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Odyssey Around the World
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This came to us from Coach Iris Story of Texas. She and her
two teams recently returned from a trip to Poland to visit with
their former homestay buddies.
“Who would have ever thought back when they were 3rd and
4th graders that two Texas Odyssey teams would travel halfway
around the world to visit their Polish friends? After attending
World Finals in 2002, they hosted Polish teams in their homes
to give them a taste of Texas hospitality. In 2003, they made it
to Worlds again, where they met new international friends: 18
from Poland and 15 from Uzbekistan. Afterwards, this one big
happy family headed by bus back to Houston for homestays.
“Saying ‘good-bye’ was difficult, but the teams kept in
touch through e-mail. When Poland Odyssey invited the Texas
teams to visit and live with their friends for nine days, they
could not refuse. ‘I never thought I would ever see them again,’
said Cameron Story through tear-filled eyes. The trip was a life-changing
experience that none of us will ever forget.
“We could not participate in Poland's Finals because they
had been rescheduled for a later date, but we learned so much
about cultural differences. We spent the last day in a theatre
workshop, where our team was videotaped for a coaches training
video that Poland will produce. Once again, when it came
time to say ‘good-bye,’ there were many, many tears.”
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OMER is more famous than we thought! (l. to r.) Maine co-AD
Alan Robitaille, Mary Dube, co-AD Fern Brown, and Larry Dube
happened upon OMER Street in Lewiston, ME, on their way to a
pre-tournament site inspection at Bates College.
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To the teams: Congratulations on solving your long-term problem and for doing your best at competition. To the teams who will
advance to World Finals this year, good luck. To the teams who won’t be there, keep on doing your best and try again next year; we
hope to see you at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in ‘05. Remember, in Odyssey of the Mind, everyone's a winner!
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