Oh sheesh y’all, twas a dream. Seriously.

Day two of the Model United Nations session brimmed with productivity. Debates were carried on for hours, permeated by countless caucuses and the occasional motion to recess. Topics on the table ranged from those as controversial as human cloning and genetic modification of food, to thought-intensive arguments on arms trade and border disputes. As votes were counted and working papers passed, resolutions made their way from individual committees to the General Assembly, the largest and arguably most significant organ of the United Nations.

I, playing the role of an ambassador for Haiti, was a part of the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee. Alongside representatives from the United States, the Russian Federation, Germany, Thailand, Israel, Mauritius, and other nations, I had the opportunity to draft resolutions regarding the distribution of genetically modified foods and international surrogacy. The debates grew heated but thrilling nonetheless.

Thanks to my fellow diplomats from other countries, I was introduced to many thought-provoking perspectives, some of which I would have never thought of. For example, on an issue regarding the distribution of genetically modified seeds, the representative from Iran, also my roommate and a future president, cleverly tied in a seemingly irrefutable notion that said distribution was synonymous with Western hegemony. After his passionate diatribe at the podium (in full-out debate voice), the General Assembly remained in an awkward limbo between applause and disgust for several silent seconds. The acidity of his words were soon neutralized by support; my committee colleagues and I reveled when the resolution passed today.

Many resolutions were argued, amendments were passed and killed, and well into the evening, the arguments petered out. Soon after the session adjourned, the diplomats hit the dance floor–in the same ballroom that they had debated furiously less than an hour earlier.

I poked around the sweaty bodies, feeling my bones rattle with each bop of bass. My legs refused to move rhythmically in a way that would bear semblance to what some call “dancing,” and I ended up finding some friends (girls, mind you) from committee,  chatting for a while, and eventually headed up to my room to crack open the French text that I had been blissfully avoiding for the past 48 hours.

Dancing hasn’t really been my thing: not at CTD (unless you count collaborative troll-grinding a roommate), not at NYLC, and not at MUN. Someday, maybe.

The last session of General Assembly was held the following morning, today. The final resolutions were passed, the last amendments ratified, and the final votes counted. Officials were elected for next year’s session, and following a farewell ceremony, I was suddenly on the car ride home.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of another stringently formal affair: the Minnesota State Science Fair. By the end of this weekend, I will have stayed in two hotels, passed two resolutions, slept for zero hours, and spoken in front of at least a thousand people. I love it.

See also: Scholars, Skyways, and Saint Patty’s Day Parades