Week two at COP 24

Pandemonium. Thats how it felt the first day of week two at COP 24.  I was not prepared for the number of people at the conference and the sheer amount of information that is thrown right at you.

For example, when you're getting off the bus at the conference you can't even get into the building because there are so many people needing to go through security. But it doesn't stop there.  Pushing through the crowds is almost as difficult as the line getting into the conference, with jam packed narrow hallways and people going in two different directions all bumping into one another. 

However the big shift was stepping into one of the many and varied meeting rooms. It was as if someone had music playing and then muted it. Everyone talked in whispers and it felt calm, but something shifted in the air. It felt more intimidating than the hallways because instead of people coming from all different directions you are instead bombarded by ideas. For example, a speaker may tell you that 34% of assassinations are of human rights activists and mostly indigenous people, and before you can think about that another fact comes right at you. You don't have time to write the next idea because your too busy trying to process the one before it.