On the road

I said goodbye to Champaign on Sunday. Parting was much harder than I thought it would be. I didn't leave Champaign until after 7pm, nearly 4 hours later than I intended as I kept finding reasons to stay a bit longer. It was hard to leave the town that I chose to call home for 5 years. I will greatly miss my friends and roomate of 5 years.

But enough sadness. I arrived in Bloomington, IN for the 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education. http://bcce2008.indiana.edu/
In less than 24 hours I reconnected with my chemical education research advisor, professors from various universities that sabbaticalled with said research advisor, and even former graduate students/postdocs from UIUC. I'm very grateful for going to a school with such a robust alumni unit. I love coming to conferences because I love reconnecting with people and making new connections. Its been very therapuetic.

As I drove away from Champaign, I began to fear that I would not be able to make friends in my new home. However, this conference reminds me how its much more likely that I'll make so many friends that I won't be able to feel lonely again. Only time will tell.