Our stop at Kitakyushu University was amazing for a couple of reasons. Of course we had amazing hosts, food, drink and an interesting debate, but additionally this was one of the most organized, punctual and well planned student run debate clubs that I have encountered. In this photo, the American debaters Chris and Tony are given a tour of the club room at Kitakyushu by one of our hosts, and our opponent for the debate, who goes by the name “Pan.” We were treated to a nice suprise when we were shown the debate room, which brought nice continuity to the tour:
No it’s not the sexy man picture. Look again. It’s an American flag, signed by members of the 2007 Debate Exchange Tour. It was cool to see it displayed so proudly by the debate club.
After this tour, we were treated to some snacks and preparation time, then the debate started. Some of Pan’s family came to watch the debate, which I thought was really nice. They drove nearly 5 hours to come see the debate, which shows how much they care about his endeavors. Here is a photo we took just before the debate of Pan, his partner who went by the name “Jimmy,” (a nickname he picked up in Australia while studying there) and the Americans:
After the debate, we went to a fantastic party (nomehotai? I hope I spelled that right, but I have some trouble learning this great language). Here is the collected team having a great time, and enjoying what was definitely a successful debate well planned and excecuted by these great students.
Thanks to everyone who made this fantastic day possible! Such a blast.
