Just back from my conference in Raleigh, all things considered, not a bad place. The scenery was great, green everywhere....lots and lots of green. The humidity was a bit much for me, however it did wonders for my skin! :) I had the chance to check out some of the countryside, a colleague was looking for 'Baconase' and apparently the only store that carries it is a small chain called 'Piggly Wiggly'. So in search of Piggly Wiggly we went! We got lost on the way back to Raleigh which gave us the chance to really see some of the countryside, it was beautiful. The socializing was a lot of fun, I got to know people better, as a group and individually they're a really great bunch of people. I shared my room with another masters student, she's young, I can't really remember being quite that young, but we all were, weren't we? ;) I'm finally realizing people just want to be accepted for who they are, they can achieve greatness in their field or in life, but the bottom line is the same for all of us - appreciation and acceptance for who we are.
I did find a few things very odd - or 'not normal' for me. The no handgun symbols on the doors to buildings, the treatment of non-white people and the people begging for money on the street. I think we tend to treat our native population with the same contempt, I hope it's not as bad as what I witnessed. The black population in service positions seem almost afraid to talk to you, I found it rather heartbreaking. It has made me aware of how I react to and treat people. We seem to have a rather diverse group of beggars here. Although there might be a higher percent of native people in the homeless population. I live in such a sheltered world, it's an eyeopening experience to travel.
I won the Student Certificate of Excellence for my category. It was a bit of a whirlwind experience, I'm definitely glad I changed my return flight from Thursday to Friday otherwise I would have missed all the fun. I didn't know what the procedure for the whole thing was, they present the award at the banquet, shuffle you off outside and take your picture numerous times. It certainly threw me off for awhile, I was walking around in a complete daze.
The flights were enjoyable, no adverse reactions this time around. I changed my seat selections coming back, certainly happy with my decision to pay the extra $35.00 in order to do so! I would have been squished in the middle seat on both flights - yuck! We even had an empty middle seat on the flight from Minneapolis to Edmonton. I'm glad I ventured out of the little box I live in, taking the opporutnity to see a bit more of the world! :)
3 comments:
I'm on vacation here, and I'm using my 12'', which makes things a little "cramped". Need to scroll a lot, and therefore my comment first ended up on your previous post. We can't cheer enough, so I'll give it another try:
"So much fun reading about your trip! It sure sounds like you had a wonderful time. And congratulations on the award! Well deserved, I suspect."
Yeah, not enough celebrations, so again:
Congratualtions!!!
Deb, your trip sounds amazing, and you certainly deserve it more than most of us!!
Congratulations on receiving the Student Certificate of Excellence!! I'm so pleased for you, and I know it was simply awarded to the best and most intelligent young woman in the congregation!!!
I thought the black people was treated with respect now that things supposedly have changed in the US, how lame of me to think the Americans had changed..... Very sad, indeed!!
If you have some pictures from your trip to Raleigh I would love to see them :)
Thank you very much for all the congratulations! :) Yes, I'm very happy with the acknowledgement of my hard work - and of course a big thank you needs to go to Martin who kept sending my poster back for revisions, he expects excellence and doesn't seem willing to settle for anything less! My poster did seem to be in a class of its own, I was surprised with some of the other posters submitted, they didn't even follow the basic instructions on size.
The trip was fantastic, I couldn't have hoped for anything better! This is how I remember travelling to be. :) I don't really have any pictures, well, none I really like anyway - visual reminders of how badly I've let my weight spiral out of control. I have started a new diet and exercise routine though and so far I'm sticking with it.
No, no respect down south anyway. It is sad, we even saw a sign on someone's front lawn saying "impeach Obama", so things down there haven't changed at all, still shrub-boy's (George W) territory.
I will find a couple of pictures to post, I didn't take many as stopping by the side of the road seemed like a bad idea, we got some very suspicious looks and we were never sure if someone was going to confront us with a gun. It seemed to be a shoot first ask questions later kind of place.
Post a Comment