The La Jolla Country Day Model UN traveled to the Iberian Model United Nations Conference in Lisbon,Portugal, from November 3-9. This seven-day trip was incredibly memorable for Torrey MUN. From diplomatic discussions, to grilled rabbit, to first division football, this trip had it all.
We arrived at the Humberto Delgado Airport in Portugal on Tuesday morning, everyone excited to explore a new country. On the way to the hotel, we saw the Estadio da Luz, home of Benfica, and the Jose Alvalade Stadium, home to Sporting CP. These are the two biggest clubs in the Liga Portugal, the Portuguese first division football league. We checked in at Clube Do Lago hotel in Estoril, just outside the city of Lisbon and headed to the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon, home to the royal treasures of Portugal. There we saw the jewels, crowns, thrones, medals, and even cutlery of the Portuguese royal families.
On Wednesday, we woke to strong rain and a delicious breakfast. We spent the day exploring, which included Pena Palace in Sintra, just northwest of Lisbon. The palace dates back to the Middle Ages. According to local belief, construction began after the apparition of the Virgin Mary. It was transformed into a monastery but was damaged by lightning storms, and then destroyed by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. King Ferdinand II was the one who finally turned it into today’s palace, which served as the royal family’s summer residence. It is a very beautiful piece of architecture, full of color, extreme detail, and breathtaking views.
We also visited Quinta da Regaleira, another enormous palace in Sintra. This palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of the cultural landscape of the municipality. The estate consists of a palace, a chapel, and a very luxurious and weird park. The park is full of dark caves, tunnels, wells, fountains, and lookout towers. There are secret paths everywhere that look straight out of a fantasy book. We walked more than 12,000 steps around the palace and park, and we didn’t even see the royal tennis court! Thursday morning was finally the first day of the conference, taking place at the Carlucci American International School of Lisbon (CAISL). During the Opening Ceremonies, each delegation was announced to applause. We were proud to be the only school from the entire western hemisphere. The other schools represented Italy, Norway, Spain, Germany, Romania, and Portugal. We then made our way to our committees and started lobbying. Lobbying is a process in which delegates try to find others with similar ideas and goals and merge into groups. After forming the groups, which are called blocs in MUN, we write resolutions and submit them for approval.
I represented the delegation of Botswana, and my committee was the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). I was lucky to have Kai (Uruguay) and Sophia (Sweden) in the same committee; we had a very fun and productive time. After each day’s meetings and discussions, we returned to the hotel and enjoyed dinner at various establishments in the neighborhood. This included Chinese food at Estoril Mandarin, located in the Casino Estoril. This location is Europe’s largest casino, the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel Casino Royale and a filming location for 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. On the way back to the hotel, we got to soak in the Portuguese night, it was silent, peaceful, and beautiful.
We spent Friday and Saturday at the Centro Cultural de Belem, the largest building with cultural facilities in all of Portugal. It was located right next to the Empire Square Garden and the Jeronimos Monastery, great pieces of Portuguese architecture and history.
After the keynote speaker, we enjoyed a “coffee break,” which is just a European snack time. We had coffee, tea, fruit, pastries, and many other delicacies. In committee, we conducted roll call, then went straight into opening speeches and debate on the resolutions that had been approved. Lunch was another culinary adventure, and I tried grilled octopus, which was delectable. When we discovered that there would be a football match a few blocks from our hotel, we convinced the chaperones to take us. Not only did we get to sample pastel de nata, a traditional, succulent egg custard tart pastry from Pastéis de Belem, one of the best pastry places in Portugal, we also had the chance to watch Estoril Praia take on Arouca in the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota. It was an exhilarating match, Estoril edging out Arouca 4-3. We were extremely lucky, as a 7-goal football match is very rare.
The last day of the conference was on Saturday, and the ending was bittersweet; we had all met so many people from all around the world, and we had to say goodbye. But the trip was spectacular, educational, and a true adventure!
