Greetings from Seoul

Hi everyone,

At last - access to a computer, some time (actually 3 am, NZ time) and a chance to send a brief blog. It seems like only yesterday that I was just arriving in the world's 2nd most densely populated city, Seoul, with over 10 milion inhabitants or over 23 million if you include the greater metropolitan area. The only thing over 23 million which Kiws usually encounter is...the number of sheep in NZ (over 43 million or 12 to every NZer, which is of course just what you wanted to know.)

I don't speak Korean apart from some very basic words I learned on the 16 hour flight. So, despite the fact that I once survived being alone in a dark French train station at midnight when the trains were on strike (don't ask), I did emerge from customs on June 30 with some trepidation, wondering to what extent my rudimentary linguistic acquisitions would be put to the test. I needn't have worried. My introduction to the Republic of Korea was the smiling and welcoming Kyunghee Kim in the arrival area. Kyunghee is the deputy convenor of the championships in Seoul and the volunteer co-ordinator. With her gracious help, I was soon on the one hour bus journey from Incheon airport to the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul city's south.

Seoul is huge, but the traffic seems no worse than my home city - gridlock, a "rush hour" that lasts for more than two, the frequent use of the horn and the way you can tell it's summer by the fact that the rain is warm. What is different and disconcerting is, firstly, the cloud and smog that constantly shrouds the city and conceals both the summer sun and northern hemisphere stars and secondly, the unhelmeted moped riders who zip between, around, and behind pedestrians on the pavements or on the crossings notwithstanding the "walk" signs. The convenor of the championship, Joshua Park, told us that pedestrians do have the right of way but he added " well, legally, anyway!" So I have learned never to be the first person onto the crossing or the last off it. I try and selfishly position myself between crowds of crossing Koreans. While it is true that Kyunghee is a nurse and there is a nearby hospital, I think that it would be better for all of us if I didn't have to find the words in Korean for "yes, my patella was indeed fractured by a flying moped."

Those are the two disconcerting aspects of this mega-city. However, they are outweighed by three gifts - first, the spicy, healthy, diverse and wonderfully cheap Korean food, second the hospitality of Koreans including those who have spontaneously and generously offered us advice and translations when we are at restaurants or when we are helplessly seeking directions on the street and thirdly and most importantly, the student volunteers for the championships, in their bright orange shirts, chairing debates, guiding us to rooms and events and taking us on food tours at night time. They are just awesome and we are very appreciative of all their smiling, patient, good humoured and sometimes witty efforts for us.

Being co-chief adjudicators has kept Mark and me extremely busy, certainly more so than any previous CAP I've been on. This has certainly meant huge upskilling in tabbing - quite a task for the excel-challenged. WE MISS TAB MAESTRO TREVOR SATHER! However, we do have a wonderfully hard working, enthusiatic and supportive CAP - Irene McGrath from Scotland who can spot an erroneously completed mark sheet at 10 kms, even without a calculator, our Dutch satirist Ard van der Steur who is the ultimate CV collector and connoisseur of all good things including wine, kimchi and marksheets separated into neat piles for teams, the man from NZ's West Island Chris Erskine, who is the source of wisdom, history and encouragement as well as the analyst of lonely space travel, Wales representative and 2006 convenor Martin Pollard who has graphically shown us all why you don't drink the tap water in Seoul and the greatest CApper of them all, none other than Excel King JJ from USA, who has endured late nights, talking to us, and the riveting experience of entering hours of data from marksheets into the computer. It's enough to drive a man to drink!

That cannot be said for the debating. It has been a real pleasure to judge. I have enjoyed witnessing some close and hard fought debates, especially in round 3, a debate of an extremely high standard, well worthy of a break round. The general feedback has been very positive about the teams. A spirit of friendship prevails, with hard work during the debating rounds but mutual respect and the enjoyment of each others company after the work is over. To any parents reading this site, yes you can be proud of your debating children because they really are fine young men and women. So keep the messages of support, the emails and the texts coming!!

Signing out to get some sleep,

Kiwi Claire