Today we arrived in Munich, Germany around 7:30 am and might I say, it was a very beautiful city as well as being very “alive”. After checking into our hotel, we immediately set out to venture into the city. We spent most of our day around Marienplatz, which is basically the “Times Square” of Munich, where we witnessed the Glockenspiel, the Old Town Hall which is the new town hall but that’s a confusing story we can talk about another time, the Frauenkirche Cathedral, and the Gyptothek Museum of Classical Sculpture.

Today we went on two guided tours: The Memorial Site of Dachau Concentration Camp and a walking tour through the city of Munich in relation to the Third Reich and the rise of Hitler. If you didn’t know, Dachau was known to be the “school of terror” amongst all the concentration camps, because it was the first camp established and was the “guideline” which all the other camps followed. It was also the longest camp to persist in Germany: 12 years.  

Today was by far my favorite within our stay in Munich, because we had the chance to visit two amazing castles: Neuschwanstein and Linderhof, both of which were built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Each castle left us in awe as we entered or gazed upon it and the surrounding countryside. I truly must say this excursion was the icing on the cake, and the hike up to the viewpoint was breathtaking. Frau Ursula, our guide, added an interesting extra “German twist” to the tour to make it more interesting.  These were a magnificent and meaningful three days.  We can’t wait to get to Aiglon College in the Swiss Alps for the Round Square Conference to begin!

Bonjour Hackley!

Today is an exciting day as we set out on our 6 hour journey to Aiglon! Along our journey, we found ourselves running through, and occasionally shoving other travelers, as we swapped from transit to transit, but in the end it was worth it because we found ourselves safety in the midst of Aiglon College. We were warmly welcomed through the opening ceremony, where we had many great speeches – one of which was from the one and only His Majesty King Constantine – a very exciting drum assembly (STOMP) production from Aiglon’s own student body, and a closing performance which consisted of fireworks (sparklers) and confetti! Certainly a fantastic way to start off the Conference!

Goedemorgen Hackley!

The start of the Conference is today and I couldn’t be more excited! All the new friends I made ranging from my own house, barazza group, and others was absolutely amazing. Taking the time to learn everything about them and more was truly fascinating. As for the many friends I made today the Conference was presented with speeches from Sir Jackie Stewart and Mark Grist. For those of you who don’t know, Sir Jackie Stewart was a very famous race car driver from Scotland, who in fact had 27 wins and 3 championship titles. The story he shared of how he was dyslexic and was not very successful in school, but was able to find a new passion in order to be successful, was truly inspiring. Mark Grist, who is a poet and is traveling around the world entering Rap Battles, came to share how his whole career started and what obstacles he faced along the way. Thank you to young Jordon, Mr. Grist was able to find what he truly enjoyed and didn’t expect it to be what it was: Rap Battling. Thanks to these two gentlemen, everyone in the Conference was able to gain a better understanding of their lives and other ways to better their lives.

Day 2 of the conference has gone by and so much has happened over the course of these two days. Many inspiring speakers have come to give their life stories, such as Ms. Meagan Fallone and Ms. Alessandra Morelli. Both of these ladies’ stories were captivating, as each of them taught us to appreciate what we have as for those in poverty are struggling for places to live, things to eat, and survival. 

Today we embarked on a journey up the (Swiss Alps). Offering four different levels to the delegates ( 4 being the hardest) me and 3 of Hackley’s own delegates chose the hardest level. This hike consisted lasted for three hours and was a total height of 7.39 km (….. feet). Now the Round Square representatives were not kidding when they said this hike would be a “challenge” as a few other delegates, as for myself, quickly realized how strenuous the hike was. But before we set about our journey, we had the pleasure of hearing from Ben Saunders who traveled over 1,795 miles to the center of the South Pole. He along with his companion, Tarka L’Herpiniere, traversed in -48 degrees Celsius to the South Pole for 105 days. Now our hike did not even compare to their rigorous journey, but in a way what Mr. Saunders explained (not succumbing to cold and calling for help to bring them home) helped me complete the journey we took on and make it to the top.

Today is the best and worst day of the 2016 Round Square Conference, as we have come to the end of it but by far the most festive day of them all. Waking up that morning made me wonder how I would most likely never see any of the other delegates from other countries again, and so I made it a priority to get everyone’s number, email, social media page, etc. in order for us to keep in touch over the years. Making these friendships was certainly the high point of the conference, for it was a time for me to get to know many different people, where they were from, and learn about their different lifestyles while sharing everything I could with them. Apart from all the sappy sad parts of the last day, there was certainly a very bright side to it. In the evening, everyone within the conference was enticed with countless performances from delegates from all around the world. It was an event that absolutely no one could forget! The performances ranged from dances, singing, musical productions, and plays. My personal favorite had to be a dance that was performed by two Ghanaians which left everyone in the audience on their feet and applauding. And just when you thought the night couldn’t get any better, the conference ended with a dance party where each and every delegate could show off their moves. If you haven’t seen Connor Larson dance, I am truly sorry, for he was killing it on the dance floor! Although it was the end, I and hopefully the other delegates from Hackley, can safely say that we will never forget this wonderful journey we embarked on together and would like to thank Dr. Pierce and Mr. Bileca for a fantastic adventure!