NAFSA:Association
of International Educators
52nd National Conference,
San Diego, CA May 27- June 3, 2000
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Of
many conferences I have attended, this one really ranks right at the top.
Faced with a task of putting together a conference session after we got
in San Diego (a.k.a. procrastination), we had to build our relationships
and the presentation materials in five intense days. Through this experience,
I feel I have found colleagues who can inspire, empower and encourage
each other for the rest of my professional life.
| First,
we bonded
Looking back, our preparation approach to this presentation was
VERY Japanese-oriented. In other words, we bond first. We spent
an awful lot of time getting to know each other and getting comfortable
with each other. This was necessary since I really had only a
brief contact with three other presenters in the previous NAFSA
conferences.
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Before...
...and after.
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| Then,
we went to work.
No one would have guessed we would exchange ideas and changed
directions several times and wouldn't be able to reherase until
the night before (as if we were putting together a presentation
for a final class project). After all, we only had to talk seven
minutes per person!
But the preparation paid off, as quite a few members of the audience
came up to us and shared their thoughts and feelings about their
cross-cultural concerns and experiences. I can't thank Kay Thomas
enough for charing our session and summerzing nicely what could
have looked like a group of very spontanious panelists :-).
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Looking very intense during our presentation
These are the smiles of accomplishment (and relief)
after the presentation.
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| And
we wrapped it up with a little post-conference fun. |
Takeoff at Torrey Pines Glideport inLa Jolla, CA |
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Getting ready to take off...
...and off I go.
Soaring on the ridge at the north of takeoff.
Looking up to the south.
Do these two look like the newlyweds or what? (It
was truly a coincidence that they had these alohas on)
Have a safe trip home, all!
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