Phoenix - Day 2

See, I told you I'd blog every day. :)

Well, technically right now I'm supposed to be wandering around the "Arts District" of Phoenix to read the city. It's 93 degrees, dry, and not a cloud to be seen. So - I'm sitting in my hotel room with my roommates blogging about the day so far.

City as text turned out to not be what we expected, and we didn't understand how to look at our environment in the way they wanted us to. The so-called "Arts District" wasn't really "artsy" - in fact, there are far more artsy things around the hotel than in that part of town. just across the street from us there is a beautiful Fransiscan church, a theater, Arizona Symphony/Opera building, and some public art.

One thing that has really struck me about Phoenix is the architecture. All the buildings have something different to say, and they say it in a completely individual way. Even the buildings that look alike because they're part of the business sector have different materials and styles crafted into the building. There are so many places here with a look of old history - like they have seen much and could tell great stories. I wonder if that's what is supposed to be happening this afternoon with the City as Text experience - to find the stories and the history of this place. Honestly, I feel that I've gotten more out of the experience just by observing and snapping pictures than I did with explicit instructions about how to go about reading the city.

First impressions of Phoenix: Full of history, Mixture of old and new architecture, HOT.

Tonight we went to the opening Plenary. The topic was the current debate about the Arizona Immigration Law (SB 1070?). The panel of speakers came from many different realms - Business/Law, Law/Journalism, Hispanic/Chicano Education, Education/Activism, and Medicine. I didn't know much about the Arizona immigration law, so the discussion fostered a lot of new questions and knowledge for me. I was impressed by the level of understanding each of the panel members possessed, and most of them were great speakers (one in particular had a hard time reading from his notes, but spoke great when allowed to think on his feet). The interactions between each of the panel members was also amusing to watch. One woman made her dislike for another panel member quite obvious in her body language each time he spoke. At the end of the night, it was agreed upon by all of the panel members that there must be some kind of immigration reform in this country - though not all agreed on the purpose or method of that reform.

Following the plenary was dinner and then the student party. The contingent from Westminster went to the party, and  then decided that we would be better served hanging out on our own, and headed back to our rooms (there was dancing in a circle, and I detest dancing in a circle...gross). I went to check out the fitness center and work out, while my roommates crashed on our beds.

The first full day in Phoenix, general day 2, was full of interesting experiences and new ideas. I'm looking forward to what the rest of the conference will bring.