Day Four: Round Four (Part Two of Two)

Yes, you read right - you're reading the blog of one of the top 42 spellers in the world!  (And I'm very modest, too...)

Me and my Semifinalist medal

 So yes, I did get called to be in the Semifinals.  I had 32 out of 36 points when they made the eliminations.  I missed four spelling words on the computer test, but got all of the vocabulary section right!

Immediately after a one-hour break, I was back in the computer room to take the Round Four computer test.  Let's just say that's a whole different ball game...

I'm confident on 4 of the 26 answers that I gave, if that says anything.  The good news is that one of those is one of the three-pointers, but I doubt I'll make the Finals.

But you'll see me on ESPN2 at 2pm EST tomorrow, if you tune in!!

~Joe

Day Four: Rounds Two and Three (Part One of Two)

The Herald Bulletin article finally came out... link here.

The spelling bee has some great resources at their site... here.  There is broadcast info, up-to-the-minute competition data, and speller bios - check it out.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee Flickr page - if you type "2013Speller73" in the search box, you can see some of me spelling in Rounds Two and Three.

Also, Dad brought along a "Flat Chuck", which is apparently a thing that WTHR Channel 13 News does, for us to take a picture of while we were here.  We did, and it was aired this morning (there's only about 35 seconds of actual picture, the rest is just a commercial break, I guess):

We actually didn't go anywhere today - we were too busy with the competition.  So nothing here today...

My evil twin Me (looking over my glasses) on the big screen.  That's a camera boom in front of me.

So - Round Two.  My word was "rejoneador" - I spelled it right, and got three points.
Round Three:  My word was "dudgeon" - I spelled it right, and got three points.

And, to answer the question that all of you who saw me in Round Three are asking - I was expecting him to say "Old English", so it threw me for a loop.
For everyone else, this is how my Round Three exchange with Dr. Bailly went:

Dr. Bailly:  Your word is "dudgeon".
Me:  Can I have the definition?
B:  A state of indignation.
Me:  Um... can I have... the language of origin?
B:  It is unknown.
Me:  *slightly away from the mic, quieter* Figures.

Again, I was expecting him to say "Old English", and I was briefly surprised.  But everything ended up okay.

Part Two will concern my results in the first three rounds, and whether or not I've made it to the Semifinals (2pm EST on ESPN2) - and I think I've got a good chance!

I should be back here within two hours...

~Joe

Day Three: A Trek Downtown

This morning was the Round One computer test.  It had 24 spelling questions (half of which count) and 26 vocabulary questions (14 of which count, and 2 of those for 3 points each).  So from that, we get a total of 30 points.  Tomorrow has two oral spelling words, for three more points each (total of 36).  So the goal is to get as many points as possible - I want to try to make the top 50.

I'm not allowed to talk about the test, but I will say I think I did well...

Tomorrow night, the actual test I took will be available on the Spelling Bee website for you all to take as well - I'll have a link to it here.

Again, not much to report here... still no Herald Bulletin article (tomorrow?)...

Tomorrow, Rounds Two and Three will be broadcast on ESPN3 (online) at 8am and 1:15pm Eastern.

So after the test, we went out for the day in downtown DC.  We took a taxi to the National Archives, then walked to the White House to take pictures.

Us in front of the White House

As we were walking down the street directly north of Pennsylvania Avenue, Mom and Elli kept declaring that Dad and I were lost and going the wrong way, and then accused us of switching the buildings once we got there... ?

Afterward, we got to go in the National Archives to see the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

So then we had lunch at a Mozambican restaurant called Nando's, whose claim to fame is their "world famous Peri-peri spice sauce" or something.  Anyway, I was a little wary at first, but it ended up being pretty decent - go figure.

A gate/arch thing in Chinatown

After lunch, we took a ride on the subway to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and spent the rest of the afternoon there.  Meghan, who was the only one who hadn't been on the Metro before, wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but we all got through it okay.

Really big cavernous Metro station

And now, what you've all been waiting for - animal pictures (and videos)!

I missed this, but apparently, there was a big gorilla fight over a tree branch...

So then we went back to the hotel, and basically as soon as I'm done with this post, we're going over to an informational Bee meeting.

Art.  (What is the deal with you people?!)  :)

Tomorrow, like I said, is Rounds Two and Three - and they're elimination rounds... wish me luck!

~Joe