We stayed at Forbes College during our three-day visit, commuting back and forth from Whig Hall for the tournament. We were awed beauty of the halls, libraries and colleges, but that isn't a unique perspective of Princeton, famed far and wide for its impressive campus.
At the tournament, HyeWon and I were the only Korean participants; in fact, we were the only non-American participants. Our fellow competitors and the judges were surprised to hear that we had come from so far away, but they thought we brought an interesting perspective to the entire experience and were surprised by our knowledge of American law and the U.S. Constitution.
HyeWon and I won all five preliminary rounds, and we were proud to eventually finish in ninth place out of 44 teams. The other high school participants hadn't expected us to do very well, exclaiming, "It's amazing that you were able to do get so far especially considering that you're from KOREA!" They didn't seem to think too highly of us for coming all the way from Seoul, South Korea, to participate in this competition. Perhaps it was simply my imagination, but they seemed to speak to us a little more loudly and clearly than they would to others.
The University students, on the other hand, didn't seem to look down on us because we were foreigners. They didn't expect our English to be bad, for one thing, and accepted our presence without finding anything to mock us for. Of course, there are a million derogatory statements that can be made in one's head, and perhaps Princeton students merely possess a great amount of tact, but I could perceive no discomfort or condescension in their frank, open gazes.
HyeWon and I got to explore the campus at Princeton and experienced what it is like to live as a student of the University since we were staying in an undergraduate friend's dorm room. By asking our friend a lot of questions, we found out a lot about classes, course requirements and programs at Princeton. By talking to Mary Marshall '10, who actually conducted the tournament, we found out a lot about places to shop and hang out that were close to campus. But most importantly, we learned a lot about the students. That is, we learned a lot about what coming to Princeton makes a person become.
Based on our findings, coming to Princeton seems to make some people a bit nerdy. Or perhaps they have always been like that. But at the same time, everyone seemed rather brilliant; perhaps the two qualities really are inseparable from each other. There is nothing to regret about being a little dorky when one is brilliant and when one naturally thinks differently from the great majority of people. Princeton students certainly hold unique conversations. One particularly memorable exchange involved squirrels and the absolute terror that they instill in people's hearts, while another proclaimed the wonderful coincidence of two students coming to class and delightedly discovering that both were wearing strapless shirts. Rather than discussing how to take over the planet and subjugate the peoples of the world, Princeton students would much rather talk about these other things that they find fascinating and delightful. I must admit, this was all a great contrast to what I had expected.
We would like to thank our friend Bae Keung Yoon '11 who let us stay in her room on the third floor at Forbes College. Though we don't think that the dormitory lives up to Princeton standards, it was an acceptable place to stay for three days, though probably not as nice as the hotel we would have stayed in if we didn't know her. We would also like to express our gratitude toward the two University students who conducted a seminar on moot court for us, Mike Noveck '08 and Elizabeth Kayatta '08. Finally, we would like to thank Mary Marshall '10 and Matt Westmoreland '10, who conducted the tournament, and all the other Princeton community members who gave us feedback and made us feel welcome at the University.
Special thanks go to Keung Yoon's roommate Mina, who lent us her U-Store membership card. We enjoyed making use of the 25 percent discount for all members on the Princeton cap, beanie, sweater and shorts that we purchased. Apparently, there was a sale that week.
BoRyung Choi is from Seoul, South Korea.
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