Monday, Day Two of COP16

Our day started off nice and easy. Rachel and I got up, ate breakfast at the hotel’s buffet, and left off for the conference. We had arrived at the conference with our minds open, bellies full, and our ears and eyes ready to take as much as we could. Our first plan of attack was to walk around the side event booths and collect as much interesting information as possible (well, and of course bags and buttons). We also attempted to gather up the daily program, but due of the lack of copies we had to wait over an hour to obtain a program. We ended up printing one off at a nearby computer center where we had caught up on e-mails and had seen Dr. Binford! We planned on seeing a few talks that afternoon, but as fate would have it most ended up being “Closed ” (that's really just my luck). We talked to a lot of the vendors, gathering information of different problems around the globe, and saw the most amazing talk by Dr. Stephen Chu, US Secretary of Energy. Even though we were sitting on the floor looking up at the screen, it was awesome to see him speak. He really seemed to talk to his audience like he understood the issues at hand and what needed to be done (and to be honest, he really dumbed all the science down so all of us could really understand). Although I was bummed that he couldn't stay and ask questions, it was still such an amazing opportunity and was by far the best talk so far this conference that I had attended.

Friday, Day One of COP16

Today was our first day at the conference. Rachel and I slept like the dead the night before since our flight had come in just hours before. We met up with Dr. Binford, Dr. Husic, our fellow students, and a few alumni at Dr. Binford’s suite for breakfast consisting of pastries, yogurt, and orange juice before our departure. While Ben and Iggy were leaving to go touring and sight seeing, Nelson, Rachel, and I would be touring the conference and the side events for the first time. We arrived at the conference after a long trip on the bus and went through security (easy-peesy-lemon-squeezy) and then we were on our own.

There was so MUCH. My first impression of the side events area on the conference was WOW. All the “vendors” were in cubicles consisting of the same size and color, but they were all so different from each other. Just about all of the groups and organizations present had separate information regarding climate change or had some solution to renewable energy. Rachel and I walked around with Nelson for a few minutes before we split up and went our separate ways. Rachel and I decided to conquer and explore the area with gusto. Cancun Messa consisted of two large building, Hall C and Hall D, and an open eating area in the middle which wasn’t open when we had arrived since it was too early. After exploring the obvious and collecting some paperwork from various vendors we took the bus to Moon Palace, where the actual conference was taking place. Although the drive was not long it seemed like forever since both of us were exhausted, and we even fell asleep on the bus. After arriving at the Moon Palace, my first reaction was BAM! “Holy crap, there’s a lot of people in suits here!” We had absolutely no idea where we were going, what we could see, and more importantly where we were allowed to go. Even though it took us awhile to get our bearings around the Moon Palace, we eventually got a packet stating what we were allowed to attend, where it was taking place, and when it started. After wandering around the grounds (starving I might add) we hopped back on the bus and charted back to Cancun Messe, where there was still loads of things going on. We saw everything from the Brazil exhibit to the WWF table. Although we had left to go back to the hotel due to lack of sleep, we felt rested and ready for dinner planned at a retired alumni’s beach house.

Dinner was fabulous. We all had a great time socializing, walking on the beach, and just enjoying each others company. The beach condo was beautiful! I couldn’t get over how amazing everything was. You really could just walk right out of the living room, down the steps, past the pool, and walk straight to the beach. Even at nighttime it was one of a kind. While the boys stayed, the rest of us took a taxi home. Let’s just say the taxi ride was nothing like the shuttle ride to and from the conference. We had gotten home (in one piece thankfully) and finally, FINALLY went to bed. Thank God for that. Tomorrow would be a new day.