I played the UNHCR in the simulation, and I felt comfortable in this role. It wasn’t as stressful as some of the other roles in the simulation, but it was still stressful at times. I felt that sometimes we were being pulled every which way, and everyone was annoyed with us at one time or another. It was difficult being the UNHCR at times because, the other countries involved in the simulation did not support Budan. The UNHCR is required to support and advocate for every country despite a country’s policies or foreign affairs. The UNHCR was working to find a solution for the problems regarding Budan, but the other countries wanted little to no relation with Budan, and for good reason. Finding a solution for Budan was probably the most difficult part of the simulation. The UNHCR had to negotiate with every country, in order to get Budan some funds. I felt I was prepared for the simulation and that the UNHCR achieved its goal. We were able to find solutions that made every country in the simulation happy. I really enjoyed the simulation, I like doing activities with the whole class, and the other students I was working with were really easy to work with, and were just as involved as I was. I learned how to properly address countries, and how to amicably come up with solutions. I saw that some countries really struggled to come up with solutions without arguing, which impeded them throughout the simulation. Some students were definitely more involved than others, I think with full class participation the simulation would be so much more gratifying and fun. Overall, I really enjoyed the simulation and working with classmates that I haven’t gotten the chance to work with before. I think this simulation teaches students how to problem solve better. I think that many more students will enjoy this simulation just as much as I did.
