#3 January 17, The First Conference Events

Above: My Roomates, Phillippa (top) and Veronica (bottom).

Hi again, everyone! Boy, is it late out here. The conference is already off to a behind schedule start, but it's ok, because it's not my fault. :)

Tonight we heard from two incredible speakers. The first was Doris Goodwin, who writes history books, mostly about presidents. Her special interest is Abraham Lincoln, and she talked to us about him for a while. We also heard from journalist Lisa Ling, who shared with us some of her incredible experiences on her trips for reports. Some of the most interesting stories were the Lost Girls of China and the North Korea trip. In North Korea, Ling had to give up her cell phone. North Koreans are so utterly disconnected from the world, they have no concept of any other way of life.

I am in Best Western Tyson's Westpark hotel, and my "presidential group" is Taft #21. Our bus is Turbo-Awesome-Fun-Bus #138. My faculty adviser, Darth Scott, should be a fun and interesting person to be with.

My two roomates are Veronica, from Cali, and Phillipa, from Indiana. Phillipa is currently rereading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and I'm pretty sure Veronica is on my bus. They seem very nice (a lot nicer than the roomate I had last time). I'm much more excited for this trip.

God Bless,

Erienne