THIMUN Singapore 2012

The long-awaited THIMUN Singapore was definitely an amazing experience for me. It was my first international conference, which rekindled my passion for MUN. I met people all over the world and made new friends. On the first day, we started to lobby. Italy and Mongolia promoted me to become the main submitter. However, since the resolution didn't follow China's policies, I was forced to change my group, though I've made effort on the resolution. I was scared to face my group, yet Italy, Mongolia, and Croatia gave me the courage and escorted me to go back, reached my resolution and research, and just-- strode away bravely. They whole-heartedly supported me and followed my footsteps. They were my best partners in the conference. It was hilarious to see how Mongolia physically impeded me from talking to Morocco, my previous main submitter. He hindered me by extending his limbs and I was forced to climb the chairs with high heels in order to pass him. Eventually, Morocco found me and talked with me directly. However, Mongolia kept reminding that I shouldn't change my opinions and should follow my country's policies, though Morocco apparently heard him. He was straightforward and didn't afraid of people's remarks. Instantly, I've realized that I've made true friends. I was lucky enough to make true friends on the first day. They seriously made my day and conference special. Afterward, I supported Russia since she was a responsible main submitter. She was lovely and listened to the group members' opinions carefully. I contributed few clauses and ideas in the resolution. During lunch time, I ate with my schoolmates. I was conflicted as whether I should eat with my new friends or schoolmates. Since the lunch line was extremely long, Italy and I cut the line. Haha. Bad students. In the afternoon, our resolution passed the approval panel and I spent time drafting my speech. Haha, well, it ended up chatting with my new friends and my sweet sister, Iraq. We became friends immediately since we both came from Taiwan. When the chair had a roll call, my heart felt with warmth when both Croatia and Mongolia obviously beckoned me to sit next to them. Though we were supposed to sit down, I walked toward them since I knew that I belonged here. We went to the opening ceremony in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, it was so monotonous that lots of delegates fell asleep. I tried my best to keep myself awake since I understood that my director was always well-informed since he recognized lots of staff members. On the bus, our director reflected the conference and asked us about the positives and negatives. As for dinner, my friends and I went to a food court in a department store. I ate Thai chicken and rice as dinner. We shopped in the grocery store and I bought a pack of oatmeal cookies with raisin. I skyped with my parents at night and was extraordinarily excited to see my SAT II Chinese score.

Surprise!

The week before THIMUN Singapore was always hilarious. Unfortunately, students usually procrastinated until the last minute when they realized: "I should not have wasted my time!" In order to avoid such problems, our MUN director has supervised and warned us. Compared to my previous MUN director, who simply let us gallop in the wilderness, our current MUN director spent more effort to organize mock debates and truly advance our debate skills. Recalled my first MUN Conference, I didn't even understand the meaning behind MUN Conference. I thought that there were merely two ways-- support or not. Amendments never occurred in my mind. I thought that amendments were horrible since they meant to revise the resolutions. To me, revision equaled disappointment. Thus, I didn't even understand why did delegates bother to submit amendments. And I underwent my MUN Conferences without knowledge until I encountered my awesome MUN director. Life, indeed, was full of surprises.

Crewel

I struggled hard to love the book. I really tried my best to love the book. Though I enjoyed the beautiful, creative, unique world that the author created, I could hardly connect with the characters. The resolution was surprising in a ridiculous, unbelievable way. If Adelice had such power, why didn't she escape earlier?

As for Jost, I couldn't believe that he was a FATHER, a HUSBAND. He had a daughter!!! Eww....... When I read about his wife, I reacted "Dude! This was similar to the Iron Fey. Ash and Ariella. No way!" 
Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with both Jost and Erik, even though Adelice was a likable character, especially her sarcasm. I couldn't feel the sparkles when Jost kissed Adelice. 
The love triangle confused me because I didn't know who was the male protagonist. And the relationship between Jost and Erik was predictable as long as readers kept the details in mind. Eyes. Voice. Background. However, I appreciated the spectacular setting and the unique idea about Crewel.