Post by dk on Nov 19, 2006 19:50:47 GMT -5
Retreat and Conference Reflections
Julie Lee
It's hard to believe that the conference was about two and half months ago. I remember being in the Victoria Airport and telling myself that we (Sandrina, Winnie, Pani and I) were going to board a plane soon. It seemed completely surreal that our organization was going to be presenting at a National Conference. I just sat there waiting for Pani to pinch me... Of course I don't ask her cause she would and in the end I would just get a huge bruise...(If you were at the retreat you would know what I'm talking about).
Once we arrive at the retreat... I was completely stoked. I will never forget some of the stuff we did there: the nights of salsa dancing, the nights of bonding with my fellow Anti-Doters on those horrible kiddy bunk beds, the days of trying to speak French, the wonderful tasty salad dressing, that awful night of Truth or Dare...(Nothing will leak out of the circle huh?! LOL), Pani trying to teach everyone how to shake their money maker, the discussions, the zine making workshop, the young women I met and then grew in to better friends at the Montreal Conference, the friendly smiles, the time when Pani's desert fell on the floor and everyone laughed, Winnie waking me up and showing me the aurora borealis during the middle of the night and much more.
So the retreat part was over... kinda sad but we were going to Montreal! We all gathered together and tried to squeeze back onto the yellow cheese box school bus that we arrived on, plus our luggage remind you.
The city was amazing! It was like my niche! The nights walking around town, seeing street performers, that night having dinner at that Asian restaurant (Nas you'll see that cute from the table over some day *jokes*), that night at Reggie's, the spoken word performances and what we did afterwards and people thinking I was 21 when i only was 17. LOL Good Times...Good Times...
Presentation day, was even crazier! I remember everyone talking about going to our presentation. We Anti-Doters were terribly nervous. We didn't know if our presentation would live up to their expectations or not. We spent basically that day running around and a tad stressed out. But we had confidence in ourselves and we pulled through. In the end there were hugs and cheers. Tears streaming down some of our faces. We had finally done it. It was glorious.
The last day was hard. It meant saying goodbyes to people I met and people that I had gotten to know. I didn't want to leave but all good things must come to an end I thought... I had not only gained many valuable connections and resources but had met some very inspirational women in the process. I didn't realize that so many women from various parts of the world were struggling for their voice to be heard. During the whole trip it also helped me get to know my Anti-Dote colleagues better. We had bonded and somehow they feel like sisters to me now.
While on the plane back to Victoria I thought... all good things don't have to come to an end. That through Power Camp National and the wonderful world of technology we can still remain friends and not lose touch while trying to fight for our causes. So when I look back and think about it, during the last day of the conference was not about saying goodbye to each other but more or less of us saying to each other : I'll hear from you or see you soon.
Or as Nelson, from the Simpson’s, nicely puts it: “Smell you later!”
Julie S. Lee, Chinese-Canadian, Born in Victoria BC. UVic Student. 18 years old.
Julie Lee
It's hard to believe that the conference was about two and half months ago. I remember being in the Victoria Airport and telling myself that we (Sandrina, Winnie, Pani and I) were going to board a plane soon. It seemed completely surreal that our organization was going to be presenting at a National Conference. I just sat there waiting for Pani to pinch me... Of course I don't ask her cause she would and in the end I would just get a huge bruise...(If you were at the retreat you would know what I'm talking about).
Once we arrive at the retreat... I was completely stoked. I will never forget some of the stuff we did there: the nights of salsa dancing, the nights of bonding with my fellow Anti-Doters on those horrible kiddy bunk beds, the days of trying to speak French, the wonderful tasty salad dressing, that awful night of Truth or Dare...(Nothing will leak out of the circle huh?! LOL), Pani trying to teach everyone how to shake their money maker, the discussions, the zine making workshop, the young women I met and then grew in to better friends at the Montreal Conference, the friendly smiles, the time when Pani's desert fell on the floor and everyone laughed, Winnie waking me up and showing me the aurora borealis during the middle of the night and much more.
So the retreat part was over... kinda sad but we were going to Montreal! We all gathered together and tried to squeeze back onto the yellow cheese box school bus that we arrived on, plus our luggage remind you.
The city was amazing! It was like my niche! The nights walking around town, seeing street performers, that night having dinner at that Asian restaurant (Nas you'll see that cute from the table over some day *jokes*), that night at Reggie's, the spoken word performances and what we did afterwards and people thinking I was 21 when i only was 17. LOL Good Times...Good Times...
Presentation day, was even crazier! I remember everyone talking about going to our presentation. We Anti-Doters were terribly nervous. We didn't know if our presentation would live up to their expectations or not. We spent basically that day running around and a tad stressed out. But we had confidence in ourselves and we pulled through. In the end there were hugs and cheers. Tears streaming down some of our faces. We had finally done it. It was glorious.
The last day was hard. It meant saying goodbyes to people I met and people that I had gotten to know. I didn't want to leave but all good things must come to an end I thought... I had not only gained many valuable connections and resources but had met some very inspirational women in the process. I didn't realize that so many women from various parts of the world were struggling for their voice to be heard. During the whole trip it also helped me get to know my Anti-Dote colleagues better. We had bonded and somehow they feel like sisters to me now.
While on the plane back to Victoria I thought... all good things don't have to come to an end. That through Power Camp National and the wonderful world of technology we can still remain friends and not lose touch while trying to fight for our causes. So when I look back and think about it, during the last day of the conference was not about saying goodbye to each other but more or less of us saying to each other : I'll hear from you or see you soon.
Or as Nelson, from the Simpson’s, nicely puts it: “Smell you later!”
Julie S. Lee, Chinese-Canadian, Born in Victoria BC. UVic Student. 18 years old.