Conference in Toronto

 Thanks to the funding provided by the Undergraduate Scholarship Office, I was able to attend a conference hosted in Toronto. Presenting in front of so many scholars and even being able to attend others’ presentations were truly an amazing experience. The first day of the conference, we had the chance to attend a lecture by S. Craig Watkins from the University of Texas at Austin who spoke about “How black youth are transforming the digital world”. He talked about the use of social media platforms such as twitter to create a community for young black people. I also enjoyed “Avatar and Virtual Reality” by XIAOWEI HUANG from the University of Macau, she talked about the lack of responsibility that people when it comes to avatar-based online games. She told us of how the men and women there acted in very offensive ways just because they knew that they would be able to keep their anonymity.

While in Canada, I was also able to experience the culture there. I was excited to find that so many beautiful and old architectures were still being used in the city. While they had skyscrapers, they also had very rustic and beautiful looking buildings in the midst of it all. Ontario is a beautiful city, so much so that I did not mind the fact that I had to walk everywhere. On our spare time we were able to experience local life in downtown Ontario and even witnessed a protest that was happening about animals being used for fur by a company.

 

Overall, my experience with Canada was positive. From the conference to walking around the city and being able to eat in different restaurants by different ethnic groups. On my last day, I was able to attend a free concert to celebrate the commencement of Canada day and it was wonderful to attend. I have done some of the most walking while I was there but it allowed me to observe the natives and even be a part of them.