NESDA

Back in June, I met my colleague, Dan Martin, in Kensington Market. He wanted to tell me about NESDA. Basically, he informed me that he and I would act as staff advisors for this group. I agreed, even though I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Well now I do, and I like it - at least most of the time.

NESDA is the acronym for the New European Speech, Debate and Acting Association, an organization that runs competitions in various public speaking events twice a year. International schools from many parts of Europe take part in these competitions. The language of discourse is English, of course, even if for some of the students, it is not their mother tongue.

Most of the team in Düsseldorf. Where were you, Katie?

In September, Dan and I ran tryouts for the team. Of the fourteen students who expressed an interest in competing, ten were chosen.  We decided to separate them into two groups - six who would act in pairs, and four who would debate, again in pairs. As well, any of the ten could choose to participate in individual events: original oratory, oral interpretation and impromptu speaking.

Katie waits for the judges to be ready before she presents the positive side of the debate topic.

Then came two months of preparation. The debaters had to research both the positive and the negative side of this year's assigned topic: Be it resolved that the advantages of immigration outweigh the disadvantages. The actors had to find a script that was serious in tone and that ran for 5 to 7 minutes - not a second under or over time. The original orators had to write and practice their speeches, while the oral interpretation folks sought out a funny piece of literature to read in a clever manner, often using a variety of voices. Only the impromptu speakers did not have to rehearse, although I suppose we could have had them practice preparing a speech on a random topic and delivering it.

Dan and I helped where we could, finding articles on the debate topic, and directing the acting pairs, but the bulk of the labour fell to the students.

Ready to go on the Neuchâtel train platform.

Finally, they were as ready as they were going to be and on a Thursday, we headed by train to Düsseldorf, Germany, where this year's competition took place. Our Neuchâtel students are at a disadvantage at these events, by the way, since this would be their first such competition while many of the students from other schools have been participating in NESDA for years. Still, we entered into the competition with a very positive attitude.

# 1 in our hearts

All dressed up for the day.

On Friday morning, we gathered at ISD (International School of Düsseldorf) where we met the participants from the other schools and I discovered that I would be expected to evaluate much of the day. For the students and the teachers, this was a very demanding schedule, running from our arrival at 8:00 and ending with the final competition at 18:15. The more events a student opted to enter, the more stressful the day.

I was one of the judges of the finals of Original Oratory.

Dan judged the finals of Oral Interpretation. The judges have their backs to the eventual winner.

On Saturday, the top five pairs or individuals in each category were back in the spotlight, and by the end of the day, winners were declared. Overall, our team competed well, although only one individual made it to the finals and no one placed in the top three. We later discovered that some of the judging had been erratic, and in some cases, blatantly unfair. But no dwelling on the negative for us!

Instead, we enjoyed a delicious team dinner of German fare in downtown Düsseldorf that evening, and were delighted to discover that a Christmas Market had opened already.

Düsseldorf Christmas market

The next day, on our return route to Neuchätel, we made a four hour stop in Freiburg. Unfortunately, the town was very quiet on this Sunday - even the Christmas Market was not open. Dan took us for an educational tour of the beautiful Munster, and then we and the kids went our separate ways.

The Munster is reminiscent of the Cathedral in Strasbourg, since they both use the same colour of stone.

This stained glass window seems to have been paid for by the pretzel makers.

Since we were so close to the Black Forest, Dan and I decided to try some Black Forest cake, while some of the students opted for a mid-afternoon meal. We also all enjoyed just strolling in the quiet streets after two days of relatively sedentary living.

Some of the girls enjoy an outdoor meal. That would have been too cold for me.

A lovely street scene in Freiburg

Town gate in Freiburg

Our last leg home took longer than expected since the German train we had booked ran late and we missed our connection in Basel - Swiss trains are always on time, of course. Eventually, however, we arrived home in Neuchâtel.

NESDA has a second weekend of competition next March in Barcelona. Now that they are seasoned veterans, the Neuchâtel team members plan to come home with some gold. No doubt, there will be a blog post then to celebrate our success.