Greetings from THIMUN 2023!

On Friday, January 20, two dozen juniors and seniors boarded a plane bound for Amsterdam, part of their journey to The Hague International Model United Nations conference. We will post their reports (written by faculty and students) and photos (taken by faculty and students) as they come in. For even more photos from their trip, check out Mr. Newman's SmugMug page.

Saturday, January 21
The THIMUN team landed at Schipol Airport in a pre-dawn mist, which quickly cleared to reveal glorious blue skies and sunshine for the remainder of the day as the team toured Amsterdam. The day's highlights included a tour of the Dutch Masters of the Rijks Museum (including Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid), an hour-long canal tour, a visit to the Anne Frank House, and a quick stop at a cheese museum to taste some gouda and delicious goat cheese from the area. 

Off to tour The Hague...

Sunday, January 22 (by Catherine Roth '23 & Isabel Cepeda '24)

Hello from Den Haag! Sunday's adventure began with a truly spectacular hotel breakfast before we embarked on a tour of Scheveningen, The Hague, and Delft that included lots of walking and public transport, plenty of sightseeing, and even a chance meeting with THIMUN delegates from Saudi Arabia — so cool!

A short tram right away in The Hague, we saw some beautiful architecture and learned a little bit about Den Haag's history before our trip to the M.C. Escher museum and its interactive exhibit. Before heading off to our next destination, we had a delicious lunch of vegetarian Indian food at Krishna Vilas.

Next, we made our way to Delft, a beautiful, quaint town. There, we spent 40 minutes shopping for milkshakes, bonbons, brownies, lava cakes, and hot chocolate coffees, thanks to the Chocoladebar.

We ended our day with some friendly competition at the bowling alley and dinner at Gasterij't Karre, where we had an amazing dinner that included cooking our own hibachi. Overall, it was a great day, and we are looking forward to Day 1 of the conference tomorrow!

Monday, January 23 (by Connor Kaplan '23)
Today was the first day of the conference! We took the bus to the World Forum and received our passes for the week. After a tour of the building, led by Mr. Newman, we ventured on our own into the world of THIMUN.

Livy Ballet '23, representing Zimbabwe, had an outstanding opening speech on security in the Black Sea region. After opening speeches, we lobbied for new resolutions on the specific sub-topics on our agendas. Some students were selected as head submitters on resolution, including Evelyn Ziaee '24 (SDC1) and Bargav Vissa '24 (SDC2).

The press team spent the day snapping photos and published the first issue of MUNITY newspaper, highlighting the conference's theme: The Future of Borders. The day ended with the opening ceremony, where the JBS delegations were on the big screen multiple times for their THIMUN spirit!

After the conference, we had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant and fell fast asleep, ready for the next day.

Tuesday, January 24 (by Olivia Ballet '23)

Today is the second day of the conference! We began our days with a few hours of lobbying and set to work! 

Cece Fernandez '23, representing Zimbabwe, was selected as Head Submitter for the Environmental Commission 1 and will deliver her speech and resolution tomorrow. Good luck, Cece!

The press team spent the day taking pictures, editing articles, and creating enticing THIMUN content for the whole community. Following the conference, we enjoyed a delicious traditional Indonesian-Dutch style dinner and finished the night up with some ice cream. We are officially halfway through the conference, and we are ready to debate! 

Wednesday, January 25 (by Esther Pottebaum '23; photos by Sahana Madala '24, Kate Uy '23, Allie Dornfeld '23 and Andrew Newman (Fine Arts))

Wednesday was quite eventful for the THIMUN team, per usual! We started the day off with another spectacular breakfast buffet at the hotel, served by a most personable chef, then headed to the World Forum for Day 3 of the conference. In our rooms, we continued debating subtopic resolutions, making amendments, and reaching compromises. Honorable mention goes to Cece Fernandez '23 for delivering a killer main submitter speech/answering points of information upon a resolution passing with flying colors! Making us proud! 

Following the conference, the team headed to the Old Fashion Den Haag for a delightful dinner of chicken curry, salmon, and steak. Several of the girls brought their debating skills to the table, not yet worn out by the debates of the day! But as heated as the discussion was, all girls remained respectful of the other’s opinions and ended the conversation with a fulfilling conclusion. Then, we happened to spot some Greek friends at the same restaurant, who joined our table for a good 20 minutes. We enjoyed ourselves and learned a few Greek words along the way!

Thursday, January 26 (by Anya Liu '24 and Earth Gira '24)
Greetings from The Hague! Thursday marks the final day of the 2023 THIMUN conference and, with that, Burroughs's last day at the Hague World Forum.

During this last day, more of our Georgian and Zimbabwean delegates came up to give meaningful speeches on policy and well-thought-out points of information than any previous day, making our final experience at the conference both fulfilling and enlightening.

We ended our experience with a vibrant and moving closing ceremony in which our ambassadors for Georgia and Zimbabwe, Finley Desai '23 and Olivia Ballet '23, represented their flags on the World Forum stage along with hundreds of other students.

After the closing, we headed to Laisa (a 10-minute walk from our hotel), where we were served delicious Turkish food. We ended the day with a refreshing walk back to the hotel and began to pack for our next day, when we plan to explore Haarlem!

Friday, January 27 (by Andrew Newman (Fine Arts))
An hour-long bus ride took us to Haarlem, the birthplace of the Dutch artist Frans Hals. There, we spent the day enjoying some amazing cuisine, exploring the Teylers Museum, and shopping for souvenirs. 

The Teylers Museum, which dates back to 1784, features an extensive collection of paintings, drawings, ancient scientific instruments, old coins, fossils, and books. The museum also had a wonderful current exhibition on the British pop artist David Hockney.

After the museum, we gathered in the old town square and then walked to our lunch location, Brownies and downieS, a warm, inviting restaurant that feels like you walked into someone's living room. Students then had 90 minutes for a much-anticipated shopping extravaganza. They returned to the town square with treats for loved ones, lots of chocolate, and European-style clothes. After a break for a delicious high tea, the group split up for naps at the hotel, power walking around town, and more souvenir shopping. Finally, we ended the day with one last supper together at an Irish pub.