Happy Day

I feel very happy at the moment. I gave my presentation today and I think it went fine. I was really really nervous beforehand. My thesis defense was definitely a bigger deal, but this was stressful because my audience was so knowledgeable. I have me a handful of scientists whom I cite in my thesis, so they obviously know this stuff very well. It just makes me nervous to talk about my research in front of people who are experts in the field. I told Ian this and he said, "But you're an expert too!" Haha. I half-expect to find out that I've been going about this all wrong, misinterpreting their papers, and my results are crap. Well, maybe I am a novice expert. If I use a lot of big words, then people won't know what I'm talking about and won't ask questions. :) Just kidding, I need a thesaurus to use big words.

I had to put my presentation on a USB drive and transfer it to the appropriate laptop this morning. I watched the woman do it and then she opened the file to confirm it was okay. Well, when it was my turn to talk, they didn't have the powerpoint!! Luckily my USB drive was still with me and they downloaded it fairly quickly, but it was a bad start. I tried not to think about it. Like I said, I think the talk was fine. The jitters never really went away but someone I talked to afterward said I was very calm while giving it. I think I come across as calm often. It's a neat trick.

After the talk, I was very very tired. There were a few questions that I think I handled fine (that word keeps coming up). Some people said they really liked it. One such person is someone I cited in my thesis, and he also said he's read part of my thesis - he found it online somehow! Wow ... people are reading my thesis?! That is pretty cool, except he goes to U. Florida. But, he was nice and not a Gator fan, so it was okay.

The rest of the day was nice. The morning plenary talks were about "Visions and models for sustainable development in the Amazon region." I enjoyed them. Two of the speakers are scientists but are currently more involved in sustainable development now. It's very encouraging me to see scientists who are able to also apply their passion to helping people and the environment in a more direct way than just doing research.

Two other great things about today: 1. I found out that the hotel next to mine has a fitness room and pool. It is 10 reals (about $5) to use it, so I got up at 5:45 this morning and ran 9.4 km on a treadmill. :) It felt so good to get some exercise after almost a week without any and lots of food! It was a perfect way to start the day and I'm going to try to keep it up. 2. I just watched heroes! I had to buy it on itunes and it took all night to download, but was so good. Maybe it is also nice to have a little bit of American culture, plus just sitting and watching a tv show is a nice break from all of the working and socializing. Anyway, I love that show.

So, now Ian, Lixin and I are going out to dinner. Thanks for stopping by. :)