Adventures in Portugal

A missed flight, a two-day delay in Mexico City, and a heavy encounter with discrimination were just some of the stories that MUNners brought back from Spain and Portugal.

When the students showed up to the airport to take their first connection to the Mexican capital, they were surprised to find that their names were not on the airline’s list for the plane. The group had to catch another flight to arrive to Madrid as planned, but by the time the MUN group got to México City, their flight to Europe had already left. They were forced to spend two nights in CDMX before finally heading for Spain.

Luisa Valdez, a 10th grader on the trip, stated that they felt very stressed to see their plane leave without them on it. Some students tried to make the best out of a frantic situation by meeting with one of the group’s parents in Corona Capital, a music festival in the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The sophomore also stated that they experienced racism during their time in Portugal during the simulation. She mentioned being asked questions like “did you bring any drugs?” as well as delegates joking with sexist comments such as a proposal to castrate male orphans. She also heard people in other committees insulted Jewish people and made racist remarks against African Americans.

The travelers said they had a great time despite these experiences. The 21 students enjoyed getting to know the Spanish cities of Santiago de Compostela and Madrid, as well the Portuguese locations of Lisbon, Fátima, and Oporto accompanied by Ms. Aguilar and her husband, as well as Ms. Lamadrid.