HELLO FROM THIS STRANGER !!!
My new years resolution is to post at least twice a month starting today because I was so lazy in 2021, I basically didn't document any of it.
The scenery as we were landing into Phoenix was so different. On the right is the SkyTrain station.
I started off 2022 with a bang though, attending my first international conference (SICB, or the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology) in Phoenix, AR. With Omicron spiking and me getting slightly sick a week before I needed to fly out there, I wasn't even sure this trip was going to happen. My advisor even reached out and asked if I felt comfortable flying and attending in person, and gave me the option to stay home instead. Given I'd never flown without my family before, or stayed away from home for an extended amount of time, I was really looking forward to some in-dee-pendence so I was determined to make this trip happen.
Look how cute my hotel room was!!!
My advisor and I booked at 7:00AM flight out from JFK so I didn't sleep at all the night before. Plus I had my sister drop me off (it was her first time driving into the airport so it was a little stressful) and for the first time ever, got through TSA security check without a major hassle. I've been asked, one too many times, to dispose of my water or snack and go back to the end of the LONG line.
Getting through security with a party of six was a nightmare most of the time, and I just remember it being one of the most stressful parts about flying in the past. The flight met a lot of turbulence, so I didn't really get to sleep more than two hours, and it was NOT restful at all. We arrived in Phoenix around 10:00AM, and after picking up our bags we headed for our hotels.
First meal : Ramen :)
I am probably one of the cheapest people ever, and so instead of getting an Uber from the airport to the hotel, I decided I wanted to "live like a local" and take their Valley Metro Rail which would cost me $2.00 rather than the $15~ the Uber would have probably cost. My advisor decided to entertain my shenanigans and it was nice to see the city a bit before the conference began. I was originally supposed to have a roommate in order to keep my housing fees at the hotel low since I enrolled in this scholarship program, but since COVID spikes and many students dropped out, I was able to get my own room. My room was so nice, it had a full size fridge, stove top, dishwasher, couch, and bed. Although my view wasn't BEAUTIFUL, it was still nice to have my own space and my own bathroom!! Sharing a bathroom with 3 boys is tough so this was truly a treat.
This place was called Chico Malo was AMAZING.
The conference took place over five days, from Jan 3rd-7th with a variety of talks, symposia, poster sessions, workshops and more. Since this was my first conference, and in a completely different field than my background, I decided to go with a poster presentation. My session took place on the 5th, so I was able to observe a session the day before to get an idea of what to expect. Most surprising to me was how nice everyone was - I was really worried I'd stick out like a sore thumb because well, I knew close to nothing about animals and everyone there studied animal models - and the range of content covered, like there is someone out there studying EVERYTHING.
I saw this online and really wanted to visit this Japanese Garden. I figured it would just be a free outdoor park but I ended up needing to pay $7.00 to get in. It was such a long walk from the conference center and I went with others so it was a waste to have walked almost 30 minutes to just turn back. I bit the bullet and bought the ticket, but WASN'T WORTH IT. The place was so small and it was freezing that morning.
Not going to lie though, I spent I'd say 70% of the conference just out in restaurants and bars with my advisor, practically just watching him drink through all of Phoenix and catching up with his old friends and colleagues. We'd attend a morning session or two, and then grab lunch with some of his pals. The lunch would always become extended due to happy hour, and we'd get back to the conference venue around 3:30 for the poster sessions before we'd be back on the town by 6:00. It wasn't a terrible experience, but as a non-drinker I guess it wasn't as entertaining for me as it was them. I was also extremely paranoid and worried about COVID so unless we were seated outdoors I was a bit reluctant to take my mask off and freely socialize.
The talks I did attend though, especially toward the end of the conference, were incredible. I didn't realize how much I love the implementation of physics, math, and engineering into studying biological processes, but it seems I have found my calling. It was fascinating to me how people could take fundamental laws of science and apply to studying how animals move. My favorite session of all was one called "Swimming Biomechanics" where people explored topics from how fish turn to how wave drag affect whales swimming depths.
When the conference ended officially on Friday afternoon, I met up with a few friends I had made on the trip and we visited The Duce, a place Guy Fieri visited for Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Surprisingly, the food wasn't as great as I expected! The problem I think is the hype is so great for places that have been featured on TV that I went in with this large expectation for the food and when it fell slightly short I feel jipped.
We got back to the hotel hours before my flight so I met up with another friends to get dessert and walk around the city one last time. We walked passed a basketball arena that was about a 3 minute walk from my hotel and I didn't realize I had been walking past the Phoenix Suns stadium everyday that week... I didn't even realize that was a professional NBA team haha! My brother was so disappointed I didn't check it out.
I'm sorry all I take are food photos, the restaurants were way better than expected!
My advisor and I booked a midnight flight out of Phoenix luckily we were able to fly despite the nor'easter scare that threatened to delay our return. Getting to the airport should have been a really simple process - get on the Valley Metro Rail, take the airport skytrain to the airport, and board. Instead, I dug myself a serious whole and ended walking endlessly to get to the airport, just barely making it.
I somehow messed up the stops on the rail, and got off a stop early in the middle of seemingly no where. It was around 10:15 ish and I was 6 blocks away from where I couuld board the SkyTrain, so I had to walk alone with my luggage in this dark deserted area for about 25 minutes to get there. SUPER SCARY OMG! After which, when I got to the correct stop I found out the SkyTrain was closed and I had to wait for a bus shuttle. I was so nervous I'd miss the plane and sweating BULLETS . . . ! After about 5 minutes of waiting though the shuttle did show up and I found my way to the terminal. I think by the time I was checked in and got through security it was already 11:20. My flight was scheduled to fly 11:59, talk about cutting it SUPER CLOSE.
I hadn't slept well the entire trip so I was hoping to get some shuteye on the flight back. This flight ended up being the fastest flight! An estimated 5 hour flight took less than 4 hours, and even though I had an entire row of 3 seats to myself to rest well, the individuals on the plane were extremely noisy. From people playing video games with the sound on blast, to other having conversations across the plane, and flight attendants reminding individuals refusing to wear their masks to put them on - I barely slept, again.
After I got home I think I slept for an entire day, and took this past week off just the recover. This experience was both new and fun for me, and I learned a lot of things about myself!
I am a terrible packer Seeing temperatures ranging 65-70s on my weather app, I decided to instead pack for 80s-90s weather so most of my clothes were inappropriate and I was freezing. Not to mention, everyone there didn't even wear formal clothes, I was ridiculously overdressed!
I am way more introverted than I believed myself to be Lunch and dinners with my advisor alone were fine, I didn't need to be on and feel pressured to entertain and get to know people. When we did eat with others though, I was pretty much uncomfortable all the time and it was difficult for me to find topics to talk to people about
I am excited to explore new places and hope I can travel a lot these next few years Phoenix was way quieter than I expected, but it was really nice that I could walk the sidewalks without fighting a sea of people. There was so much more I wanted to see, but conferences are so tightly packed it's hard to make time for everything. Next time I definitely need to allot extra time to do some exploring.
Phoenix was a blast, and the TexMex food was OFF THE WALLS good. Grateful to my school for funding my trip and my advisor for encouraging me to participate despite me being very skeptical about my ability to present on a topic I did not fully feel comfortable with. I will continue working hard to produce quality work and be able to share my work at more conference moving forward!
Thanks for reading,
dee ღ
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