Travel Tuesdays: Professional Conferences

This past weekend, I attended the NE-SCBWI (New England- Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) annual conference in Springfield, MA. For those who don't know, this regional gathering is one of the largest gatherings of children's book writers and illustrators in the world. I heard there were 600 plus KidLit folks there! Authors and Illustrators such as Harry Bliss, Jane Yolen, Kate Messner, and Sarah Zarr gave speeches. Many others such as Elizabeth Partridge and Tanya Lee Stone served on panels, while still others such as Dan Yaccarino, Anne Broyles, Laya Steinberg and Sarah Lamstein facilitated workshops. To be in a place with so many "rock stars" of the KidLit world was inspiring indeed.

But what does that have to do with this blog, you ask?  I came away from the weekend so excited that I wanted to write about it but I was left wondering how I would remain true to the tagline of my blog: Muck About. Meet the locals. Expand your World. I try hard to stick to my stated mission here at Polliwog. There are often times when something interesting occurs to me but I don't blog about it if it's not related to my stated mission.

Monday, as I reflected on the conference, however, the connection became evident. I wasn't riding a city bus talking to locals, but I did connect with many people this weekend (some from the Springfield area) and I definitely expanded my world in many ways. I also met some folks in real life for the first time who I've talked to in the comments here on my blog or on my Michelle Cusolito, Writer page on Facebook.

I made an effort to talk to people I met, whether a woman behind me in the line for the ladies room or a man sitting next to me in a workshop. Not every exchange was deep -sometimes it was a simple, "Good morning" as we boarded the elevator. But it seems everyone else at the conference was doing the same as me- saying hello and smiling. Each exchange made my day a little brighter. And some interactions were downright amazing.

I confess, by Sunday morning, I was little tired after two intensive days of workshops and I wasn't feeling terribly talkative. (Yes, I do have times of not feeling talkative, rare though they are! And yes, they do usually occur in the morning). But, I pushed myself to be sociable. As I chatted with my friend K and another woman to my left, my friend S was chatting with 2 women to my right. Eventually, S got my attentions and told me I HAD to talk to the woman to my right because we have so much in common. He mentioned my blog and told me I should share the URL with her. As time went on, I learned she had written "A little non-fiction book." I asked what it was and Emily Goodman reached into her bag to show me Plant Secrets.

And I'm not even kidding, not only is it a book I own, my daughter took it out on a hike last weekend so she could "do research." I had nothing to do with my daughter's choice to even dig the book out, never mind to bring it on our hike. Even better, I had this photo of her referring to it as we walked:

Photo taken 14 April 2012

So, my message is one you've heard here before, but it's one even I need to be reminded of sometimes. Take a little risk. Push through your apprehension, shyness, or tiredness and say hello to the person next to you. You never know who you might meet! And, by modeling that behavior for your children, you'll teach them to be open to new people and new experiences. (Of course, part of your modeling should include teaching children the usual guidelines for interacting with strangers).

Have you ever made an effort to talk to someone even when you didn't feel like it and had a surprising or interesting result?

Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Pushing Outside Your Comfort Zone
Travel Tuesdays: Take the City Bus, Not the Tour Bus

Travel Tuesdays: India

When my husband and I decided to have children, we also decided we would scale back our usual travel. No more camel trekking in the Sahara or hiking the Inca trail--we would stick to US or maybe European travel. That all changed in 2008 when our friends invited us to their wedding in India.

We thought long and hard about whether we wanted to travel that far to a place so new to us with our then 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old children. In the end, we realized we couldn't say no. Truthfully, we weren't certain it was the right decision (If that's ever even possible) but we were certain we'd always regret it if we didn't go. How right we were. I cannot imagine how much we would have missed if we had said no.

I'm certain I'll write about this again. I have written about this particular trip and its wonderful long-term impact on our family many times in my journal but I can never quite find the words to exactly express it's magnitude.  For now, I'll share some photos to make my point.

We shared meals with our friend's family in Hyderabad, India

Our son and our friend's nephew became fast friends and danced at the bride-making ceremony.

Part of the wedding festivites included shopping for our clothes.

We participated in a Hindu wedding

We shared meals, stories, and cultural traditions. Six months later, our friend's parents came to stay with us during the American wedding that happened in our back yard. We shared more stories, photographs and cultural traditions. Our friend's parents asked us to call them Auntie and Uncle. They started to feel more like family than friends. (This could be an entire post.)

Over the years we've skyped with our friend's family and the two boys skyped by showing each other their latest toys over the internet. "Look, my John Deer Tractor."

Now, three years later, our friends have returned with their family. This time, Auntie, Uncle, our friend's two sisters, and his nephew came.  Our house is in a constant buzz. Someone is always cooking...

Learning to make chapatis.

Or eating...

Locally grown corn, anyone?

 Or celebrating birthdays...

 Or cooking again...

Auntie never grilled before so we posed the photo for fun.

 We keep asking each other for recipes. Most often we say the same thing...there is no recipe... I just cook it from scratch with what I have.

And, the two boys picked up right where they left off 3 1/2 years ago. Our friend's nephew even got to experience a visit to an American school.

(Photo added 1 October 2011)

None of these things would have happened if we didn't throw our fears to the wind and take the travel leap with our young children. Now we wonder why we ever worried about traveling outside of the US or Europe with our kids.

What risks are you afraid of taking? What might you and your kids gain by taking a leap?