Chicago
American Educational Research Association Conference was in Chicago this year. Several blocks around whacker drive and michigan ave were filled with 15,000 badge-wearing conference-goers all week. Americans are super keen when it comes to conferences, racing up and down escalators and cramming into lifts to make sure they get to their 1,000th session of the week on time.
Oddly, even though in some hotels the conference rooms were between 3rd and 8th floors [in america-speak] there were only 2 lifts and no-one seemed to think of stairs - no signs, nobody asking the lift operators if there was an alternative. nicely the one hotel with lots of escalators conspired to confuse by not telling people what floor they were arriving at but instead using random and unexplained terms like 'this floor for the big ten rooms'. when i did find the stairs they were more fire-escape than floor-changing route, scabby, concrete, and often leading down or up to dead-ends, kitchens, store rooms or ventilation shafts. fat america - you have yourself to blame.
my presentation went ok, and I was introduced to some bigwigs in Higher Ed, which was nice especially when introduction extended to posh meals out.
Oxford people were there in plentiful numbers [three I think on the same Air India flight out; talk about basic - the crew gave us one drink and a hot curry then pulled the curtains round their galley area and spent the remainder of the 8 hour flight gossiping or sleeping; crap to start off then 2 toilets went out of order, the cabin lighting broke, and all the TV stuff got turned off; nice one Air India. but it was cheap...].
Of note from the week are:
1. The cloud gate or shiny pebble - sh*ts on manchester's thing near the Bridgewater Hall.
2. Getting drunk with Dan at Bennigan's and him showing me 'something I've never seen before' somewhere I shouldn't have been at 1am. But we weren't caught so no worries. It has to do with wires, lights and a skyscraper.
3. Art institute. Brilliant [but I only lasted an hour and then got arted out]
4. crazy weather - snow, rain, wind, hail, snow, sun
Week ended with a flight down to Fort Wayne [don't ask: read the next blog]
Oddly, even though in some hotels the conference rooms were between 3rd and 8th floors [in america-speak] there were only 2 lifts and no-one seemed to think of stairs - no signs, nobody asking the lift operators if there was an alternative. nicely the one hotel with lots of escalators conspired to confuse by not telling people what floor they were arriving at but instead using random and unexplained terms like 'this floor for the big ten rooms'. when i did find the stairs they were more fire-escape than floor-changing route, scabby, concrete, and often leading down or up to dead-ends, kitchens, store rooms or ventilation shafts. fat america - you have yourself to blame.
my presentation went ok, and I was introduced to some bigwigs in Higher Ed, which was nice especially when introduction extended to posh meals out.
Oxford people were there in plentiful numbers [three I think on the same Air India flight out; talk about basic - the crew gave us one drink and a hot curry then pulled the curtains round their galley area and spent the remainder of the 8 hour flight gossiping or sleeping; crap to start off then 2 toilets went out of order, the cabin lighting broke, and all the TV stuff got turned off; nice one Air India. but it was cheap...].
Of note from the week are:
1. The cloud gate or shiny pebble - sh*ts on manchester's thing near the Bridgewater Hall.
2. Getting drunk with Dan at Bennigan's and him showing me 'something I've never seen before' somewhere I shouldn't have been at 1am. But we weren't caught so no worries. It has to do with wires, lights and a skyscraper.
3. Art institute. Brilliant [but I only lasted an hour and then got arted out]
4. crazy weather - snow, rain, wind, hail, snow, sun
Week ended with a flight down to Fort Wayne [don't ask: read the next blog]
posted by Nick Hopwood @ 9:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home