AAI 2013

Hello all!

So... needless to say... it's been awhile since I posted. Whoops. Amazing how times flies, huh?

Anyway, I thought I would start with my trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. Every year, the American Association of Immunologists hosts an annual international immunology conference. This year, for the 100th anniversary, they held the conference in Hawaii. 

 Arriving at the airport after a looong flight...

The hotel was gorgeous!

 View from the hotel room

One night, I met up with some friends that I work with for dinner. One had done some research and found this AMAZING Indian food restaurant. So good!

Also, this was my first year to be asked to give an oral presentation of my project along with a scientific poster. What a huge honor! However, what a nerve-wrecking experience! I was the last one in a session containing about 10 people. I think I did okay, but I'm glad to have that out of the way!

 Afterwards, I'm pretty sure I vegged for awhile on my hotel balcony drinking a beer...

One afternoon, I took some time to do some shopping! The International Market Place was full of little shops with dresses, jewelry, and souvenirs.

Since it was the 100th anniversary, the organizers hosted a luau on the last night as the sun set.  It was a lot of fun!

 They had a band playing music. 

And a few demonstrators. This guy told us how to shuck coconuts, and was kind enough to have a picture with me!

  And of course, there was a cool fireworks show! A friend had talked to the people setting it up, and they told him the best place on the beach to see them. We had an excellent view!

Of course, one of the cool things about these conferences is all the people you meet. A few of my fellow grad students at MSU attended, as well as people from where I got my masters. And I met up with a few friends that I had met at previous conferences and classes. I also went to dinner with my boss and his old lab where he did a post-doc. It is always so interesting how different schools work and so much fun to talk about how everyone is doing there research.

But, one of the coolest things, is I ran into people I went to college with! Now, Austin College is not exactly a big school. And people go all over the world after graduation. I keep up with my close friends, but I hate to admit that I did lose touch with other. However, I met up with some of them! A was a TA for a few of my classes and also the president of a biology club right before I took that position. She graduated a few years ahead of me. R is in my year and we did research together on the same project. Actually, he was always angry at me because I took the project that he wanted. Also, on a random side-note, he took me to get my first tattoo! What a small world!

All in all, it was a great trip. I can't wait to go back! Which (and don't be jealous) will probably be in October. haha!

-amyg