After
everything was settled, it was time to go find the meeting center----Hynes
Convention Center and register for the Meeting. So I didn't have any
free time to familiarize myself with the city as planned. Xin's Message board/Guestbook Homepage
Attending the 2005 MRS Fall Meeting
---- a Trip to Boston MA
Beginning the story
To apply a visa to the US, the first thing you need to do is to read instructions carefully. You must firmly follow all the instructions, and especially pay attention to these "DONOT"s. I have seen quite a few people taking cell phones and large purses with them and trying to tell the US consulate security officer that they came alone and there were no dangerous things in the cell phones and large purses. Then they were asked again and again by the security officer "Did you read the instructions?" and "Did you listen to me?". Very simple. There is no negotiation. Go to put your cell phone and large purse away. No matter how important and expensive they are, you are not allowed to bring these in. Another thing needs to mention is the US consulate only takes cash in US dollars. You can of course go to a nearby bank to exchange, but then you are going to be at the end of the waiting line. However, even if you are fully prepared, you might not be able to get your application approved right away.
You bet! Getting a visiting visa to the US wasn't easy for me. I now think that it would be easier if I were going to the States just for a tour instead of attending a materials science conference. I was asked to report to the visa officer more detailed information on what I am doing as a chemistry student. And I was asked to wait for background clearance. I didn't get a notification of the approval my visa application until I felt that I had no hope attending the meeting. Anyways, I got my visa and had time to book an air ticket and a hotel. What I learned from the visa application is you need to check your application status when you feel it is time to do so. You might not be notified right away even if your visa application is approved and you mentioned to the officer that you have a tight travel schedule.
Beginning the trip
Oh, no! My flight is canceled. Is America West Airline a big company? I should be informed earlier of the cancellation. That is totally out of my expectation. Now I have to stay in the Vancouver International Airport and just feel bored. No free internet access! No any compensation for delaying my trip! I guess it is already my luck to have my flight rearranged to Air Canada. So my trip will be Vancouver-Toronto-Boston, instead of a non-stop trip from Vancouver to Boston. I planned having one free-day to tour around Boston, visiting some famous universities. And now I only have half a free-day left. Feeling bored! It is a good idea to update my website now, although, I might have to upload the updates in a few days. (I wasn't able to update my story everyday. The following is just a recollection.)
Arrival in Boston
The flight transfer schedule was tight and I barely had enough time at Toronto International Airport to run around for claiming my luggage, finding the US departure, and checking in for flight to Boston. I arrived in Boston Logan International Airport at around 10:00am. It was a sunny morning. I hoped I would have half a day to pre-tour the Boston city.
There wasn't a long lineup for checking out and there were many people offering help at the airport, so I didn't have trouble finding my way to downtown Boston. A visitor's weekly combo pass (at US$16.50) entitled me to take all buses and subways at a quite reasonable expense. However, I did have a lot of trouble finding my reserved hotel----the Farrington Inn. When I asked people for directions, surprisingly, I found that more than half of them were non-English speakers. And, the Farrington Inn was not very well-known around its neighborhood. I had to run around for hours, dragging my big luggage.
An inexpensive and cozy
place to live inAfter
everything was settled, it was time to go find the meeting center----Hynes
Convention Center and register for the Meeting. So I didn't have any
free time to familiarize myself with the city as planned.
Meeting scenes
The Meeting was a great meeting. Many interesting papers and many great scientists. Very informative on materials science. I would definitely attend more such meetings. Unfortunately, meeting participants were not allowed to take pictures at the meeting. Please check out the MRS website for meeting scenes.
Having finished my talk, I decided not to attend the very last meeting session. Instead, I spent the afternoon having a cook's tour in Boston and visiting some of the best universities in the world----Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.
City of Boston (a cook's tour)
Visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Visiting Harvard University
America West Airline gave me a sweet surprise. My seat was upgraded to Business Class free of charge, for the flight from Boston to Las Vegas. I guessed it was a compensation for my boring hours in Vancouver airport due to the flight cancellation. I would give some credit to America West Airline for that. However, another thing I have to point out is that I was given too little time (less than 20 minutes) to catch the flight from Las Vegas to Vancouver. I ran like a racing car from the US domestic arrival to the Canada departure, finding out that I was the last boarding passenger. If I was older, I would have had to sleep in the Las Vegas airport and wait for another flight to Vancouver. Furthermore, I didn't have any chance to take a look at the gambling machines in the airport.
Overall, it was a great trip. And I am looking for another one :o).