Friday, April 30, 2010

SIMUN

Overall my SIMUN experience was fun. It was a lot more fun than I originally thought it would be. Also less serious than I thought it would be, I could see my group was having fun and was a little more laid back the last 2 days. I liked the scenarios, especially how they were tied in with our prep questions that we did so we actually had an idea of what was going to happen. The only one scenario I didn’t like was the one about my country, because it was only the second day and I was still trying to think of what to say while all the other countries are stating their idea in the speakers list and caucuses. So I mainly resorted to inquires instead of just speeches, but I still managed to do 3-4 speeches on the second day which made me feel more confident the rest of the day.

I feel that I did a good job in SIMUN; the first day I only spoke once and asked one question since I wanted to get the feel of what was going on. Also I think I did well in the caucuses, I talked with fellow allies and other people who weren’t on my side to see what ideas were being made into recommendations. On the second scenario everyone sided with my view and three countries turned in 3 separate recommendations that were all alike.

To prepare for SIMUN I did the prep questions and the overview of Ukraine which was mandatory, but I also found some articles during SIMUN that I found were helpful in scenario two for the one about Ukraine that helped convince the other countries which were for Ukraine to join NATO to stop and think of the outcomes. I also prepared by reading over my graded prep questions for some clarifications on things to better help me during the scenarios.

I would differently prepare next year by researching more about my current allies and enemies and who I should focus my main attention on. Also find out what people like about recommendations that are brought to the floor to see what parts people dislike and like to write my own recommendation similar to that just better, while still helping and supporting my country. Overall my experience was fun, the chairs were nice and the mentors were very forgiving and had some great tips. I can’t wait for next year!