Harvard Model Congress Asia

What would the founders of Harvard think of this logo?

A week ago, I was in Singapore with 17 students at Harvard Model Congress Asia. This is Harvard Political Science Department's attempt to spread good cheer and American Democracy (I hope those two things aren't mutually exclusive anymore) all over the world by simulating U.S. government (Model Senate, Model House of Representatives, Model Supreme Court and Model Cabinet) . In doing so the kids learn, analytical skills, speaking skills and a understanding of pluralism and individual rights.

Here are the humorous moments:

1. Hearing and seeing a short, thin Asian assuming the role of Rep. Peter Hoekstra from Michigan (they even addressed each other by their assumed names)! There was also a Vern Ehlers(R-MI) and Tom Udall (D-NM) running around.
2. Watching all the status oriented students fixate on anything that had the word "Harvard" in it. The first thing they did when receiving their t-shirts was to make sure the magic word made it on the shirt.
3. Getting stuck in Singapore an extra night because one of the students lost their passport. I Ended up with them at the house of a family friend who kept feeding me even though I didn't want to eat. Great local hospitality.
   

parallel universe

Hope in Sydney harbor

Janet and I watch a lot Star Trek on TV. While not officially Trekkies (no conventions for us), we get into the various series (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and most recently Star Trek Enterprise) that have been produced since we have been married. A common theme in these shows is the parallel universe: a separate reality from our own which broke off from our existing universe at some decision point and now exists separately from our own. This universe looks exactly like ours except for a few details. This provides lots of good story writing as you can explore the idea of “the road not taken” and also keep fans on the edge of their seats as they continually ask “which universe are we in”.

Here is our Australian parallel universe experience…

Driving to the Grampians

The Grampians (on the Pinnacle)

We are driving behind a Ford through a gentle national forest in Victoria (southern Australia) called the Grampians. We travel through vast sections of national forest with outcroppings of rock. Interspersed are large alfalfa farms with large John Deere mowers or pasture lands with lots of free range cattle. As we flip through the radio stations, we even are able to listen to All Things Considered on NPR (National Public Radio) at 91.7 FM. Gas stations are BP, Mobil or Caltex (Texico), Government roads signs are in English and colored brown (if a public park) or green (everything else), and businesses consist of typical little shops or bigger stores with names like Woolworths and Safeway. We stop at a campground for the kids to go rock climbing. The campground has a hot dusty feel and there is the smell of campfire in the air. Later, when we go hiking, the sedimentary rocks have algae and lichen growth on them along with lots of lizards running around on them (see picture below)

A couple of old rocks(my head included) with lichens and and algae

With my limited descriptive writing ability and the help of a few pictures, I hope you get the sense that the Grampians had a strong resemblance to national forests in the Southwestern United States and I remarked to Janet that I kept thinking that we would come around a corner and see Cortez Colorado, or Greer Arizona or Aztec New Mexico.

Except that in this universe:

We are driving on the wrong side of the road.

There are gum and eucalyptus trees, not pine and oak.

The road kill are dead kangaroos (we saw lots of live ones too).

And we come across signs like this: