This is long overdue as its been over 8 months since I went there and got back - but better late than never. Since some time has passed since then its more of a collection of things that I remember rather than anything important or sequential.
The visa - Surprisingly it was easy enough to obtain given that its quite difficult to do so in my home country. The process was all very automated and straightforward for me. Unfortunately my Chinese friend didn't have as easy a time though she did get it in the end. One thing we both agreed on though was that the staff at the embassy from the US who were interviewing us and all were far more pleasant and straightforward than those local staff who didn't treat people all that well.
The flight - In one word it was LONG! I was excited enough on the way there not to get much sleep except for on the last leg but it was tiring at the end of it. The meals were pretty good (yes its a priority for me as I stay awake so need sustenance). The entertainment was not good though. The first leg to Japan was great as we had individual TV sets and quite a variety to choose from, but the longest leg over the pacific was just 3 movies shown one after the other and you had to crane your neck to see - I guess not too much can be expected if you buy the cheapest available ticket. The last leg was considered an internal flight and didn't have any entertainment or food - luckily it was very short!!
The security checks - Flying for the first time after all the strict checks were put in place, having to go through 3 sets of checks to get to my final destination was not very pleasant. Jacket, shoes and all that had to come off on top of the bags - and laptops had to be opened up and shown. Needless to say the lines were quite long and it all cut into our transit times quite a bit. Thankfully all the flights were on time and we didn't miss anything. The final security check on entry was a little unpleasant as we didn't appreciate being interrogated. Some of my companions whose English were not that great had a worse time of it as the personnel seemed to treat them worse and make unnecessary comments.
The hotel - great place one of the best I've stayed in (ok so I haven't stayed in a lot of high class places). The beds were very comfy, and the morning breakfast buffet was yummy. The view from the room was also quite amazing as we were quite high up.
The food - apart from the buffet, there was a dearth of food places - we couldn't even find a Mc Donalds (in the US!! - thought they were supposed to be at every corner). We had to go to quite a few expensive places to eat. Tried a chinese place which was pathetic and everything was over salted. Best regular place was the thai place, tasty food, decent value for money and nice ambeiance. When we did go to the main shopping center (which was about 30 - 40 mins by cab) we did find food court like places - but the prices were quite steep. Only the fast food seems affordable. One thing though - the portions of food in the typical american places a gignormous - one portion can easily feed two hungry people.
The transport - non-existent. Apart from little trams which are probably meant for tourism there was very little transportation save for cabs. The trams are very cute though and it was a fun experience.
The weather - even for Florida, it was quite cold. It was impossible to go anywhere without a basic jacket. The mid morning was ok if you were out under the sun - the heat would take away some of the chill. But the wind was very chilly so walking around at night we felt very cold and shivery. However we were probably the most covered up people around. The locals seemed to be able to get around perfectly fine in shorts.
The sights - we were only able to see the town and surrounding of Tampa but there was still plenty to see in the time we were there. Seemed like a lot of naval and pirate influence in the town as there were pirate ships displayed there and pirate flags hangign from houses and boats. Apparently there is actually a pirate festival - but at a different time of the year. There is a lot of Cuban influence as well in some parts of town, and cigar making as well. The place although a city is not very bustling so it has a sort of peaceful beauty to it and was pleasant to walk about in.
The conference (a.ka. the reason we were there) - It was the first time round for me, so the most important thing was the presentation as far as I was concerned (and how I was trying not to mess it up). I do have some stage fright and this was far big a deal for me than any school presentation for which I've gotten over the stage fright thing. I was told by people who have plently of experience that usually the first presentation you usually don't see anyone when you get up there and it turned out to be quite true. After mine was out of the way it was running around ahving a look at those interesting ones some of which were quite impressive. Of course the invited lectures were almost impossible to attend unless you got there early as the rooms were always fully packed.
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