Our presentation was on Wednesday, October 31st, at 3:30 EST. The kids did absolutely incredible. There was a bit of nervousness but they did great. We have the video tape, but not the cable to attach it to the computer! So we will have to upload it when we get back.
They DID not get to practice on stage, nor even hook up the equipment before hand! We went down to the Melia (a very short block and a half from where we are) the day before and met with staff. The ballroom was being used for something else (a different conference or meeting) and would not be set up until after 10 o’clock at night! So we peeked in the room, and left.
We arrived for the plenary sessions at just nine am the next morning! BUT there were issues with power (we have an intermittent power outages), some of the computer equipment (for the conference) had not arrived, the registration system was not set up, and it appeared that the equipment for the translations (each person could have an individual ear piece) had not arrived. The flooding has really disrupted travel! (Don’t worry I am checking on the airport today, as well as time it is going to take to get there.)
I have to interject here that Juan Gomez who is coordinating the conference, was absolutely, utterly, fantastic!
So we waited, and the kids found an empty room and practiced! I was so nervous I couldn’t sit still.
It finally started about 10 am! We heard Juan Gomez speak, and then Dr David Macquire from ESRI talked to us about the ESRI’s products. He spoke for two and a half hours, and we had a break and then he spoke for perhaps another hour.
We then ate lunch which was a buffet style catered lunch….FABULOUS …(in fact we didn’t even know we were going to get the lunch until just before…because we hadn’t registered…we didn’t have a ticket…etc)
They were expecting 400 people and in the audience yesterday there were maybe 150. Travel within the DR is limited because there is a lot of flood damage, and many people couldn’t make it!
During the opening presentation Ishmael Chivette (ESRI) worked through some brief overviews with the software….he spoke in Spanish….and he did a great job! Joked as he worked, and presented in a lively manner. We all decided we would take his classes this am….if we could get up!
In the middle of David Macquire’s presentation part of the ceiling fell in on several attendees! (It was not the vent itself, just the very soggggggy roof tiles….probably felt like getting hit with a bowl of oatmeal thrown at you from 40 feet!) Provided quite the entertainment!
The kids got to stand on the stage for the first time at 3:00! (Remember they were to present at 3:30!) We hadn’t had a chance to check to make sure the equipment would connect, or even project….(can u say I was having cardiac arrest…..) although we had asked about the specs of their system the day before….so we knew it should work!
So after eating lunch, we took our equipment, and prepared to present! I was so proud of the kids! Half an hour before the presentation….not knowing whether the equipment would even work or not….just walked it…walked up on stage..(no one else was in the room, except for the people fixing the large hole in the roof) and set up. Plugged everything in, pulled everything up….no issues. (I was so nervous I thought I was going to puke, but they were great! I don’t remember EVER being that nervous…it may have been better had I actually had to get up on stage! Thomas and I had decided that we were not going to present anything….as we wanted it to be entirely the kids presentation….and boy has that worked…but more about that later…!)
The only thing that I had to help with was how to get the laptops to project on the screen…I just had to show them where the fn f7 (on my computer) but I think it was fn f4 on theirs….was to toggle the projection to the screen and then to turn it off again!!!! Oh, and Luis was checking the battery power and noticed it was not charging despite being plugged in…..(more brownie points) so I had to bend the plug a bit to make it a stronger connection with the 1960s power strip…..THAT is it…they did every thing else!!!
They were ready by 3:20…seated on stage…people milling about…and Juan came in to let us know that they were going to wait for a while to start, because the workers hadn’t finished setting up a stand under where the roof had fallen.(During lunch they had shortened the room….by moving the chairs forward, and were placing a display (ESRI) under the spot where the roof had fallen in so that no one would be under it…..the stand was not set up yet)So we waited…the kids on stage, sitting in chairs…some people in the audience….some people milling about! Me fiddling with the camera, and the video cam….
They finally began about 4:00! BUT Juan wanted to play a video first….(It was the gis in communities one!!! VERY NICE Segway!) AND it appears that the sound was having issues!!!! So they (the sound tech people….had to mess for about five minutes to figure it out…) and then it started….
Juan introduced the youth, and then Luis introduced the entire group, and described what Equipo GIS was and the NC youth did their presentation first. They did great! This was their first presentation in front of a large crowd! The people standing around me were very impressed with the links to from the maps to the pictures in their presentation!
Luis thanked them for their presentation, and then introduced Liz and Clara…..and they all three did theirs! It was so spectacular! Good eye contact…no swaying from side to side…very few ums….(that I could hear….there may be another vocal impregnated pause that is in spanish…but I didn’t hear any! ) …they had decided that they would all stand while the other (in their speech) people were talking….It worked really well…but Luis said while he was standing and NOT talking the stage felt like it was moving…..
Remind anyone who thinks they can hold a video camera for 45 minutes still…that they are completely nuts! My arms were so tired they were shaking, and at a couple of points I had to move to a table to prop my arms up!!! The video may not be publishable without LOTS of editing..but at least you will be able to see how they did.
Luis concluded the presentation…thanked ESRI and Juan Gomez….then paused and waited at the stage for Juan to come up….THEN (the crowd was generally relaxing…etc)
Proceeded to get the crowds attention, and to publicly thank Juan for all his support, and presented a Equipo GIS shirt, GIS innovator pin, and Oregon 4-H pin to Juan Gomez, and to Merrill Lyew (he is the ESRI coordinator for all of
Latin America) ! It was fabulous, they didn’t expect it, and appeared profoundly impacted!
Luis was asked by two people if they could interview the youth! We are hoping to find them today!
Since the presentation, most people have been directing their questions to Luis. He is handling himself VERY well, and acting very professional. I am trying hard to stay in the background, and let them answer all the questions…etc and so on!
After the session we got registered ….and decided to come back to the hotel. The original plan was to go to an open air market…BUT it was rainy….and VERY obvious that everyone needed to just chill.. Gabriel went to sleep, Christian played with iTunes, Clara, Luis, and Lizbeth watched Spanish tv, and the video and just hung out, Thomas wasn’t feeling all that well, and then we went for a walk. When we got back, we had food from the bar in the lobby….grin…sandwiches and chips and guacamole….pretty expensive…but we were tired and didn’t want to put out the effort.
It was a long event filled day, but well worth weathering Noel, and flying 16 hours to get here! The kids deserve a large round of applause for all that they have done, and their presentation!!!
~Sarah
