TESOL 2014: Portland

Last night I got back from a trip to Portland, OR for TESOL 2014. It's been two years since my last TESOL, and it was exciting to go back, though I missed having my colleagues from BG with me!

This was my first visit to the pacific northwest, and though I mostly saw the convention center, it did seem like a pretty area. As you might expect, it rained a lot! But compared to the winter weather we'd been having in Ohio, the rain and temps in the mid-50s really seemed like a pleasant change of pace. (Also, I came back to real spring weather in BG, so I'm thrilled about that, too! Today I actually walked home without a coat on! :-)

A couple of views from the convention center 

Back to TESOL, I flew out on Wednesday night last week, so I was gone for 4 nights. I had a roommate who found me through the roommate match list offered by TESOL, and that couldn't have worked out better--she was so easy to get along with, and since she was traveling on her own, too, we were able to keep each other company.

With my great roommate

Thursday was the first big day of the convention, and also the day of my first presentation, Teaching with TED: An Advanced Listening and Speaking Course. I tried to enjoy some sessions throughout the morning, but I was pretty nervous about my upcoming presentation. I got there a bit early, and I wasn't the only one! By the time the previous session ended, there was quite a crowd gathered, and I had a hard time getting into the room. Of course, I did get in, and so did about 150 other people! I couldn't believe the turnout--people were sitting on the floor, standing in the back, and overflowing out the door. You might imagine that this made me a bit nervous, but they were such a generous audience, and I settled in as I got started talking. After the presentation, a lot of people came up to me to talk or ask questions.

Before the TED presentation

After my presentation, I met up with my friend Angel from grad school, and we got to spend some time catching up. It was really interesting to hear about her job, which involves online teacher training and a fair amount of travel.

With Angel in the expo hall

That night, I met up with my roommate for dinner. We walked over to a restaurant near our hotel called Pestico. It was just a little place, but the menu was great; we both ordered the special, which was a unique ravioli dish--very tasty!

On Friday, I had another presentation, Ten Ways to Play Tic-Tac-Toe for Language Practice. This one was at the end of the day, and since things had gone so well the day before, my nerves weren't nearly so bad. I went to several interesting sessions throughout the day, and I also met up with a friend from high school who lives in Portland. We really hadn't been in touch since graduation, but it was great to see her. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture!

At my presentation, it was another great turn out--every seat was filled (but, thankfully, most people did have a seat this time!). This presentation was shorter, only 20 minutes, and it also went really well. Some people who had come to the TED presentation came back to see me again, and lots of people stayed after to talk. Again, I was so overwhelmed by the positive feedback! In fact, people are still contacting me by email to let me know that they enjoyed one or the other (or both) of my presentations. I'm just so pleased that they went well and that people found them useful. Also, thanks to those of you who were praying for me; the whole experience has been such a blessing!

Before the Tic-Tac-Toe presentation

That evening, my roommate and I did a bit of exploring, venturing to the true downtown area to see Powel's, a huge new/used bookstore. We also had dinner at a restaurant she'd heard a lot of buzz about called Mother's Bistro. The food there was amazing--hot fresh bread to start, then I ordered from the specials menu and had a wonderful cream of asparagus soup and a salad with hazelnuts, goat cheese, and strawberries. They also brought two complimentary bite-sized cookies with the check.

Saturday was the last day of the convention, and since I was done presenting, I dressed down and just went to a variety of sessions. By the end of the day, I was having some information overload, for sure! My roommate left on Saturday morning, so I decided a quiet evening unwinding in the hotel was in order.

The final keynote--Diane Larsen-Freeman

Sunday was just a travel day, but things went pretty smoothly, and now I'm trying to settle back into a routine here. March has been quite a whirlwind, and now we have only five weeks left in the semester. I think they'll fly by, and I have to admit that I'm fine with that, since our big Disney World vacation is waiting for us in May!