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Well, I really hate that thought. That you would do something in another place that you are ashamed of where you usually are domiciled. But apparently that is the rule when you go on conference trips. I was out Thursday and Friday at an ELL (English Language Learners) conference in San Antonio. I did learn the 3 rules of TDY (temporary duty) from our ROTC Colonel.

1) Never whistle while you pack (your wife will wonder where you are going)
2) Never eat when you can drink (that is a whole other thing that I was worried about because I heard stories, but actually they don't drink as much as they say that do.)
3) .......Oops, i forgot the third rule. It is probably something important, too.

I was also renamed Louann, later shorted to Lulu. Praying that doesn't stick....

The conference itself was ok. It was really repetitive of stuff we were already familiar with. I did learn a few good points, like the way that Spanish speakers are taught to write an essay:

Idea
Idea
Idea
Idea

Therefore.....

English speakers write like this:

Main Idea

Support
Support
Support

Conclusion

That is why we get kids who write about their mommas and then stick a paragraph about soccer in the middle of it. (Our classic example of smart kids who have trouble getting the essay.) I'm going to ask some of my students about this and see if it holds up. I'll have to find someone who was educated in Mexico so they will be cognizant of the structure of their writing.

All in all, it wasn't a complete waste of time, but if he had given us a bunch of articles to read and left me alone, I might have learned just as much...