Departmental Retreat

Every year my department has a retreat- this is a common thing in academia. We all hang out, listen to talks, and share some meals. I'll be presenting an old poster, and leading a Q&A for the first year grad students (on surviving your first year). It's a good opportunity to rub elbows with people we don't normally see, and a casual atmosphere to share science. This part of the retreat, I totally get. It's kinda an imposition on my weekend, but I understand why we do it.

The part of the retreat I don't get is that everyone thinks we are 'camping.' Yes, we are bringing sleeping bags to sleep in, but in this sense, it is much more like a slumber party. True, there will be a bonfire, and the forecast calls for rain, but let's be straight- this is where the ecologists in the department LIVE all summer. It's not plush, but we are going to the departments ecology station. It's more like "going to camp." There are big dorm rooms fills with bunk beds, lights, hot running water, a ping pong and a cafeteria. And, let's not forget this major point- we are going to be talking about science. Drinking beer from kegs, and talking about science. It's just not camping.

I don't want to come off as more-outdoorsier-than-thou, but this kinda brings up a key point of division between me and the locals. I'm bringing clothes I intend to get plenty muddy, and I haven't made up my mind on the shower issue, but if you can hear highway traffic, and there is an official lights out (cuz, y'know, there are lights), it's not exactly getting away from it all. And yet my classmates are baking camping food and preparing the traditional camping Jell-o shots. I should just accept that this is as rural as people from New Jersey have ever been, and accept that is makes them happy.

This is part of the reason I haven't participated since my first year. First, I was totally jilted by the camp atmosphere, and that completely destroyed any possibility I would want to talk about science. I was just too shell shocked to imagine going back and enjoying it. Now I am trying to imagine this more like going on a grubby vacation, or an open air conference. I'm not really convinced that these two worlds can or should co-exist well, but I'm willing to give Sleep-away Camp with the Whole Department another shot.