New Friends Down Under

One of the great things about attending conferences is making new friends, and this is especially true when the conference is an international conference.  I've been really fortunate to make so many great friends overseas, and they have proved to be wonderful contacts both professionally and personally.  And often they are so generous in sharing their time and their local knowledge with you.  I'll talk about my new friends Mikaela and Ruth soon, and the fun day we spent last Thursday travelling all around Canberra and beyond.  In the meantime, let me post a picture of three great folks that I was fortunate to meet and spend some time with.  I met Justin Brow, on the right below, at the SAFFIRE Festival.  He was another one of the featured speakers and we were on a panel together Monday night, and then spent most of Tuesday at an educational jam.  At the end of the day on Tuesday I was heading out to catch a taxi when Justin asked if I wanted to a) go see a kangaroo (more on my quest for kangaroos later), and b) grab some dinner.  The answer to both was yet, and both adventures were a great success.  We eventually made our way downtown to meet a couple, Tina and Roger, who were friends of Justin's.  It ended up being a great time, featuring adult beverages at a couple bars and then dinner at a local Thai place.  I really like Australia, and, as I often say, I suppose there must be unpleasant Australians somewhere, I just haven't met them.  Imagine the opposite of the normally reserved, if not cold, Vermonters and you'll about have it.

Tina, Roger and Justin.  Great folks.