TESOL 2024: Tampa, FL

Last month, I got to travel to Tampa for TESOL 2024 with my friend and colleague Ana. In the past, I've usually presented at the conference, but this year, my proposal wasn't accepted. Thanks to some changes in how our departmental professional development funding works, I was still able to attend. It was kind of fun to go without the extra time & effort of planning a presentation. :-)

funny flamingo statue in the airport

mosaic in the airport

welcome sign at our hotel

we had a nice room with a little sofa!

the building outside our hotel window

convention center side entrance

It was also great to experience some really beautiful weather (though there was one cooler rainy day). It seemed like there were always people out and about: walking, running, and doing all sorts of things on the water (boating, kayaking, rowing). The area around the convention center was great--we were right on the water and a nice riverwalk path. 

a pretty courtyard we walked through on our way
from the hotel to the convention center

a fountain in that same courtyard

panorama view of the water from the convention center

just outside the convention center

on the riverwalk path

me posing with a crocodile
(or alligator?) statue

some artwork along the riverwalk path

informational artwork on the riverwalk

selfie with the water by the convention center

city buildings from the convention center

selfie in front of convention center

convention center atrium

view of the water from
convention center side balcony

selfie on the balcony

even some convention center 
presentation rooms had great views!

watching a boat on the water while
waiting for a presentation to start

Tampa theater sign (this was a few 
blocks from our hotel)

beautiful church near our hotel

building across the street from our hotel
with blue & yellow lights for Ukraine

Ana and I enjoyed spending some time together, and each of us ran into some people we know from other places--one of the benefits of in-person conferences. 

Ana & me with the TESOL sign in the Expo Hall

Ana & me with another sign in the Expo Hall

selfie with Ana from the convention center balcony

As always, I was on the lookout for interesting food to try. My success on this trip was mixed!

really great ice cream

just ok opening reception dinner

...and dessert

excellent arepas & fried plantains from a food truck

Tampa Pizza

my personal pizza on the patio

huge lunch box meal from a sushi place

coleslaw, shrimp, and yucca fries at the CGC dinner

Cuban sandwich and salad

I also took myself on a long walk to a local tea shop, TeBella, on Davis Islands one afternoon/evening and bought some loose leaf tea as a souvenir. The weather was perfect, and it was fun to see a different part of town with its own interesting style. 

selfie with the convention center across the water

an interesting ship along the walking path

same ship from another angle

a cool rose colored stucco building

the tea shop (outside)

...and inside

This conference happens right in the middle of my most demanding grading season of the spring, so I was playing catch up for a few weeks after, and I still haven't gone back over all of my notes to capture the most important ideas I want to try out in my own classes. Now that our spring semester is winding down, though, that's one of the things I'm going to prioritize before transitioning into summer mode. 

Ana took this flattering shot of me!

...and this one (both in front of the convention center)

Next year, I'm planning to take a break from TESOL so I can start incorporating some other conferences into my rotation. I hope to start with the Symposium on Second Language Writing in Tucson, AZ in November. A few of us submitted a proposal for a panel, and we should hear about whether it's been accepted any day now. I'm very excited about the chance to go to Tucson--we haven't been back since we moved away in 2010! 

Christmas & Bowl Game

We spent Christmas in BG this year, along with a quick trip up to Detroit for the Quick Bowl with the marching band. We missed seeing family in person, but we enjoyed video chats to catch up and open gifts together. Mark and I have also been thinking about how to make some new traditions together as we plan to keep celebrating Christmas locally. One thing that we tried this year and will probably keep: finger foods for dinner on Christmas Eve, along with a Christmas movie (this year: Miracle on 34th Street). 

Here are some highlights in photos! 

Decorations

our Christmas tree in the living room

mini Christmas tree in my office
(Mark also has one upstairs
that I didn't get a photo of...)

outdoor colored lights & luminarias

presents under the tree :-)

Food

special K, cranberry, and pb cookies

chocolate crinkles

eggrolls & pigs in a blanket
(for Christmas Eve)

pizza rolls (also Christmas Eve)

cinnamon rolls (Christmas morning)

egg casserole with sausage, green chile,
and cheese (also Christmas morning)

cornish game hens (the first time I've made these)

layered potato casserole

my plate at Christmas dinner

sugar cookies with icing

more sugar cookies
(the red & green ones are a new 
technique...needs some perfecting!)

Gifts

Mark & I exchange stockings...
both of us bought gifts that didn't fit

the opened stockings: Mark got me a tea sampler
(they're all delicious), and a travel mug for work

aftermath of opening gifts
from Mom & Dad Cook

Bowl Game

This was a two-day adventure (December 26-27), starting with an early morning rehearsal on campus, a 1.5 hour bus ride to Ford Field in Detroit, the bowl game itself (which BGSU lost), one night in a downtown hotel, and a visit to the Henry Ford Museum the next morning. We got back to BG by midafternoon, so we were home in time to do laundry and eat some Christmas leftovers for dinner. It was nice that I had the chance to tag along for this one: my first travel with the FMB (and definitely the most logistically streamlined bowl game our team is eligible for...even if it's not all that exciting for the students to go to Detroit). Still, it's easy to see that the band enjoys playing and spending time together. 

morning rehearsal at the field house on campus

more rehearsal, with a better view of the drumline

selfie with Mark in the BG endzone on Ford Field

selfie from the band section in the stands

the other school's band came over to mingle
with our band for a bit before the game

BGSU's pregame show
(notice the drumline on the screen)

Freddie & Frieda came through
our section and took lots of pictures

I tried to catch a selfie with them walking
through the drumline section behind me

BGSU's halftime show
(a shortened version of the video game one;
the drill showed up so well on the big screen!)

the other team's halftime show...they did this thing
where they gathered up into a really tight circle
(facing outward to keep playing)

big Christmas tree in the stadium
(which is a dome: yay climate control!)

BGSU band section from across the stadium

Prof. Waters talking to the band after the game
(outside the stadium, where we'd pick up
boxed dinners and load the busses)

view from our hotel room in downtown Detroit

we enjoyed having the king sized bed plus a little couch

the GM Ren Cen, right across the street
(we were here with my parents a few years
ago, as well as the Henry Ford Museum)

sculpture a few blocks from the hotel
(we took a short walk after getting checked in)

huge Christmas tree at the Henry Ford

it had themed ornaments, like this tractor,
and planes, trains, gears, etc. So cute!

a chandelier made of kitchen tools

Hallmark mini ornaments display (there were
cases and cases of ornaments in this exhibit!)

Christmas train display

part of a huge Lego display--this
was one of my favorite things

a bit of Unser racing memorabilia (an ABQ connection)

me with a giant train engine
(this museum is full of big things...like
trains & planes & farm equipment)

We hope you also had a Merry Christmas, and here's to the New Year!

selfie with Mark and our tree