San Fran

Setting in the International Airport here in San Fran. Tired although we may be, we are getting very excited for the upcoming trip. Andrew and Kiersten (if i didnt spell that right i give up), are sitting talking about Sexism, Caroline is reading a fiction book, Sean S is no where to be found and i, guess who this is, am blogging. Oh there he is, Sean S is back.

The Marathon day of travel has begun, and after a 12 hour flight we will be at our destination, where we can, if the gods are willing take the world by storm. On another completely unrelated note the weather forecast for Korea is rain and thunder.

All very relaxed and ready for the challenge we set forth, warriors of the mind, soldiers of the truth, wielders of rhetoric. Look forward to our battle updates as we brave the weather and the world.

The End of the Beginning

Dear Diary,

It is 9:19pm and our flight to Seoul (via San Fran) leaves at 6:30am, so I can not write long. Today marked the conclusion of our five day training camp. The end of the beginning; or maybe, the beginning of the end. We’ve prepped our five cases five cases, printed copious, and have safely stowed them under lock and key until they are needed again. Our bunker has been cleared of any evidence, and is set to self-destruct mid-day tomorrow.

On a more serious note, our time in Vancouver has been simply amazing. We have been incredibly productive during the day, but were also able to party-it-up in the evenings (figuratively of course). The success of the training camp was largely due to the hospitality of our host, West Point Grey Academy. They were incredibly friendly, provided amazing meals, and gave us the map to our secret bunker. A big thank you goes out to the schools administration, and particularly Ms. Tracey Lee, the schools debate coach. A large thank you should also be extended to the billets, who for some reason agreed to look after us for an entire week. Thank you.

The last two blog entries have been incredibly hilarious and witty. In fact, several times throughout the week we’ve considered burning the cases (we came rather close when we had the barbeque) and going into trick photography or photojournalism. Unfortunately, due to the hour of the evening, this blog will not be hilarious or witty, but will rather be a series of pictures reminiscing throughout the week. It is our hope that through our pictures you can take a quick ride on the rollercoaster we can debate. Enjoy!

Its all smiles on the first day.

Trying to find Korea...

We know it's out there someplace...

Greek food at "Greek Days" - a Kitsilano tradition!

Can you guess what Kierstin is thinking?

How about now???

Thanks for reading!!! Stay tooned for wittier remarks once we land in Korea (we have a thirteen hour plane ride to think of something funny to say!!!)

En Route to the Bunker

With our departure fast approaching, we figured it would be appropriate to reveal the secret route to the Team Canada training bunker. While endangering our own safety, we recognize the urgent need for information. Please read the following post cautiously... the Irish could be right over your shoulder.


Step One: Penetrate the security perimeter. Official entrances do not exist; such unnecessary infrastructure would only serve to reveal our location to the Australians. Climbing the four-meter fence assists in developing the bicep muscles necessary for the countless points-of-information to be exchanged in the following ten hours. Endurance is key.




Step Two: Proceed along the first path you see. This may or may not take you in the right direction, it really depends on where the first path you see leads. A true Canadian would know the way. Avoid leaving any trail to ensure you can't be tracked. DO NOT chase the geese. Even if they are looking at you.






Step Three: cross any rivers, streams, gorges, thickets, or oceans you may come across. (Bridges not provided). Ensure that no team members are left behind. Even the little ones that may be difficult to spot.







Step Four: climb through the hills, dodging the thorns and branches, in an upward direction. Whenever possible, photograph the journey; you never know when they'll come in handy for an overly hyperbolic blog post. Again, ensure no members are lost. It's hard enough for four people to eat all that pastry.



Step Five: climb through a forest as you ascend the hill towards the Team Canada Bunker. Once again, remaining alive remains a key priority. One false step and you'll be falling faster than the GDP of Latin America following the adoption of Import Substitution Industrialization. Remember: those pastries won't eat themselves.




Step Six: arrive at the bunker. DO NOT turn on any lights... it really ruins the effect. Discussion and debate occur behind locked and bolted doors. Windows remain shut in fear of exposing our secret tactics. Photography is strictly limited beyond the use of officially sanctioned cameras.






Step Seven: pack up for the night. Ensure to take all secret documents and keep them under close surveillance at all times. Doors are locked and windows bolted shut. Shower, sleep, eat and repeat. One more day before Team Canada is set to take Korea by storm.

A day in the glamorous life of Canada's National Debate Team

0600: Everyone but Sean S. wake up. Calisthenics, coffee and a cold shower.

0742: Sean S. wakes up. Coffee.

0745: Mr. Poirier transports the team to our bunker











0800-0815: Breakfast. Pastries.

0815-1000: Argue.

1000-1002: Eat more pastries.






1002-1200: Debate top-secret things.









1200-1215: Eat more pastries. Lunch food is also available but really who eats that when you could eat pastry?



1215-1230: Crosswalk lessons for Sean S. and Kierstin. Lesson one: pedestrians have the right of way













1230-1245: Frisbee golf. Debate is all about cross-training.












1245-1500: More arguing. And eating pastry.















1500-1501: Receive wisdom from our Great Leader.







1501-1700: Go back to what we were doing. Eat more pastry.

1700-1730: Giggle fit induced by overload of pastry and discussion of world politics. Jokes about what Uzbekistan does to its protesters are very popular.






1730-1745: Frustration.














1745-1800: Blissful ignorance.













1800-1815: Self-explanatory













1815-1816: Andrew gets charcoal on his nose.


















1816-1900: Attempt to light the charcoals in a hibashi (for the uninitiated, a small barbeque). Look carefully and you can see Caroline's bio notes ablaze.



1900-1915: Eat burgers and cookies. Sadly, no pastry available at this time.






1915-2015: Contemplate our upcoming pillage of the World Schools Debating Tournament.












2015-way too late: Sit in front of a computer until our cases fix themselves. Or update our blog to avoid doing so.

Arrival, Pop Culture Jeopardy, and Prepping

With the arrival of Team Canada to the west coast, it seems as though the weather didn’t know what to do with us. We’ve had rain, thunder, sun, snow, hail, blizzards (ok I made the last three up) but the weather has been very bi-polar, which of course is no pathetic fallacy to the feelings and ambitions of team Canada. After I (sean) arrived at the airport, it seemed as though I had been unwittingly entered in to a game of pop culture Jeopardy. Our coach Mr. Poirier seem to be very worried about our teams lack of knowledge about pop culture so was testing us constantly, alluding to movies, songs and current events. It seems because of our age, and maybe our lack of interest in Charlton Hesston’s movies about eating old peoples that we seem to have initialed failed at this task. However today, Kierstin, our smallest and most courageous member fired back with a witty remark about number 2 from Austin powers which flew, as fast as capital from Jamaica after union formation over MP’s head.

After a delightful meal at a local Malaysian restaurant, the team retired to their respected houses, waiting for the next day to come. Awaking to the soft sounds of thunder and rain the team arrived to an amazing breakfast made by our hosts here at WPGA. After this point I don’t know how much I am allowed to say. All I can say is that we descended in the most secure bunker on the WPGA campus, apparently built incase of a Japanese attack on the city in world war two, to start prepping. After hours of working, crying, voice exercises, medieval torture practices, case construction, and debate, we emerged, shielding our eyes from the sun, which was out to greet us. We then ventured out; following the sound of Greek music to Greek days, where we had a tasty meal of you guessed it Greek food. After such a meal, we returned to our billets and are currently all working hard on the case. I mean, working hard on a top secrete project. Well I must return to my work. Good night.

Your friend
sean