The 94th AAVSO Fall Meeting
October 14-15, 2005 - Newton, Massachusetts

A Series of Firsts

For me the AAVSO Fall Meeting was more than a meeting. It was a wonderful experience full of first times. It was the first time I had flown such a long distance. I had only travelled on a plane two times before, en route to Brazil some nine years ago. That was a two hour flight. My flight from Argentina to Boston took a total of fifteen hours! Almost an entire day had passed since I had left home to go to the airport in the Buenos Aires suburbs until I found myself at the Sheraton-Newton Hotel where I was to attend my first AAVSO meeting. But, it was worth the long trip.

That AAVSO Fall Meeting was the first time I attended a variable star meeting and gave a talk to colleagues, rather than talking about variable stars in a general astronomy course or at a public star party. Not only was this my first time giving a talk in English, but also the first time I had to fluently speak a language other than my native Spanish. I have to admit that it was stressful at first, but the AAVSO'ers helped me survive this first stage. When I arrived in the United States I could hardly understand what people were saying. By the time I took off from Atlanta (during my return trip) my brain seemed to have switched into English mode and I was really surprised by the way I managed to understand most of the conversations around me. It was then I realized that the experience had been easier than expected because we actually speak the same language: the VSO language.

I was very glad to finally know the faces (and all at once!) behind the names on the e-mail messages I had been receiving during several years of exchanging correspondence.

My experiences at the meeting meant a lot to me. It was an opportunity to share with others the way I work and discuss issues related to observing techniques, among other subjects. There is not just one way to observe variable stars and I think it is important to know all the alternatives and always try and achieve the best results. I welcomed the chance to present a different approach to observing.

I've been connected to the AAVSO since 1998, during the early stages of my passion for variable stars. Over the years we've have had our differences and disagreements, as in every relationship, but after attending the meeting felt that there is fresh breeze blowing at HQ. The recent developments with charts, the AAVSO website, and software tools are crucial to taking the institution into the 21st century. The plans for the near future are really promising. Many of the projects in the works reach out to all observers and will help to meet the needs of not just the AAVSO, but needs of the whole variable star community.

(L-R) Director Arne Henden, Sebastion Otero, and Mike Linnolt at the AAVSO Open House.

Those who were in attendance may remember the Friday night "party" in Mike Simonsen's and my hotel room. Great fun was had chatting about ACP, VSX, variable stars surveys, and all the subjects that only completely insane variable star freaks like us can enjoy! This is the kind of experience that can not be replaced by any other.

And there is one other first time that I can't forget to mention. After several rainy days, Saturday night the sky cleared enough that I finally got to take my first look at the Northern Sky! Polaris, Cassiopeia, Perseus... they were all up there for me to enjoy them at last. And of course, I estimated MU Cep, Gamma Cas, Delta Ceph, Beta Lyr, and Beta Per with the help of Dan Taylor (Thanks, Dan!).

It wouldn't be fair just to mention a couple of names when there were so many people that I got to know, but I must be sure to express my gratitude to Mike Simonsen and AAVSO Director Arne Henden for their invitation and support.

I have no doubt that the future will find us all working closely and that there will be lots of SECOND, THIRD, and FOURTH times.

Sebastian Otero (OSE)
Buenos Aires, Argentina