GC (but not Georgetown College this time)

When those who came up with the old saying "March comes in like a lion," they probably knew how my March 2010 would begin. But of course, not an evil ravaging lion but instead a Simba-like lion who is intense, yet enjoyable all the while. For me, my March lion came in the form of an event called Global Classrooms. In a short explanation, GC is basically a Model United Nations conference that is held all around the world. Here in Madrid, 22 students from each of the 10 secondary bilingual schools came together for a day and a half to debate access to education... all in English. The preparation leading up to this conference encompassed months of teaching these kids about the entirely foreign concepts of rules of procedure and how to write position papers. When the day finally arrived to put into all of the practice into use, let's just say it was "lionous."
At my school, I had been working for months teaching my terceros (third years, the equivalent of high school freshman) what caucuses were, how to write a resolution, and all (well, most) of the other necessary things they needed to excel at the conference. Working with Katica and the amazing English teacher at our school Maria, I really felt like these kids were prepared. And they proved me right.
As it is Spain, the events of the day weren't completely organized and pretty much all work was placed on the back of us Fulbrighters, who were in charge of running the debate and basically leading the conference. I was the chair of a committee (the Afrrican committee, to be exact), meaning I was basically in charge of the room of 60 "delegates" representing 30 African countries. With my great team of Becca, Miguel, and Vicki by my side, let's just say we kicked ass. It helped to have a great crew to work with, but also to have past experience of running fraternity meetings with 40+ rowdy college guys. Our committee ran fairly smoothly, and we made sure the kids were constantly encouraged and having fun while debating.
I was amazed at how great all the kids were. They were passing notes between countries (relevant notes, not like asking for phone numbers or cup sizes), writing elaborate resolutions to solve the world's education problem, and doing it all in English. What?!
At the end of the day, each committee (there were 5 total, of which my students were on 4) gave out different awards. I was so happy to hear that kids from our school won awards in each of the committees they represented. In all, they took home 4 awards: 3 for Best Delegation Honorable Mentions and 1 for Most Dedicated Delegation (aka best hustle: hard work, maybe not the best English). I really was like a proud parent! Last year, our school only won one honorable mention. This year, they won 4 awards! All of their (and mine, Katica's, and Maria's) hard work paid off.
After the day was over, I was glad for a nap and to rest my voice after a day full of talking and encouragement. And now I'm left with the question: What do I do at work now?
And now for photos of the event:

All of the kids from our school dressed up and representing.

Me, Katica, Claire, and Maria. Claire is apparently taking a picture of the picture being taken. She's our boss, and she's pretty awesome too (and British!).
Our African committee room, and (a blurry) Vicki doing her Staff job of passing notes between countries.

Guzman doing some negotiating for Somalia. I really wanted his delegation to win an award, but they were just all so good.
My students, Kay and Diego, representing Portugal.
Emmanuel controlling the room for Kazakhstan. Him and his partner went on to win an award, and now he's in the running to go to New York City in May for free. One student from each school gets to go.
Since I was the Chair, I gave out our awards from Africa at the Asamblea de Madrid, basically the big government chamber. This is me giving an Honorable Mention award to my students Irene and Javier.
Irene with Camroon's Honorable Mention and Miguel with Chile's Honorable Mention. Irene is the other one in the running to go to NYC. They have to interview with the US Council people and everything. But I'm glad we didn't have to decide which of them gets to go.
More of our students with the other 2 awards: Kazakhstan's Honorable Mention and Turkey's Most Dedicated Delegation. I was so proud of Carlota, the girl holding the award, and her partner Alba (to the right of her in gray). Carlota may not have the best English, but she tried SO hard and did amazing.