WJMC Day 5: There's a Gala at the end of this entry
Today was amazing, but long. Or at least it feels long now... then again, I somehow managed to wake up a little before 5:00 AM. Because of the untold hours of sleep I've (willingly) lost during the conference, I believe I will make this a somewhat short entry. At the very least, I will try.
Since I woke up so early, I did get to go down to the gym that's been open for us in the mornings. I didn't go to work out, though---I'm not athletic at all, believe me---I went to take pictures. The two people who were working out were kind enough to let me have a mini photo shoot of them! It was fun, and I think I got some pretty good pictures out of it. :)
Skipping ahead to our first session this morning, because breakfast and such were as usual: The first session was a Foreign Affairs Panel with Susan Glasser, Karen DeYoung, and Anne Gearan. It was very interesting to listen to them talk about how foreign policy affects journalists, and about the positive and negative aspects of using anonymous sources when reporting the news. They also explained the difference between talking to a source, "On the record", "off the record", and "on background" as their respective organizations use the terms. On-Record is "everything you say can be quoted and attributed to you by name", Background is quotes with vague "a government official said" or such so that the identity of the source is obscured. Off the record means that they might as well tell the journalist nothing, since nothing they say can be used or attributed to them. I had the opportunity to talk to Ms. Gearan for a little while after the panel, and I both learned that she was a History major and received a slip of paper with her email address. :) Networking!
Second session was a presentation by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone. (The movie "Green Zone" was based on his book.) I would say that of all the speakers we've had, all the presentations, all the panels, this one was my absolute favorite. Mr. Chandrasekaran is a magnificent storyteller, and when he spoke to us it was more like he was having a real conversation with us. He told us a lot about his adventures as a foreign correspondent in Iraq and elsewhere, and about what it's really like to be in his line of work. I look forward to reading his book when I get home, now--and I wish I'd brought it with me so he could sign it. (Although he did sign the notebook I've been writing in all week, which to me is almost better!) I ended up hanging around after the presentation longer than almost everyone else because I was taking pictures of him with the people whose books he signed, which was actually a nice thing to have happen because it gave me a chance to listen to him answering their questions... and to receive one of his business cards!!!!! Again, networking that I will follow up on after I have caught up on my sleep. :)
Then there was a bus ride back to the campus, and then there was lunch, and after that there was a group session about anonymous sources and tabloids... and then after printing my boarding passes and getting a couple small things from the campus bookstore, I came back to the dorm to change for the Gala. (Or "WJMC Youth Correspondents Dinner")
The Gala was a lot of fun, held in the Gannett. To start, everyone seemed to like my dress! (Pictures of which will be posted sooner or later... but not in this entry.) There were a few short speeches before dinner, and we got to see the movie review of the week. Dinner was really good, too... and there was a beta fish in a bowl on my table as a centerpiece! At first, I was the only one at the table who believed that our fish was still alive, but then after we passed the bread around he started moving. I intentionally sat as close to the podium as I could so I could take pictures of the speakers more easily.
After we finished eating, we went to the other end of the building for the dance. There were two of the line-dance type songs that I did join in on, but the rest was music that was a little too loud for me and dancing in the "shake your tushies in a clump on the dance floor and hop around" sort in which I don't especially like participating. So I spent most of the dance hovering about taking pictures of the people who were dancing, and I think that a lot of those pictures turned out well. To my dismay, there wasn't any partner dancing at all, which is the sort I do enjoy. When the music got turned up too loud for my sensitive Katie-ears to handle, one of the faculty members was kind enough to take me out into the quiet lobby for what was left of the dance.
There were two other students out there with similar reasons for not participating, and we had a very interesting conversation about beliefs and backgrounds. One of them paid me one of the highest compliments I've ever received--- He said that of all the homeschooled kids he's met, I'm the one with the best/most developed social skills! I really appreciated hearing that, as you can imagine. I also managed to startle my lobby-mates and one of the interns when the intern (John) mentioned that he was 18--and I couldn't help pointing out that I'm a year older than a member of the staff! Apparently a month of being 19 doesn't mean I've stopped looking like I'm 15. :) :) :)
Two final notes on today:
1. I filled two-and-a-half memory cards with pictures today.
2. Even though I'm ready to go home, I kind of wish the conference was longer. I've finally got a routine going here!
Aaaaaaaand it's tomorrow, technically, and since I'm getting all of my packing done in the morning when I get up---in addition to general check-out procedures as per the slip of paper that was under my door---I believe I shall require some sleep. Goodnight world!
Since I woke up so early, I did get to go down to the gym that's been open for us in the mornings. I didn't go to work out, though---I'm not athletic at all, believe me---I went to take pictures. The two people who were working out were kind enough to let me have a mini photo shoot of them! It was fun, and I think I got some pretty good pictures out of it. :)
Skipping ahead to our first session this morning, because breakfast and such were as usual: The first session was a Foreign Affairs Panel with Susan Glasser, Karen DeYoung, and Anne Gearan. It was very interesting to listen to them talk about how foreign policy affects journalists, and about the positive and negative aspects of using anonymous sources when reporting the news. They also explained the difference between talking to a source, "On the record", "off the record", and "on background" as their respective organizations use the terms. On-Record is "everything you say can be quoted and attributed to you by name", Background is quotes with vague "a government official said" or such so that the identity of the source is obscured. Off the record means that they might as well tell the journalist nothing, since nothing they say can be used or attributed to them. I had the opportunity to talk to Ms. Gearan for a little while after the panel, and I both learned that she was a History major and received a slip of paper with her email address. :) Networking!
Second session was a presentation by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone. (The movie "Green Zone" was based on his book.) I would say that of all the speakers we've had, all the presentations, all the panels, this one was my absolute favorite. Mr. Chandrasekaran is a magnificent storyteller, and when he spoke to us it was more like he was having a real conversation with us. He told us a lot about his adventures as a foreign correspondent in Iraq and elsewhere, and about what it's really like to be in his line of work. I look forward to reading his book when I get home, now--and I wish I'd brought it with me so he could sign it. (Although he did sign the notebook I've been writing in all week, which to me is almost better!) I ended up hanging around after the presentation longer than almost everyone else because I was taking pictures of him with the people whose books he signed, which was actually a nice thing to have happen because it gave me a chance to listen to him answering their questions... and to receive one of his business cards!!!!! Again, networking that I will follow up on after I have caught up on my sleep. :)
Then there was a bus ride back to the campus, and then there was lunch, and after that there was a group session about anonymous sources and tabloids... and then after printing my boarding passes and getting a couple small things from the campus bookstore, I came back to the dorm to change for the Gala. (Or "WJMC Youth Correspondents Dinner")
The Gala was a lot of fun, held in the Gannett. To start, everyone seemed to like my dress! (Pictures of which will be posted sooner or later... but not in this entry.) There were a few short speeches before dinner, and we got to see the movie review of the week. Dinner was really good, too... and there was a beta fish in a bowl on my table as a centerpiece! At first, I was the only one at the table who believed that our fish was still alive, but then after we passed the bread around he started moving. I intentionally sat as close to the podium as I could so I could take pictures of the speakers more easily.
After we finished eating, we went to the other end of the building for the dance. There were two of the line-dance type songs that I did join in on, but the rest was music that was a little too loud for me and dancing in the "shake your tushies in a clump on the dance floor and hop around" sort in which I don't especially like participating. So I spent most of the dance hovering about taking pictures of the people who were dancing, and I think that a lot of those pictures turned out well. To my dismay, there wasn't any partner dancing at all, which is the sort I do enjoy. When the music got turned up too loud for my sensitive Katie-ears to handle, one of the faculty members was kind enough to take me out into the quiet lobby for what was left of the dance.
There were two other students out there with similar reasons for not participating, and we had a very interesting conversation about beliefs and backgrounds. One of them paid me one of the highest compliments I've ever received--- He said that of all the homeschooled kids he's met, I'm the one with the best/most developed social skills! I really appreciated hearing that, as you can imagine. I also managed to startle my lobby-mates and one of the interns when the intern (John) mentioned that he was 18--and I couldn't help pointing out that I'm a year older than a member of the staff! Apparently a month of being 19 doesn't mean I've stopped looking like I'm 15. :) :) :)
Two final notes on today:
1. I filled two-and-a-half memory cards with pictures today.
2. Even though I'm ready to go home, I kind of wish the conference was longer. I've finally got a routine going here!
Aaaaaaaand it's tomorrow, technically, and since I'm getting all of my packing done in the morning when I get up---in addition to general check-out procedures as per the slip of paper that was under my door---I believe I shall require some sleep. Goodnight world!