Crossing Cultures, Crossing Borders

Café Bot’s International Friendships Over the Years

 By Brandon Sanders, Cafe Bots Member, FIRST Tech Challenge Team #4982

One of our very favorite things about our participation in the FIRST program has been the opportunities we’ve had to meet, connect and develop friendships with various FIRST teams from all around the globe.  

For us, the International Exchange program began years ago.  In 2012, we asked our local Missouri partner if we could host an international FIRST Tech Challenge team that was visiting during the 2012 FIRST World Championship – our request was met with enthusiasm, and we were connected with Team Expedio from Singapore.  We would go on to develop a very strong and enduring friendship.

We started out with an awkward first Skype three weeks before they were due to arrive in America; I was admittedly quite shy at the time.  We exchanged our names, our interests and, of course, our robots.  Things became less awkward as we got more comfortable with each other over the course of the next few Skype sessions.  When they asked us if we wanted anything from Singapore, we had to do an emergency Google search to figure out exactly what was in Singapore (yes, we didn’t even know where Singapore was…shhhh, don’t tell anyone).  After an hour of “research”, we unanimously decided that we’d ask them for Merlion souvenirs.  The members on Team Expedio met this request with great amusement and enthusiasm.

The day Expedio arrived in America, I met them at the airport with my coach.  It’s a really exciting feeling to meet somebody you’ve only ever talked to over the internet in person for the first time; needless to say, we were all very excited to see each other and person…you’d hardly realize they were jetlagged at all!  After picking up their luggage and robot, we took them back to their hotel and said our goodbyes for the evening.

The next day, we invited the entire team over to our house so that they could work on their robot which had been the victim of an airline or three – it was in pretty bad shape.  After some food, crying, laughing and minor injuries, we got their robot up to spec for competition.  Once that was over with, we broke out the Nerf guns.  Oh my gosh, ten boys and a pile of Nerf guns.  It was all over.  It was also awesome.

While the Nerf darts were flying, I was sitting down to talk with their coach, Mr. Tan, about what their school and country was like.  It so happened that he was a senior lecturer at the Singapore Polytechnical Institute, an engineering school in Singapore.  He then proceeded to show me videos of some of the project his students were doing, and, I must say, that was one of the most inspirational moments of my season – quadrotors, quadrupeds, transforming cars in addition to FTC robots (I’m quite taken by robots, if you can’t tell).  I will never forget the moment where I showed Mr. Tan a circuit board I spent hours trying to fix, and he was able to show me how to fix it in less than a minute…from that point on, he wasn’t just Expedio’s mentor, he was one of my mentors, too.

And then the World Championship competitions began!  Those were some hectic days, and none of us really remember what went on…I want to say we had lunch with the team in between rounds and volunteering (we were volunteers at the time).  

After the closing ceremonies on the final day, we hit the town with Team Expedio and went shopping.  We went to Wal-Mart, Target and a bunch of other places.  At the end of the day, we hit up Schlafly’s Brewery for dinner…it’s a pity we can’t post those Facebook photos, lest they think the root beer in our hands was actual beer.

And then the day came to bid our farewells.  That was a hard day.  Really hard.  I think my coach cried.  We drove them back to the airport, waved our goodbyes, and felt lonely for a little bit.  Even after they left, we continued to email back and forth, Skyping and chatting whenever possible.  And, of course, we began sharing design ideas for next year’s robots.  

This program not only allowed us to help another team during their stay in St. Louis, it also gave us long-lasting friendships and a wider world view – not to mention good times with Nerf guns.  But one of the coolest parts of this experience came a lot later, though.  Fast forward six months:  Team Expedio’s coach, Mr. Tan, sent me an email asking if I’d like to come to Singapore Polytechnic for an internship sometime in the summer to build robots with him.  As I write this, I’m preparing to travel to Singapore in just a few weeks to reunite with the members of team Expedio for the first time in two years and participate in an internship with Mr. Tan – and all of this is thanks to what would become the International Exchange program in years to come.

Inspired by this experience, we, as a team, proceeded to work as hard as possible to formalize our hosting experience into what is now known as the International Exchange program.  After two years of hard work and persistence, we were able to make this program a reality this past year.  And I must say, it was an extremely successful first year, with over ten different international teams paired up with over ten of our local teams, and a huge turnout at the St. Louis Public Library for our International Scrimmage.  

Of course, we hosted a team as well, the Galaxy Robotechs from India.  We Skyped, we CADed, we fixed robots, had dinners together and, this time, competed together at the FIRST World Championship!  We had such a great time together that they’ve invited all of us to visit their school in India sometime in the future; I might even be stopping by on my way back from Singapore!

As you can see, no matter where the teams come from or where you’re from, friendships are bound to be created when you host a team; we’ve created friendships with people from all over the world, like Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Romania, Russia and more…all because of FIRST and the International Exchange Program!  Creating these relationships has been a life-changing experience for me.  As a result of FIRST and my international connections, I’m being given opportunities I’d never dreamed possible!