This year 23rd of TIMUN conference was held between 30 November and 3 December in Üsküdar Amerikan Academy. Engin, our fellow 11th grader tells us his impressions.
« Due to this being the 7th MUN conference I’ve attended so far, I was not expecting any major surprises. I was already familiar with the environment of a Model United Nations conference and everyone thought that I was as ready as ever. Despite my nonchalant exterior, I was actually as excited as if this was my first conference ever. Throughout my time spent in the MUN club, one of the constant rules was that as an eleventh grader you had to attend TIMUN, thus I ended up creating an incredibly intimidating image of TIMUN in my head and I felt extremely nervous inside. That all changed however, the moment we set foot inside Üsküdar American Academy, the admin staff cheerfully greeted us and despite the bus being late, we were not scolded in any way and proceeded to attend the opening ceremony which was blooming with youthful energy that was coming out of all the young delegates that were ready to represent a country that they had never even been to in the most prestigious Model United Nations conference in Turkey.
Seeing all these people like me helped me calm down for a bit as I realised that I was not alone at being slightly nervous as everyone was just like me, whether it be inside or outside. The opening ceremony ended and the next day me and my four other friends arrived to our respective committees. The committees were actually regular classrooms and had an aura of familiarity inside themselves, which helped me further ease my tension. I was able to get along with my fellow delegates quickly as they all turned out to be nice and kindhearted people. The debates were long but never boring and because of that, my times in the committees went by like a breeze. During the coffee and lunch breaks, I spent some of my time going around the campus and exploring with people I met in my committee.
Compared to our tiny but cozy one apartment school, Üsküdar American Academy had a huge campus and it made me feel slightly overwhelmed at first as I was afraid that I would get lost yet I was able to learn the placements of buildings rather quickly. The food was nothing special, as it was just basic cafeteria food. One thing that I was foolish enough to not try however, were the cupcakes which were baked specifically for this occasion. Everyone kept on saying how good they were and I just tried to ignore them until the final day where I decided that I had to try but much to my dismay, they were sold out. The days passed by incredibly rapidly and it was the final day before I knew it.
Saying goodbye to all the people I met at conferences was never a big deal for me however this time it was different as I had met people who came all around Turkey not just from Istanbul. Knowing that simply hanging out with them was going to be nearly impossible made me feel truly sad and I found myself wishing that the conference lasted longer. The people I’ve met during this wonderful conference might not be with me right now but their memories will always be with me and I know that I will cherish them indefinitely.
Overall, this was probably the best conference I’ve ever attended in my life and I hope that all the future delegates that are going to attend it through our school have as good of a time as I did. »
Engin Deniz – 11C
