Amsterdam Day 2

Today was the day of the conference! We weren’t going to present until 3:30, but we left to go to the University at around 9 so we could all get together and get things set up and practice. We got on the tram (Amsterdam’s tram system is like a mixture of a bus and a metro) that was supposed to take us straight there, but after just a few stops the tram stopped behind another stopped tram and the driver got out to investigate what was happening. It turned out that a street sweeper had ran into the tram ahead and the driver was pretty injured. Don’t ask me how that happened, I am confused by it. But here the taxis and buses and even other cars sometimes just drive on the tram tracks, so maybe he just wasn’t paying attention. Anyway, we got off and decided to try to find another tram. In the meantime we had no idea where we were so we ended up walking for a good long while before we figured it out. That was all well and good, except I was wearing new heels that I had never walked any kind of long distance in. That + walking a long time = painful blisters on my feet. I actually ended up just taking off my shoes and walking barefoot for a while later, which was disgusting but I really didn’t even care.

The whole group - Elisa, John, Marissa, Laura, Bryce, Me, Caite, Adam, and Melanie.

So we finally got to the University and found the room we would be presenting in. It was a relief to find that the room only had around 30 seats. We were all kind of hoping not very many people would show up so the experience wouldn’t be too intimidating. Me and John and Elisa (my group) went over our power point and made sure everything was good and working, then we went into another room and did a run-through. After that we went and checked in to the conference and got some super cute/official looking name tags, then went to the opening plenary session (plenary is a fancy word for when everyone at the conference meets and someone talks). Before we knew it, it was 3:15 and we were about to present. We waited for people to come in, and to our relief only 6 came in! So in the room there were only about 20 people if you count all of the presenters, Laura’s dad, the conference assistant/refreshment guy, and the people that actually came to watch us. Oh, and I didn’t mention that our professor Dr. Eggington wasn’t there as planned because his dad had died the week before and he was in Australia taking care of arrangements. So it was pretty intimidating for us, it was the first conference any of us had presented at. Anyway, my group was the first to go and we started just after 3:30. In case you are wondering, my group’s presentation was entitled “Fake it ‘til You Make it.” We talked about fake comprehension in police interrogations and interviews, which is when people that don’t speak English as their native language are being interrogated or interviewed and then for one of many reasons will give a “fake” answer, aka an answer to a question when they had no idea what the question was asking. We actually did surprisingly well! The three of us had pretty equal time presenting and I was very proud of us. I was nervous, but once I started getting into it I realized I knew the material really well and I became more confident. Our presentation took about 35-40 minutes (it seemed like about 5 to me while I was up there) and then some of the audience members asked us questions. There were two other groups to present after us, and then we were done! It was amazing to have the burden of stress of this conference lifted and know that I still had 3 whole days to do whatever I wanted in Amsterdam.

The "fake group." John, me, and Elisa.

Marissa, me, and Laura. Aren't we just so cute and official looking with our tags?

After the conference we headed back to the hotel to change before going back to the University to meet up with everyone to go to dinner. After walking all day in my heels with blisters, putting on socks and tennis shoes was like walking on…something really soft. We met up again at about 7:30 and ended up finding the restaurant Wagamama to eat at! This was really exciting to me because there are Wagamamas all over London and I have been there many a time. Afterward we (me, Marissa, Laura and John) were on the tram back to our hotels and we accidentally stayed on the tram one stop too long. But this proved to be a good idea because we found the huge I Amsterdam sign! “I Amsterdam” is like the city motto/the way they market themselves. But it was really exciting to find this big sign thing, and we climbed up and around it and took a bunch of pictures. We then just decided to walk back because the weather was nice and we were close. I think one of my favorite things to do in Europe is to walk around cites in the late afternoon/dusk/at night. Things are a lot more calm and relaxed and there are so many beautiful sights to see. I just love walking past centuries-old buildings sitting right next to modern buildings and seeing all the interesting shops and people that you would never see in Utah. I love Europe!