JACK WILLIAMS spent ten days in India, being a judge at the World Universities’ Debating Championships.
I’m not really a traveller. Before this Christmas I had never left Western Europe. I knew that when I was selected by Durham University to judge at the World Universities Debating Championships in Chennai, India, I was to expect something I’d never experienced before. Getting to India (with financial support from the Old Burians) was an ordeal in itself but, after a journey including a twelve hour wait in Saudi Arabia, we finally landed in Chennai. I knew India would be completely different to anything I’d seen before, but I didn’t really know what to expect. Initially, everything seemed different and scary – I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first experience of Indian roads, spending forty minutes in the front of a mini-bus desperately wishing the driver would slow down, or at least stay on his side of the road. But when you spend time in a place, you very quickly adapt and before long we were using tuktuks to get everywhere (once you get over the fact that you’re travelling incredibly fast, often weaving between massive trucks, with the leather roof as your only protection, the thrill of a tuktuk ride becomes too much to resist).
Mostly, we were able to get by because we had people to guide us. The World Championship is different to all other debating competitions because people from all over the world come together with a common interest, so friendships are easy to make. This meant that when we travelled up to Delhi after the competition, for a combination of sightseeing and to put on debating workshops in local colleges, we already had new friends in the city to meet. We saw much more of Delhi then we would have alone. Being shown round Old Delhi by someone who spends much of his time there, gave us a much fuller experience than we’d otherwise have had (and we learnt the places to get the very best Indian food). Friendships were also made between members of the UK debating circuit, with teams supporting each other even when in direct competition. It is a delight that I can come back from India knowing a community of people across the UK.
The reason for the trip, of course, was to debate. I had been selected to represent Durham University as a judge at the World Universities Debating Competition, and that’s what I spent a large amount of my time doing. Judging alongside some of the best judges in the world – sitting on judging panels chaired by former Worlds and Euros finalists – was inspiring and incredibly useful. I learnt so much about debating over the ten days, and was encouraged when my views were echoed by judges far more experienced than I. As always, debating gives me confidence in everyday life and gives me the tools to think quickly and express exactly what I mean (when you’re being pressured for a decent rationale for the judgement you came to, you learn to articulate your thoughts very quickly).
My experience of India was two-fold. I was simultaneously in a brand new culture, initially very alien to me, much further from home than I’d ever been before; at the same time, I was taking part in something very familiar to me which I have loved doing for years – my interest kindled at King Edward VI School. This opportunity, supported by the Old Burians, gave me the best of both of these aspects. I could engage in the very best debating in the world and spend almost three weeks experiencing a brand new culture which I grew to love.