Science Olympiad NATIONALS!!

These past few days, I've been in Georgia, for the National Science Olympiad tournament, and I'd like to post here my stressful yet fun and pleasing experience over there!

Thursday

I wouldn't call it a day, as we left at about three in the morning, and I had only gotten no more than two hours of sleep the previous day/next early morning. So, I pack and get ready for the tournament until about one in the morning on Thursday, then take a rest and wake up only a couple hours later.

You can imagine what it would be like that day, having only two hours of sleep.

The airport went ok, except for the fact that the device I built for one of my events was so big even when we took it half-apart, that we had to pay around one hundred and ninety dollars to get it over to Georgie! Now, imagine the size of the package, and imagine me carrying this big as a truck piece of cardboard through the airport!

The flight, overall, went pretty well, and was very exciting, even though I've been on tens of flights over the pacific before. The takeoff and landing didn't bug my ears at all, which was a surprise and relief to me because the most recent flight I had before that hurt my ears so bad that they were still hurting after I had gotten out of the airport!

We arrived in Georgia mid-day, and begun our long and tedious drive to the city where the tournament was, since the place where we were headed didn't have an airport. After about three or four hours, we arrived at the hotel we were staying at and we checked in. The rest of the day was mostly just relaxing and waiting for the next day...

Friday

I got up at about five in the morning, to do my usual morning routine and eat the free breakfast provided by the hotel. At around seven, we took the device my partner and I built and we went to the place where we would compete to calibrate it. Unfortunately, the temperature and humidity, and other factors, were very different from Utah, and we had to start over on the calibrations. And, to add even more issues to the already stressful and big problem, halfway through our FIRST try at our new calibration, the air conditioning was turned on, which changed every one of our calibrated marks again! The material we used for the device wasn't very constant, varying very much with the slightest changes, so the calibration went bad, leaving all of us nervous for the next morning, when the competition was.

The calibration ended at about two, and we headed back to the hotel, staying there for a couple of hours, before it was time to go to the opening ceremonies of the tournament.

So, the team went (in separate cars) to the college that was hosting the event, Augusta State University, and we entered the auditorium. Now, this wasn't your normal auditorium. This auditorium was GINORMOUS! And, if you think about it, it'd have to be in order to fit 60 or so teams from about 46 states!

After the opening ceremonies, there was a trade-off, where you brought random things and traded them with others. It was fun, and it was also the most chaotic thing I've ever been a part of. You had no idea where you were, and you could literally get run over by a stampede. But, luckily, no one died. ;)

Saturday

Saturday was the day of the competition, which I'll skip unless you'll want to be reading this for another five hours.

The competing ended at about four, and we went outside of a building for pictures. The award ceremony was at night, and it lasted until ten at night. After the awards, we went back to the hotel, and all the kids got in one room, and trust me, it was chaos. But, with us teenagers, all chaos is fun. (Unless, of course, you're so loud that someone opens their door and asks all the parents to keep the kids quiet. Yes, that really happened. But, I don't think we were any quieter. XD)

Sunday.

Early in the morning, we drove to the airport, and on the way, stopped at a restaurant, which took so much time that we were in a BIG hurry to get on the plane. Talk about even more stress! The plane ride was as good as the first one, and we arrived at about three in the afternoon, arriving home at four.

And from that point on, I've just been doing my homework, which was stockpiled from the two days of school that I missed.

Tomorrow is NOT going to be good!! (I also missed my CRTS!!!!!)

The trip was fun, and was a great experience for everyone.