Chicago Conference-Day 2

I woke up this morning to a dark hotel room and crisp feeling room. Once I stumbled out of bed and found the thermostat and turned it up a bit I felt a bit better. I was ready quickly(took me only about 20 minutes since my hair was already done), I headed down stairs to get a Starbucks and find everyone. Yum, I love that our hotel has a Starbucks. On the way to the conference, which is about three miles from our hotel, we got lost and turned around and then stuck in St Patrick's traffic. We missed the start of the first session and so we all sat in the convention area and mapped out the rest of the sessions we wanted to attend. I don't know if I mentioned it before but this convention is the largest in the US and has about 10,400 attendees this year---massive. The 10:00 session was a general session, meaning the whole group was to attend with a big speaker(tomorrow it is Maya Angelou). It was fun to see all the educators and professionals who are all doing what I am doing, trying to make themselves the best.

After the general session it was lunch time, we opted to walk about a half mile to Chicago's Chinatown. This was the first time this weekend that the cold got to me, up until this point I could handle the weather(even walking a few miles last night). This afternoon it was windy, bitter, and every once in a while if you paid attention you could see the flurries of snow. I have never felt that kind of frosty-ness before. I had fun and kept skipping and running to keep myself warm, not everyone has my spunk and therefore it made for some hilarious comments. I won't go into detail, but they had to do with nationality and how they don't belong in this weather. (All said in fun)

We had lunch at an authentic Dum Sum restaurant where they bring the cart of food to you, it was so authentic that we had some language barriers and if you look at the pictures below you can see how much food we ended up with, oops. It was such a fun cultural experience and I'm glad we walked the half mile to have it. The walk back was shorter, partly because I kept running and partly because we were hurrying back to get to the classes!

Upon returning to the convention center we all went to our respective classes and the learning had begun....Or so we thought....I was so excited, but when I finally found the class I wanted to take (remember 10,000 people make for tons of class rooms!) it was full. I was sad because it was a presenter that was well known and the lesson was on technology-something I am totally into. I quickly started off for my second choice--about engagement--only to find that one full too. Crushing blow! I ended up heading to get a Starbucks to placate my disappointment and sat by the next sessions class to make sure I would get a seat The next session I wanted to attend was in the main ballroom and had about 5,000 seats, go figure, seating wouldn't have been an issue. Such luck. The next two sessions were fantastic and taught about the new teaching standards (known as Common Core) and how they apply to best teaching practices. It talked about transfer and getting our students of think outside of school and to transfer their skills to other ideas, basically critical thinking strategies. It was great, I have notes and plans and ideas. I feel energized about my profession. and Middle School, and my career. It is such a great feeling, I can't wait to see what else this conference has in store and how many ideas I am going to have at the end of it. It is great to be able to step back and evaluate myself and my style and get some new ideas. I never want to stop learning and growing. I feel SO blessed to be here, it is really confirming that God placed me where he did for a reason. I am also getting to form some true educational relationships and that is wonderful too. Authentic Collaboration is one huge key to success.

Once the evening classes were over we headed back to the hotel and walked one block to try and Chicago dog (I didn't get a picture). It wasn't as fantastic as I've heard, and we are determined to try another one somewhere else to see if we can find an authentic one. (Toppings on the dog included-mustard, pickle spears, tomatoes, diced onions, and peppers) After the adventure(three of us shared one), we went to trusty Chipotle and had a wonderful, time tested, dinner. One of my colleagues and I went shopping for a bit after dinner and then it was bath and bed time!

First day success! Tomorrow after the conference schedule, we will be having traditional deep dish pizza, and checking out the downtown St Patrick's Day festivities. I am SO excited about some of the classes I will be taking tomorrow!

Check out the Chicago river(picture below). The tradition of dyeing the river green arose by accident when some plumbers used fluorescein dye to trace sources of illegal pollution discharges. The dyeing of the river is still sponsored by the local plumbers union. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlawed the use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was shown to be harmful to the river. The present ingredients used to dye the river green today are safe for people and wildlife. Forty pounds of powdered vegetable dye are used to color the river for the celebration.

Happy St Patrick's Day EVE!

God Bless. Nite.

Oh two last things--one--we saw where the White Sox play!! (Pic below)-- AND two-- my shirt ripped when walking to dinner, I had no idea how I was that strong, I tugged on my right sleeve to bring it down from bunching up in my jacket and felt it rip! I had to tuck it back into my shirt for the rest of the evening. I'm such a hilarious dork!