Michelle – On the Competition

After another jetlagged sleep, Elizabeth and I woke up at 5 this morning for the Duke vs. Kansas game. After 2 close halves and an overtime, Kansas sadly pulled out a win. Yet, I had to quickly recover from the loss and got dressed, and we headed downstairs for breakfast.

From 8:30 – 12 AM, the public came in to view our projects. I was surprised at how many younger Chinese high school and middle schools students were interested in my project and in practicing their English. There were many Chinese natives who were interested in American schooling and who wanted to take pictures with me after I shared my research with them.

After the public viewing and lunch, Elizabeth, Kevin, Ritvik, Alex, Jasper, and I walked to the nearby campus store. We picked up some classic Chinese snacks and goodies, including vanilla wafers, red bean crisp rolls, and tea. We also found an extremely modern and hipster coffee shop in the middle of the campus, which we are planning to take Marti to tomorrow (she’s been caffeine deprived).

Once we returned to our rooms, I prepared briefly for my presentation for the research symposium. At the symposium, the audience consisted mostly of international delegates and local Chinese students. I presented my research first out of 11 students who presented, and it was an amazing experience being able to speak in front of such a large group and share. It was even more amazing to listen to the other students’ presentations. All student symposium presenters were required to present in English, and it was inspiring to be able to see students from Ukraine, China, Israel, and more, explaining their research in a non-native tongue.

We then took a bus to the West Campus, where interactive science displays were set up. We used 3D printing pens to design masks, but there were also stations with make-your-own catapults, robots, virtual reality, and more.

After a brief break, we had a quick dinner with the Australian delegation (including their supervisors) and learned more about Australian culture and politics. We went back and forth on the stereotypes that we had for each other, and we taught each other about respective slang, popular foods, shows, and other cultural aspects.

Then, at 7 PM, we attended the special awards ceremony. The setup for the ceremony was absolutely amazing, and I was impressed by all of the cultural presentations throughout the ceremony.

Now, it’s 10 PM, and it’s clear that we’ve had a busy day. It’s honestly strange that the competition is almost over, because it feels like we just got here. But, I am so excited to go to the Great Wall tomorrow and keep exploring Beijing.