Day 2 in DC

Well if any of you were curious, today went infinitely better than yesterday. I thought about Dada, Pahila and all the other Dhimals that I already feel such a great obligation to. I also tried to behave in a way that would have made Dhai proud, but I still wish I would have been a little quieter.

In any case, there are a few valuable lessons I've learned from this "first conference". The first lesson is obvious, I talk tooooo much. I know it's just nerves and I know it's all probably ok, but keeping quiet more would definitely be a positive thing. On the other hand, I wish I would have approached this more like an interview and prepared answers and background information in advance. I think I'll be putting together a conference "tool kit" with brief note card synopsizes of my personal mission statement, my project and some recent history/facts. I also need to red the news. I'm sorely ignorant of world politics and in the end I think it will be a disadvantage.

However, there were some great successes from this event as well. I was one of the only students to be solicited for citations, which was flattering. I felt well received by the boss (I hope that's true, but even if not, I do hope to exceed his expectations as he's already earned my respect), and perhaps most surprisingly, I felt largely well prepared. I feel that I used my short time in Nepal last year very well and am even more thankful to Dhai for the well rounded experience he provided. I am anxious to write him about the experience and to thank him again for all he has done for me.

So while I wouldn't call the conference a smashing success, I do expect my small mistakes will be considered inexperience and that largely, I can walk away from this with positive contacts. But enough on this. I need some rest to get me through the tax speech tomorrow.