Day 3: OM World Finals

Today was performance day for the Nature Trail'R team (Caitlin, Anna, Tayler, Karla, Guadalupe, Megan, and Natalie). We had to get an early start if we wanted to get stuff done. We went swimming in the morning and after lunch we practiced our skit. The girls were so nervous but we went on our journey to perform. We were waiting for the bus for about 30 minutes and just praying that we would make it on time. Then when the bus finally came, it stopped EVERYWHERE! We thought we were going to be late, but when we arrived we found out they were running about 3 teams behind. Hallelujah! We were so blessed to have some time to work on our props. We fixed our waterfall, our arch, and some other things, got on our lab coats, frog costume, and Zoologist uniforms and went out to strut our stuff. We did such a great job!

After our performance, the fun began. We took out all of our frustrations on our props and threw them in the trash. Who knew dumpsters would be so exciting.

Today was also a big day for the Column Structure team (Alex, Sterling, Bo, Dariyon, Mekhi, Julia, and Victoria) because they had to do their spontaneous. This was a challenge where they had to instantly come up with a solution for a problem. Great work guys and gals!

Day 2: Odyssey World Finals

Today is our day-o-fun. We don't have any schedules to stick to so we are just going to enjoy as much as we can on campus. We started our day off with breakfast.

Then we decided to go to the pool. I was surprised about the heat in Michigan and the fact that we actually got to go swimming outside. It was wonderful. We all put on our sunscreen and headed for the nice, cool water. Alex made up a game where you pick a category and dunk the person until they guess the right thing in that category. Mrs. Hatfield and Ms. Hughes played handstand choreography which was a game that the students got to tell us what types of handstands to do in the water (for instance, flutters, butterflies, knee bends, open-closes, and twirls). We had so much fun splashing around with our friends.

After swimming, we went to the Creativity Festival. We got to spend tokens on lots of different things like games, prizes, and crafts. When we came home for dinner, we decided to trade pins. Now, if you don't know what pin trading is, you're in for something amazing. We became obsessed with finding that "perfect" pin that we could bring home as our prize. Some pins had themes like Wizard of Oz, Hippies, Cereal Boxes, Vampires and Haunted Houses, Aliens, Fans, and some had fun accessories with things that moved, sparkled, or even sprayed water. This pin trading is serious business.

Day One: Odyssey World Finals, Michigan State University

Well, our travel from Tulsa to Lansing was a long ride. We watched a couple of movies (the boys weren't too fond of Hannah Montana), ate breakfast at McDonald's, and landed in Lansing at about 4:00 pm. Michigan State University has such a pretty campus.

The kids were just so excited to see an actual college. From there we registered and went into our dorms. The best part about that was that WE HAVE NO AIR CONDITIONING. Now, seeing as we're in Michigan, maybe they're not used to having this hot weather. Nevertheless, it was 90 degrees outside today and our rooms were about 20 degrees above that. We are having so much fun and tonight was our Opening Ceremony. This is just like the Olympics where students from all of the different teams get to walk around in a parade and show off their country or state's flag. Below are pictures of that ceremony.

There were students from South Korea, Singapore, Russia, Poland, China, Mexico, Cuba, and almost all 50 states. It was an amazing experience seeing kids from all over together in one room! Caitlin and Alex got to walk for our two Oklahoma teams.

There was also a laser show at the end of Opening Ceremony. We were so tired when we got back to our dorm rooms so we went to bed kind of early tonight.

Welcome to Our Blog!

Hello! I am so excited that you want to join us in going around the world with Eddie the eagle. We are taking him to some really neat places and cannot wait to tell you all about them. Follow us tomorrow as we head North to Lansing, Michigan with the McKinley Odyssey of the Mind students. See you then!