Cryptic Meg

A couple of weeks ago I went to a conference in Madrid: the Movement Disorder Society Congress. This was my first conference abroad, and in fact my first visit to Spain! I was presenting a poster on my research using AI to detect Parkinson’s disease in brain scans.

I was quite nervous about the whole thing: nervous about presenting my poster, nervous about going abroad for the first time since Covid, nervous about getting myself to Madrid and back.

Thus I found myself on a Wednesday morning, apprehensively alighting a train. And then another train. And then a further train. On this last train I met a couple of colleagues, and we travelled on together to the airport. It was a gloriously sunny evening and I haven’t flown in a couple of years – so I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

It was a late night in Madrid (as, it would transpire, they all would be!) and an early start. This was the day of my presentation. We headed over bright and early for the start of the conference, and I sat anxiously through a couple of sessions. I wasn’t quite as nervous as I have been for previous presentations (hopefully I will continue along that trajectory!), but I got increasingly jittery as the time approached. At lunchtime I headed over to the poster room. All of the posters were e-posters which appeared on screens. Mine had been chosen to be part of a guided tour, so I went to my allocated station where a few fellow presenters were gathering. Looking at the schedule, I was pleased to discover that I was due to present third (out of about 20) – I would be over and done quickly!

We only had (a very strict) five minutes to present, so sure enough my turn came round promptly. I was handed a microphone – the room was very loud, with several presentations happening at the same time and lots of other conversations taking place. I found myself shouting, even with the microphone! I had practised my little talk many times in the preceding hours (as soon as I had woken up I had spoken it from the bed to the empty room), so it flowed out again easily enough. My supervisor had come along to support me, and at the end kindly instigated a round of applause. There was time for just one question (a nice easy one – I mentally fist-pumped), and then I was done. Phew!

I stayed for the rest of the poster presentations in my tour, and then headed back to the hotel room where I recovered for a while. It had been a very busy 24 hours of travelling, being sociable, being anxious… and I was done in! But in the evening I went out for a meal with some colleagues, and got my first glimpse of Madrid proper.

The conference was on the edge of Madrid, and it was about a half-hour drive into the city centre, which I saw for the first time that night, a whole day after arriving. About ten of us went for a fantastic meal of tapas (gosh that food – I’m salivating just thinking about it), and then we had a little walk around. I started to get a real feel for the city, which was still incredibly vibrant at 11pm on a Thursday. We walked through the Plaza Mayor and saw some other beautiful streets, before getting taxis back to our hotels. It whetted my appetite and I was keen to see more.

So on Friday, I took a day off from the conference. (I had checked the schedule, and there was nothing that particularly appealed.) At the hotel I had got some information about public transport, and so I took a bus and then a subway into the city centre.

First I returned to the Plaza Mayor in daylight. It seemed to be a good place to start to get my bearings, seeing as I had visited it the night before.

Then I headed to the Palacio Real, which I peered at through the gates.

Opposite the palace was the Almudena Cathedral – which hadn’t been on my list of “top things to do in Madrid” – but I love a cathedral, so decided to go in. I was very glad I’d done so. It was beautiful, peaceful, and cool.

After the cathedral I trekked over the Parque de El Retiro – a massive green space in the city centre. I timed this badly, as the walk took half an hour in the heat of the day. By the time I arrived I was wilting. So I found a bench in the shade and stayed there for a long time – eating some snacks I’d brought, writing some postcards I’d bought at the cathedral, writing a letter to a friend, and reading some of my book (Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom – chosen by my book group this month and hugely appropriate!). After a while I explored the park. It was still immensely hot – so I walked around in little bursts and took lots of breaks in the shade (and had to buy myself an ice lolly, of course). The park wasn’t exactly to my taste – as it was highly structured and very unnatural – but it was still very impressive.

By now it was evening, and I walked back into the city centre to meet my supervisor, who had offered to take me to dinner. A restaurant had been recommended by an acquaintance from Madrid, and we went there to try the local cuisine: cocido madrileño, a chickpea-based stew. They presented it in a lidded jug and served the liquid first, before returning to serve the rest of the stew. It was gorgeously flavoursome, and extremely filling – I couldn’t manage all of mine (a rarity for me!). Afterwards we went to another recommended place: a bar on a rooftop terrace. That was spectacular, with incredible views over the city. It was a lovely, relaxed evening.

On Saturday I returned to the conference, where I spent most of the day and even the evening, as there was an interesting event with a reception beforehand. As a computer scientist at a clinical conference, a lot of it went over my head – but I understood enough to make it a very interesting day!

On Sunday I got the plane with the two colleagues I had flown out with, and we travelled into London to get our trains home. (This happened to be the day before the Queen’s funeral, and we even saw The Queue from a distance!). I got home in the evening, where I was very happy to be reunited with my husband and cat.

My Spanish escapade was a busy and formative few days. It ended up really boosting my self-confidence, because (although I’d had the company of colleagues) I had independently arranged my travel, prepared a presentation, attended a conference, given a talk, and explored a strange new place. And I loved it! Lots of people were interested in (and very affirming about) my research, and I had some really positive conversations about my future career. And I got to know a lot of people in my research team a lot better.

The week after I got back, it was suggested to me that I submit an abstract for another conference in Sweden. I hope it’s accepted. This time I know I can do it, and I’m excited!