The New York Journey

By: Jack

You could feel the excitement in the air. Everyone in my grade, 5, and the one below, were sitting in the airport at 10:00 pm. I was playing cards with my friends when my teacher brought out the first of the sweets. She had a really big sweet tooth. I was wearing a light blue shirt with the Centennial Montessori School logo on it. It had been a hassle through security but now we were here. As I got bored of cards and went to run on the moving walkway, I saw the group of people from the flight that had just landed in the next gate over. They looked tired. I didn't; I was excited to fly to New York and let the hard work I had put in pay off, as well as to hang out with my friends for 5 days and watch movies on the plane.

First I have to explain. Montessori schools from around the world, each representing a different nation, were coming together to solve world problems. We were separated into groups of two in our school. Each pair was put in a bigger group with other pairs from different schools. Each of the larger groups was trying to solve a specific world problem. I forgot what the problem I was solving was but it's probably not that important to my experience. But before traveling we had to prepare by writing a speech about how we plan to solve the world problem.

Before middle school, I hated writing. It was hard for me because it felt like I was trapped at my desk, I spent most of the time at school working on my speech. All of my friends' schools were doing the same, so it was comforting and fun. I also got help from the teachers by using a computer to find resources for my research. Since the upper grades at my old school were upstairs, it was very hot which didn't help with my jittery legs. One day a Lamborghini drove by and everyone got up and was talking about how cool it was. When it was done, I had everything I needed to spend 5 days away from home. I got to the airport and saw my friends... 

Because it was a red eye and because of the sugar, when we got to New York, we were incredibly tired. Around 7 people were crammed into a room and told to go to sleep, but as you can imagine, with 5th graders there will be the few that annoy everyone and keep everyone tired. I remember lying on the floor, every muscle stiff from 6 hours of flight, because there was not enough bed space for all the boys. . I was so tired but I still couldn’t sleep with the light outside and the noise of those kids making jokes and whispering, keeping everyone awake. Me and my friend moved into a closet to try to get some rest. It didn’t work, and I came out of the room at 3:00 PM fully not rested and fully not ready to present my speech. I was tired and hot and annoyed. I had to wear a suit. But I was so excited and nervous that I didn’t even pay attention to those emotions. 

“Are you ready to go?” I said to my friend, Lorcan

“Yeah…”  he said back.

“Ok.”

I checked that I had my speech in my folder. Then we entered the elevator and headed down to the conference room. My heart was pounding so hard I thought the entire hotel could hear. We entered the room and sat at our table and waited. I was trying to pay attention to the other speeches, but I was only picking up the main idea.

“It's your turn,” my friend said.

I went up to the front with my paper. I was already sweaty from the suit. It was uncomfortable, and the shoes pinched my toes. But I went up the podium and to the front of everyone. 

“H hm,'' I cleared my throat. 

“Hello my name is Jack, representing Côte d'Ivoire...” 

I presented my speech and my friend presented his. I can’t remember the specifics of what I said. And you might be thinking:

“But Jack, you put so much effort, how could you not remember?”

 And I would answer, 

“Idon know.”

It just happens, but I remember holding strong to my idea through the debate, sure that it was the best one, until finally giving in to the group of kids that everyone else had joined. It was hard to try and show people how your idea is good.  

At the end of the day we went to a grocery store that the principal went to as a kid. It had really good pastries. But because it’s school, they give you 1/16 of a piece that means you could fit the whole thing on your palm. Not really, but come on. One of my friends and I got spicy Korean chicken . It was really good but the spice stung my throat. I would definitely eat from that store again. 

The next day after the meeting there was more finalization of the solution we created. For dinner that night my school went to a sketchy Indian buffet in an alley. Back then it didn't seem as sketchy, but when I look back on it, it was definitely mid- to high-tier sketchy. And the best part was we went to the actual U.N. building. 

We got off the bus at the U.N. building that morning. It was very cold but my coat kept me warm except for my face. I looked up at the spiked fence to a security line like at an airport and a massive courtyard. The first thing I saw when I entered the building was a huge wooden staircase. I could hear the clacking of dress shoes on it as we went to the meeting chamber. It was the type of place where you get whispered aggressively at by the teacher because someone told a funny joke to you very quietly. A cool translation device was on the table with a microphone that we couldn't use. I really wanted to use it. It was the kind of thing that would be so satisfying to use. I sat there with my classmates. The lucky few from each group that got to present a speech at the U.N. podium went up to the front. It was an amazing experience to see the real U.N. complex where the leaders of the world gathered. I wondered whose seat I was sitting in. But no matter how much fun you have or how much you learn it has to come to an end. We went back to the hotel and the next morning we had to leave for San Francisco and the end of the New York journey. It was a great experience for me that I think everyone should have. Learning to think and solve like an adult and giving opportunities of responsibility. It also was an experience that everyone will remember forever. And I certainly will.