Good Samaritans on the DART line in Dallas @SC18

By Bigani Sehurutshi (University of Botswana)

By the time my travel to Dallas for SC18 was approved, STEM-Trek’s UbuntuHouse was already full.

When I was looking for accommodations, I was advised to consider places next to the DART light rail service. Because I booked late, and because tens of thousands were in town for the conference, the only place I could find was some distance from the convention center.

On the first day of the conference, the hotel shuttle dropped me at Burbank rail station. I had no Internet access to check for the DART stop that was closest to the convention center. When I tried to buy a ticket, the machine wasn’t working.

A good Samaritan came to my rescue. He used  his phone to locate the Bailey Convention Center, and told me to get off at the West End Station. The train to the West End arrived, and the man was going to the same station, so we boarded the train without tickets because the machine was faulty. When we arrived at the West End station, he showed me the route to the conference. I arrived and registered without any problems. After that, I got comfortable using the DART.

On the second day, I met another good Samaritan; and this one was wearing an SC18 badge. By following him, I knew I would be less likely to get lost. He introduced himself as Richard Glassbrook from CATS ( Capital Advanced Technology Services). I was overwhelmed with delight when he told me that he has over 40 years of experience with HPC and that he has only missed one SC conference since 1988. He encouraged me to find satisfaction from HPC and not do it just for fun.

That’s my wonderful experience with the DART; it took me safely to and from the convention center, and to DFW so that I could travel home to my family.

Watch UbuntuHouse@SC18 sponsors’ and friends’ websites to see what they did at SC18!

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