You Want Me to Go Where?! Part 1

When my principal came to me and asked me if I would be interested in attending a math intervention conference IN OAKLAND I was hesitant.

Because, you know...It's Oakland. Oakland! I vaguely remembering Jeremiah pointing it out on the way to San Francisco. The conversation went like this: "And that's Oakland." and we kept driving.  I know that the reason for the conference was to gain knowledge, but part of the fun is going somewhere new and exciting. Oakland was just new. And maybe a tiny teeny bit scary.

Here's the thing, though. I wanted to attend the training and get my professional pants on. I want to be involved and help my students and all that stuff.

So I said that I would go.

And I did. For a whole week I got my conference on. During the day I learned and in the evening I went (with my colleagues) to San Francisco.

I thought I'd share some Oakland pictures with you today. Sort of as proof that it isn't all ghetto. I mean, ghetto exists, for sure. But parts of the city were cool. Oh, and our hotel wasn't in that cool area. Not at all. I would recommend it to anyone going to Oakland, though, because the staff was incredible, they offered free breakfast, and free shuttle service. Our trips to San Francisco cost $6 on the BART (round trip) and $2 for the streetcar. Not too freaking bad.

First of all, my conference was held at the Kaiser building in downtown Oakland. On the twenty-fifth floor. I felt very professional. They even had emergency/disaster kits. I didn't ask about them but I made a mental note. Just in case. A religious coworker was hoping/praying for an earthquake and I wasn't sure if he had an in with God so I figured it wouldn't hurt to make a mental map of the kit location.

 For lunch we went to the parking garage roof. Gross, right? Oh, no. Because it looked like this:

 Gorgeous. I managed to snap lots of pictures. There were fountains, bridges, flowers, and walking paths.

Here is a picture from our conference room:

 You can see a very modern church with the lake off to the right.

And lastly:

 If you squint or zoom, you can see some San Fran bridges and buildings. Great views from the Kaiser building.

Anyone else doing some summer traveling?

Stay tuned for Part 2: San Francisco