This was my dorm, Duchesne College. Apparently it was once a women's religious college. It may still be. Not technically run by a sister now, and although I remain fuzzy about it, there was enough that made me think, yes, maybe.....
My first meetings at the University of Queensland related to school. I have been accepted to the PhD program there, as a remote, part-time student. I had official transcripts to drop off, and potential advisors to meet. Not to mention that I wanted to orient myself a bit. It's a really lovely campus, quite large, and with a bit of everything it seems. It was raining this day -- really, the only full day of rain I had on the trip -- but it was still quite lovely.
Actually, this photo of two young boys practicing their cricket on the grounds was from my walk the night before.
The dorms were along the lake. White ibis and brush turkey are everywhere on campus. They are like our pigeons, and are considered nuisance birds. However, unlike our pigeons, they are quite sizable! This brush turkey is moving mulch to make his nest.
I had also hoped to swing by a session that my advisor was holding that afternoon, but I didn't make it. I wasn't feeling well, and those darn presentations..... They were both scheduled for the first day of the conference -- the next day -- and Shannon was due in that afternoon (she'd been on vacation for a few days prior to the conference). I knew I needed to work. So back to the dorms I went. I did get some work done, then had to head back up to campus for a meeting with the gentleman who oversees the fellowship program that brought Olivia to us at the museum.
These three images are all of the Great Court, a very classically-inspired space. Funny, Greg had no interest in touring campus with me when he got there. I was sad, but not surprised.
Finally, a quick dinner, and then to work. (Interestingly, there are quite a number of package stores, because many restaurants are BYO.) On the walk back to the dorms, we saw a ringtail possum! My first bit of Australian wildlife. Thankfully, Shannon had worked on it some too, and we were able to merge things without too much trouble. Olivia and I figured we'd finish ours the next day. Unfortunately, as that turned out, it meant over lunch, and then she finished her part while Shannon and I did our presentation.....
But I'm a bit ahead of myself. The conference started well, and it was great to see people again. This attendee group was much more heavily from Australia and New Zealand, not surprisingly. And we made some great contacts, and likely, some great new friends. Our room, however, had an issue, and we ended up in the main lecture hall -- not bad! As usual, I was a wreck, although not so much about the presentation itself. I just felt awful. But we got through them, and had some great questions and even better feedback. It's always interesting to me -- I'm beginning to think that it's an American thing. We have a tendency to use PowerPoint, but (good) presenters use it to highlight a few points or for illustration. We don't tend to read the slides, but instead talk about things related to the slides, but not specifically even what's on the slides. And we have Q&A. It's more a European model, where presenters just read a paper in front of the group, then sit down. Thankfully, this group is more on the 'American' model, and I think this kind of discussion is really what people were after. It was a topic that arose multiple times throughout the rest of the conference, actually. In any case, I'm glad that that's my preferred style, and that it worked.
The rest of the conference was good content-wise and connection-wise. We had a day of field trips the next day, and nearly a day devoted to repatriation. This was an eye-opening issue for many attendees, but is something we are actively engaged in at the museum. And I had good moments and bad moments. As I'd mentioned earlier, I didn't realize the toll of the office until I was away from it. All the stress, all the trouble with that nerve and my head, I had to work my way back out of it again. So I wish the timing could have been better. I know I wasn't at my best, and wasn't there fully for colleagues who needed me, or for new connections who wanted more time to socialize and get to know each other. Thankfully I'm learning the signs and learning my limits. But it was unfortunate. And at the same time, it was a marvelous experience. So many fantastic people. So much remarkable work underway. New friends, old friends. So much to do and to learn. I was so glad I still had three weeks.
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