My Whirlwind North American Trip, Part I

I landed at 6 o’clock Friday morning at Auckland’s airport, where it was dark, cold, and raining cats and dogs. But Ali was there, so I got a welcome warm enough to make up for the weather. We spent the next few hours catching up on the last 10 days:

I left Auckland on Monday, May 1st at 9:30 pm and arrived at St. Andrews Hall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver at 9:15 pm, on Monday, May 1st. My flights were uneventful, but the transit through LAX on the “Day Without Immigrants” boycott was a trial. I had a three hour layover, and spent all of it in line. Security for my “domestic” flight to Vancouver snaked through the entire upstairs atrium lobby, down a broad staircase, through the concourse to the ticketing desks, and then outside for at least two city blocks. It was unbelievable, worse than anything I saw traveling in the months after 9/11.

Tuesday, however, was beautiful - sunny and cloudless - so I walked around the UBC campus enjoying stunning views of the mountains and Puget Sound. Spring in the Pacific Northwest is unmatchable, with cherry blossoms, rhododendrons, and tulips providing a riot of color. The Nitobe Japanese garden was a special treat, magical enough to help me forget my jet-lag. In the afternoon, I hopped a bus downtown and had dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Bistro, but it wasn’t the same without Ali.

I had planned to spend Wednesday morning at UBC’s world-renowned Anthropology Museum, but since I wasn’t able to fall asleep until about 4 am, I overslept and had to spend a few hours finishing my presentation before the “Career Symposium” began at 3:30. The law school had a arranged for a couple professors to talk about academic career tracks, as well as a couple head hunters to say how happy they’d be to place anyone interested in a big firm or corporate law department. Afterwards they served wine & cheese, and I hung around talking with everybody I could. I learned a lot, since pretty much everything anybody had to say was new to me, and came away re-thinking my decision not to do a thesis for my LLM just because it’s not required.

The conference began on Thursday, and since I had trouble falling asleep again the night before I was glad the talks were actually quite interesting. Topics ranged the gamut from corporate governance to indigenous rights, and mine wasn’t even the only paper about ICSID. The vast majority of participants were from Canadian universities, but there was also an American from UW, and a delegation of Thai students who'd been trekking cross-country. I was the only person from Auckland (although there was a PhD student who’d done her LLM at Auckland a couple years ago), although I learned that a friend of mine had been invited. I was pretty excited to see Leontine’s name on the schedule – she was in my first class last semester, but graduated and moved back to the Netherlands at the end of last year. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to get funding for the trip, so I didn’t get to see her after all. I was very lucky that the Commercial Law Department has a special fund for costs associated with presenting papers.

My presentation wasn’t until the last panel on Friday, a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I couldn’t put it behind me and relax. On the other, I got a chance to “size up the competition” and by my turn I felt pretty comfortable. Although I’d never be as polished as the best speakers, I could do as well or better than the rest. When my time came I got through without a hitch, and afterwards several people asked questions. From watching earlier presentations, I knew odds were good I’d get asked at least one long-winded question in mind-boggling, post-structuralist academic speak. I’ve read some Foucault and understand a little about semiotics, but can’t talk the talk. In the moment, however, it didn’t matter. I heard the question about “re-inscribed power” and realized it’s a game, mostly played by bright honors undergrads eager to show off their adeptness with their shiny new toys. No problem. They actually had to hold up a “stop” sign to shut me up.

At the conference dinner, which followed thank you speeches and drinks, I sat next to a young woman who’d grown up in Auckland, had a baby at fifteen, and was now about to graduate from York with honors, and across from a guy working on his second PhD - in addition to two bachelors and a master’s in Philosophy. It was a delightful evening, but I was still having trouble falling asleep at night, and the excitement of getting through my talk and meeting all of these sparkling intellects made it even harder. I barely got three hours’ sleep before the alarm went off at 5 am.

Thanks for sticking with me this far. Next time I’ll finish up with my trip to Seattle and SF.

Cheers,
Sandie