The conference venue is amazing/daunting/really fancy (especially compared to our host venue last year). At first, I got quite conscious of how much nicer everything is here compared to our venue at home but two things changed my mind. 1. The registration fee to attend this conference was astronomical compared to last year. It is obvious why, but I disagree with the trade-off. How many students couldn't come because they couldn't convince their supervisors to spring the $$? More importantly, 2. The atmosphere is restrictive and generally unfriendly. The people running the show here make me feel like cattle. During the mixer the first evening, we were about 800 people drinking our free drinks, chatting. The mixer was scheduled to end at 7:30 but oftentimes these sorts of informal events run much longer as people meet for the first time, catch-up with colleagues and otherwise network. But at 7:30 on the dot the lights start to go out. But 8, the last few stragglers are nursing their drinks in a dark room because all the lights had been turned off. Most people were spilling out onto the sidewalk (it was wet and raining. Yeah, I know. Still raining.) and otherwise scattering to their hotels all over town, totally ruining the atmosphere of camraderie in my opinion. This would never had happened on the East Coast-kicking people out of the party prematurely (even if the drinks had run out) is completely unacceptable and no fun at all. Boo Fira Palace.
Further, I arrived to the first lecture of the day and was told where in the room I was to sit. Excuse me?!? Who the hell cares where in the room I sit (left, right, back, front)?? What if I'm tired and the usher pushes me to the front row where it is very apparent when I rudely nod off?? In the same room, a colleague was denied entry carrying his empty coffee cup, which he wanted to reuse later in the day, saving the energy and water required to clean it. It was empty, no chance to spill anything at all. Maybe I'm a hippie, but I thought his actions were admirable...especially given the city is currently experiencing a drought.
So yeah, we may have had handwritten signs, but we were way nicer.
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