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In reflection to Sarah's Post, here is my account of the first day in Chicahho
First impressions,
The conference was very organized and there were plenty of people walking around to make sure that each presenter had all the tools and resources necessary to present. Multiple times we were asked if we needed additional AV equipment. One of NCLR’s executives (who happened to be an “Out” member of NCLR) stopped by to voice his support and out himself to all our participants.
Many times during our workshop youth asked great questions like, “what do I do if my gay friend says “thats so gay?”” Youth spoke up often and were not shy to read definitions (some of which we had to further define)
The presentation went very smoothly, we had time to cover all of our slides (there turned out to be 20) and were very pleased with the outcomes of the workshop. After the workshop we gave youth a chance to ask more personal questions one on one. While we expected only one or two youth to come up to us, we were pleasantly surprised when more then half of the youth came up to either say thank you, grab condoms or other supplies, or ask a question.
The rest of the day went pretty slow. Some speakers, (some took longer then they needed to) some sponsors and a chance to get an autograph from an astronauts. We had an hour after the sessions that I used to meet other youth/organizations. I made some great friends (some of which I hope stay with me for some time)
Dinner was great, I could really get used to this cuisine. We also had a chance to hear the president of NCLR as well as a youth who had some inspiring words to say. “Stay rooted in the past, grounded in the present and grow towards the future”
The dance party was also lots of fun (although I had to make up my own dances since I didn’t know how to dance some of the songs. I made a few more friends that were happy to teach me some moves and laugh as I tried to mimic their steps. Day 1 was a great success and after some hours of sleep I'll be ready for a more challenging Day 2.
A shout out to my homies Sarah and Ariel for being such awesome partners in this presentation. After so many hours of writting, planning, rewriting, orgaizing and creating dozens of transitions (which some people thought were too much Cough**SARAH**Cough) we pulled off a great workshop. The first of its kind at NCLR's Lideres summit.
Peace,
Ernesto Dominguez
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| 7/27/09 07:08 PM
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