My Essay

This is the essay that I had to write about my I-SWEEEP and science experience! It just sums everything up, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Every human being is unique. What makes you unique is not only your character and personality, but also your background – where you have grown up, how you have been raised, and the type of people that you have been surrounded by.

Living on a fruit farm in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, attending Yellowwoods Preparatory school and boarding school at the Diocesan School for Girls, my friends and my family have all contributed into making me the person that I am today.

I have always thought that no matter what you have accomplished and experienced in your life, everybody has a dream, or many dreams. I am one of those people who have many dreams, and I also have always believed that one day, at least one of them would come true.

When I began my science experiment, and entered the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, I had no idea that it would have such a big impact on my life. As I conducted my experiment, I developed a passion for it, and when I explained my experiment to other people, I think that they were able to see my passion for what I was doing.

Being chosen to be a South African representative was not even in my wildest dreams. When I was told that I would be attending the I-SWEEEP Science Fair (International Sustainable World: Energy, Engineering and Environment Project Olympiad) in Houston, Texas, I could not believe it. I was shocked and overjoyed – not only was I a South African representative, but I was going to travel to America, and explain the science experiment that I had a passion for. It was truly many dreams come true.

Preparing for I-SWEEEP was definitely a lot of work, and took lots of time, but in the end, it was all worth it. There were three of us South Africans that were chosen to present our projects – Shraddah Rajcoomar, Kobus Strydom and me. It was very exciting to not only meet my fellow finalists, but also our two delegation leaders – Priscilla Moodley and Fourten Khumalo.

I shared very special bonds with Kobus and Shraddah during I-SWEEEP, and Priscilla and Fourten were wonderful delegation leaders. Even though it was a serious time, we were able to have fun, as Priscilla and Fourten were always there to guide and help us if we needed it, but we were also able to venture off and make friends from all over the world. I honestly could not have imagined I-SWEEEP without these four people, as they made it so memorable and amazing.

We stayed in the Hilton Hotel America, Houston, Texas, and when we arrived at the hotel, I could not believe my eyes. It was magnificent. After having a very filling and delicious lunch, we checked into our rooms (which were divine) and then went to the GRB Convention Centre (George R. Brown) to set up our projects. The Convention Centre was huge, and filled with places for each finalist to set up their projects. We all bought a display board, and then began setting up, and making sure that our projects looked presentable and scientific. Priscilla and Fourten were very supportive and helpful while I set up my board, which was greatly appreciated.

The Opening Ceremony was a cultural, spirited and lovely event. We were able to watch Indian, Mexican, Chinese and other traditional dances, and also find out more about the hosting city, Houston. Luckily, Kobus was chosen to wave the flag for the flag ceremony, and so we all felt very proud watching the South African flag being waved up on stage amongst all of the other countries.

The Public Visit Day was when students from Houston all came to look at our projects, and experience the fun of science. There were many exhibitions that you could look at, and it was very interesting meeting so many people, and being able to tell them a little bit about my project, and South Africa.

Our first field trip was to the Science Museum in Houston, which was filled with so many interesting facts and exhibitions. We watched a 3D movie about how researchers have been trying to get into a tornado so that they can find a way to warn people when a tornado is about to form. In America, they have many tornados, which can be destructive and cause grief and loss to many people. The movie was honestly quite inspiring, as in the end they were able to get into a tornado and collect a sufficient amount of data, which will be analysed and used for many years.

There was also a room filled with gemstones, which was beautiful. We all spent a lot of time admiring these gems, as we could just not believe how beautiful they were. There were also many other exhibitions to look at, and it was interesting reading about them while walking around.

Finally, it was time to be judged. We were to have a morning and afternoon session, and in total this added up to 7 ½ hours of judging. It was wonderful to have some of my judges enjoy my presentation, and even though I was extremely nervous, I enjoyed speaking about my project. When I didn’t have a judge, I was able to make friends with people around me, and we all had a lot of fun telling each other about our countries, and what it is like living in them.

After the judging, we had our social evening, where we swapped pins from South Africa, and other people gave us pins from their countries. We were also given passports, where people could stick their flag in and write who they were, so that you could keep in contact with them. The social evening was very enjoyable and lots of fun. It included games such as tug-of-war and musical chairs.

On our final day in Houston, we went on our other field trip to NASA Space Centre. NASA was amazing. I never realized how much work and planning it takes to be an astronaut, or even being involved with the projects at NASA. Building the space shuttles, and researching all takes years to do, and the documentary that we watched was very touching. It was amazing to have been able to experience NASA Space Centre, and I learnt so much about space and astronauts.

The Awards Ceremony was very surprising. Kobus, Shraddah and I all sat at the back of the hall, as we thought it would be the best way to see everything on stage. Little did we know that we would actually have to walk onto the stage! Again, there were performances during the awards ceremony, which were lovely to watch. When all of the awards were announced, I felt so proud hearing all of my friends’ names being called up for something, especially when Shraddah and Kobus joined me to receive a bronze medal. Also receiving a special award took me by surprise, but I honestly could not explain how honoured I felt as a South African to get two awards.

This would all not have been possible without the support of my family, friends, and Eskom Expo. This journey has honestly been incredible, life-changing, and unforgettable, and when we left Houston, I actually felt homesick, as I wanted to go back!

ISWEEEP was amazing, and I enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, and being able to learn about different cultures, and making friends that I shared special bonds with and I can keep in touch with in the future. ISWEEEP made the Science Fair such an amazing and memorable experience.

I have learnt about interacting with people from all over the world, and that working hard definitely pays off. If you work hard, and enjoy it, you will be able to achieve, and show people your passion for what you do.

Once again, I would like to thank Eskom Expo, the international, national and regional delegation leaders for all of their support and guidance.

I feel so honoured and blessed to have met so many people from all walks of life, and been able to have travelled and attend I-SWEEEP. Returning from this incredible journey has left me with memories that will last a lifetime, and I feel that I have become a more confident, outgoing and independent individual.

Eskom Expo has allowed me to experience things that were only ever real in my dreams, and being able to have gone overseas to present my project was such an honour, and an unforgettable experience.

Closing Ceremony and the end of my incredible journey

Firstly, my apologies for not finishing off my blog sooner, but I have been recovering from jetlag, and there has not been internet connection at school!

The closing ceremony was very enjoyable and quite surprising!

Kobus, Shraddah and I were all awarded a bronze medal, and I was also awarded a special award from Brighten Tech Solutions for the Brighten Technology Award for supporting the use of clean technology.

I felt so honoured to be standing up on stage as a South African representitive, and I felt quite shocked!

The next day, it was time to depart from the Hilton Hotel, and Houston. When we left, I actually felt homesick, because I wanted to go back!

The plane ride back was very long, but enjoyable as I was able to spend my birthday with people that I had been with for a whole week!

We finally arrived back in Port Elizabeth, and said our final goodbyes.

My journey has been absolutely incredible, life-changing, and has left me with memories and friends that I will have forever. I would honestly do it all again if I was able to!

I have come to the end of my journey, and I do feel sad but so grateful for all the experience I have gained. Thank you SO MUCH again to my family, friends and sponsors for believing in me. Polymer Innovations have kindly invited me to visit them in Australia in 2013. I am looking forward to seeing all of the facilities and to gain more experience about the polymer products.

There are just no words to express how grateful and blessed I feel. Thank you. I will endeavour to start another blog during this visit to share with you all!

Judging Day

The judging was the day that we had all come here for. We had a morning session, and an afternoon session, which in total, added up to 8 hours of judging. It was definitely a very long day!

I had 7 judges in total, and I was so happy, because you needed at least 5 judges, and 10 at the most, so I felt safe. Most of my judges were very friendly and were very interested in my project.

In the afternoon session, I only had one judge, and it was quite strangem because my whole isle hardly had any judges either! I made a lot of friends during these judging sessions, and it actually turned out to be lots of fun!

I met a whole group of people from Macedonia, who were extremely friendly and funny, and I was a bit worried, because they stayed and talked to me for most of the time, and not at their own project! It was lovely to hear about their culture and their country, as I had actually never heard of it!

I then also met people from Florida, Vermont and New York, who were wonderful to talk to and get to know. It was fun learning about the words which they use, and they loved the word "candy floss" which to them is known as "cotton candy".

After waiting two hours in the afternoon session, we were all so tired of waiting, and so we all just hung out for the rest of the time. Kobus and I even did the Afrikaans Sokkie Dance for them, which they were all amazed by!

We all had so much fun, and after the judging I went out with Sydney for Spanish food, which was divine! I also bought a costume, because they had a hot tub and a pool in the hotel, so then we would be able to swim!

That night, we had a social evening, where we swapped pins and flags. Mine were literally all gone in minutes! The social evening was lots of fun, and I met many more people. We played tug-of-war, apple bobbing, and musical chairs.

After the social evening, we all went over to the pool and swam until it closed. It was lovely because Houston is so hot, and it only gets dark at about 9pm!

After that extremely long, fun and eventful day, we headed to sleep to get ready for the following day.

Science Museum Field Trip

Science Museum Field Trip:

The Houston Science Museum was so interesting and so much fun! There were so many exhibits to go and look at, and we went there for a field trip on Day 2.
Us South Africans were very excited as we were able to travel in one of those yellow school buses, which I have only seen in the movies!
At the science museum, we watched a 3D movie about researchers following tornado's, and trying to find out a way in which they would be able to warn people about forming tornado's. It was very interesting and educational, and I enjoyed watching it!
We were then allowed to walk around for a few hours. Kobus, Shraddah and I went to nearly every exhibit in the museum. It was quite amazing, because they were all on touch-screen, where you could read about them and watch videos about the exhibitions.
We also went in an elevator, where they took you on a tour about going deep into the mines and finding oil - it was very realistic and for a moment I felt like I was thousands of feet underground!
There was also the most beautiful room filled with gemstones and jewellery. It was breathtaking and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
At the Science Museum, I made a lovely friend, Zach from Florida, who had been there many times before, and so he showed us around many other exhibits.
We even found a person who could tell our fortunes! Mine seemed extremely real, but then again, they can relate to most people.
The science museum was a great experience!

Just some pictures

                                        

Watch the Awards Ceremony Live!

Just like in the Opening Ceremony, the Awards Ceremony will be recorded on live television. You can watch it on www.isweeep.org/live - it starts at 3pm and will finish at about 5.30pm (Here in Houston).

Just a quick update:
We had judging for about 8 hours yesterday! It was so tiring, and eventually for the afternoon session, my whole row had not had a single judge! We decided to just all hang out, and Kobus and I showed them the Afrikaans "Sokkie" which they were all quite fascinated by! It was so much fun, and I have been meeting so many people from all over the world. I have made a few good friends, including people from Florida, Vermont, Macedonia, New York, Minnesota, Dallas and many, many more. People from American universities have also spoken to me, and I am sure that they also spoke to many other people, but just if you attend the ISWEEEP Science Fair, they offer you a scholarship to attend the North American College in Houston, Texas. I told them that I would only graduate (matriculate) in 2014, and I was surprised when they said that they would keep my form in a file, and they want to keep in touch with me. It was all so amazing, and I honestly could not believe that that had happened.

We also had a social evening last night, where we exchanged gifts from our countries - my exchange gifts were literally all gone in a matter of minutes! The social was lots of fun, and it included apple-bobbing, musical chairs, tug-of-war, and many other games.

Also, while I have been staying here, I have been lucky enough to see my dear friend, Sydney Lacey, who attended DSG for a year. I never thought that I would see her again, and so it was so special to see her! We went out for Mexican and Spanish food, which was absolutely delicious.

We are leaving for NASA today, which I think everyone is extremely excited to finally go and explore! Once I return from NASA, I will update again, and show some pictures!

Day 1: Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony was fantastic, and amazing. Different cultures performed different dances - this included Mexican dancing, Indian dancing, and the Chinese Dragon dance. Some school groups from America also sang songs, and then one person from each country had to run onto the stage, while waving the flag. It was all recorded on live television, and so it was quite exciting. We had to wear formal outfits, which I found quite strange, being a farmgirl, but in the end I was able to walk comfortably and we all had a lot of fun! We were even able to go swimming afterwards, as it was still very hot, and the hotel has an indoor pool.