyday to continue preparing for the sea of delegates that were about to arrive. This included some last minute practice barazza sessions, setting up the community stalls, going over the flag ceremony, practicing our emcee speeches and various key note speaker introductions. Personally I had to practice emceeing the formal opening ceremony which was quite nerve-wracking and all the VIP guests would be present such as His Majesty King Constantine, Her Majesty Anne-Marie and Princess Theodora of Greece. Another challenge was that I had to say some Thai phrases but luckily I got help from my fellow emcee; Eye.
Handing out hill tribe bags on arrivals day
What problems did I encounter along the way?
There were several problems we encountered along the way which was to be expected at such a large and long ongoing event, but luckily there was nothing too major. During the opening ceremony for instance there were a couple very last minute changes to the program which Eye and I had been unaware of. As a result we had to remain calm and improvise a couple times during our speech as opposed to being able to work off our scripts.
Eye and I emceeing during the formal opening ceremony
What did I achieve?
Overall I could not be happier with how the conference turned out and I know for a fact that everyone involved in the planning process is extremely proud. Reflecting back on the conference preparation, I believe I have become a more responsible, open-minded and principled individual through making decisions and taking action whilst also accepting any consequences which may have arisen from them. These are definitely qualities which will be useful throughout my life. Through juggling my duties with my school work I have become a far more organized and balanced. I have grown and become far more knowledgeable from this experience and I have Mr. Crouch to thank for giving me this unique and special opportunity. There were definitely sweat and tears involved along the way but we all stuck together through it all, especially with the steering committee. We have become such a tight knit group of friends and what I’m going to miss the most is working with them on such a regular basis. Each and every one of us has taken away different teachings and memories from this experience but there is one thing we can all agree upon; We Walk Together.
Articles from the Pattaya Mail about the conference:http://www.pattayamail.com/ourchildren/round-square-delegates-introduced-to-thai-culture-105
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