On HMUN 2008

The delegate for Mexico in the Organization of the American States is the leader of one of Boston's biggest Model United Nations group. The delegate for the United States of America has been to seventeen Model United Nations in the past thirty-six months. He's won best delegate fourteen times, half of those from the General Assembly: a committee of over 200 people. Everyone in every room seems to have a similar resume: months and months of preparation, piles and piles of Best Delegate certificates.

But in eighteen of those rooms sit eighteen shy looking students from a tiny little country in Central America. Eighteen students, most of whom have never participated in a Model United Nations before, and some who are still trying to figure out how exactly it all works, seconds before entering their first committee session. On the little name badge in each of those eighteen students' chests reads Academia Britanica Cuscatleca. That's us. And that's when you realize what a great, unbelievable thing we're doing.

Personally, I consider myself lucky. The committee I'm in is not only one of the smallest (35 people- about 165 less than the largest committee), but it's also a committee that I feel very passionate about (perhaps the only one in this MUN that I can honestly say that about). It's the Organization of the American States. In it is represented each nation in America, and I'm representing Honduras. Our topic is whether the current government of Cuba, which is communist and not democratic, should be allowed to be a part of the Organization.

The past three days have been some of the most exciting, frustrating and rewarding I can recall. After writing a resolution which seemed to have enough support to end the debate, we received a visit from "President Castro" and our entire proposal was proved to be unacceptable to Cuba. We had to start from scratch, and even worse- our block had divided. I found myself turned into one of the leaders of one block, debating against the United States and Mexico. I've mentioned both of them in my introduction...if you recall their achievements, you'll know it wasn't easy to step up to them. But I did, and in the end, Mexico and my block managed to negotiate a new resolution. Three hours ago, we voted on this resolution. It did not pass, but the goal, at least my personal one, had been achieved: I'd learned how to stand my ground even when it felt like it was me against the world. And I'd learned how to make the world listen to me. I even managed to convince half of it to join me.

Now I'm sitting in the Lobby of the Sheraton Boston hotel, as the first delegates begin to make their way to the HMUN Dance. I see Mexican delegates walking with delegates from New York, arguing about how McCain should have won the elections. I see a delegate from Greece wave to me from the other side of the room, pulling the "Peace and Love" sign after I confessed my..."lack of appreciation" for hippies (nothing personal, I swear). And I realize how much this weekend has helped us evolve and grow through the appreciation of the points of view of people who live on the other side of our planet, people with completely different ideologies, backgrounds, faiths and passions. After all, someone once said that once a mind is presented with a new idea, it's never the same again.

Tonight we'll dance, and tomorrow we'll have our last committee session. On Monday, eighteen new, improved minds will board a jet plane and head back home, back to El Salvador.