Google I / O ride: how, why and how much

This year I first visited Google I / O. As a result, I can say with confidence that it was cool! I talked about the reports in the previous article , and now about the trip itself. I recommend every Android developer to go there. Under the cut - lifehacks in case you want to go to Google I / O, but do not know how to do it and how much it will cost you.

How to get a ticket

This year, the ticket cost $ 1100, which translates into our money - a decent amount. At the same time, payment for the ticket does not guarantee participation! It is necessary to fill in a questionnaire, pay for the ticket and wait for the apruv for the selection results. The selection takes into account your position and skills, as well as the level of the company you represent. If you do not choose - return the money.

Ticket for free

You can get a ticket for free or with a big discount (like 50%, we did not check) if your company is a Google certified agency . So, actually, I got a ticket for free and bypassing the selection. After receiving the ticket you need to go through the tedious registration procedure, it takes 30 minutes. Keep the documents at hand, you need to specify the number of passport, emergency phone, where you work, who does what the company does, do you need an invitation for the embassy and whatnot. I did it in 23 minutes - pretty good for the first time.
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Also at the conference there is an opportunity to get a ticket for the next year, proving itself in the performance of tasks within Codelabs . A total of 80 tasks aimed at showing new features, which represent the current Google I / O. Sit down at the computer (if you find a free one) or use your laptop, complete at least 4 tasks. Then a specially trained person fixes your work and puts 4 marks on your card. We leave the card in the indicated place and hope for good luck. Will they give you a ticket or not? You will find out about a month after the conference.

Visa

Do not forget that the conference takes place in the United States, and you need a visa. I was lucky: my previous visa has already ended, but less than 9 months have passed since that moment. It is much easier to get a new visa in this case - an interview at the embassy is not required, you must pay a fee of 10,000 rubles and send the documents through Pony Express. You will have to fill out a long and tedious questionnaire on the website of the embassy, ​​without this anywhere. This is more related to obtaining a visa. About this many articles on the Internet (for example, here ). It will take 3 hours of free time to fill the necessary information and some (a lot) nerves.

Road

Flight

My route: SPB - Frankfurt - San Jose. Transplant - 2-3 hours. There were options with long transfers, with transfers in London and Istanbul. Upon arrival in the US, you will be asked to fill out a declaration that you are importing. Nothing special, but do not try to import meat. There with it in general some kind of horror. I took buckwheat just in case. But she was not useful.

The next challenge is to get to housing. Compared to the east coast, people in California, as they like to express themselves, are slow paced and very open. I felt it already on the bus, when the driver answered me: “Relax, you will reach the Santa Clara train station. The bus from the airport is free. ” In the same place, on the bus, I talked to a passenger who was driving just to the San Antonio station I needed, he showed how to buy tickets and guided me to the local area. Do not stand a pillar and ask to explain and help, I have never refused. Often came up and told / showed how best to do.

Public transport

There is Muni Metro in San Francisco. This is not an underground subway in our usual sense; rather, it is closer to the tram. There is also the Historical line - semi-antique trams that run along the same rails as Muni Metro. There are also Bart buses. These buses differ from the usual ones only in that they have even fewer stops, they travel along lines drawn in the whole city of different colors.

There are few people in public transport. All move either by car or by bike. The only person I walked on was. For 7 days of walking, I met about 10 pedestrians. And in San Francisco everything is the same, if we discard the tourists.

Connection

Initially, I was lost for 10 minutes. I advise you to buy a ZIP SIM or another local SIM card. I took a sim card for 14 days for $ 25, there was a gigabyte of internet. With the Internet in your phone it will be much easier to navigate. I was struck by the speed of the Internet and GPS, here you do not have to wait until you determine your location by satellites, everything proceeds instantly. There was a feeling that there are 40 satellites and everyone is looking at me.

Accommodation

I chose between two options on Airbnb: for 24,000 and 35,000 rubles. In the more expensive version there was a separate room with a huge double bed, a pool in the courtyard and a gym. The owner himself lived in the house. In the cheaper version was a separate room with a small single bed, a table and a chair. The other rooms were inhabited either by tourists or by Stanford students. The kitchen was shared.

I chose a cheaper option, and not just because of the price. I wanted to chat with local people and other conference participants. As a result, the neighbors got me great and simple amenities turned out to be quite enough. The weather was a little crazy, it was cold at night, and hot in the afternoon. But the house had air conditioning and heaters.



It is important when choosing a home immediately to consider how you will get to the conference. From the house chosen by me to the site - 4 kilometers. In principle, you can easily walk. But 10 minutes was the hotel, from which there was a delivery to the conference. Also, the delivery was from the railway station Palo Alto and a couple of other hotels (insanely expensive) recommended by Google.
Another way to get to the conference is to rent a bike or a car.

Costs

Flight: A ticket from St. Petersburg to San Jose with a transfer in Frankfurt cost 43,000 rubles.

Accommodation: The room cost me 24,000 rubles through Airbnb. The conference was held for 3 days, but I was in the US for a week.

Food: If you buy the usual food that you used to eat at home, then $ 50 a week will be more than enough. At the same time, this is the price of organic, very expensive, food. Organic food was purchased at Whole Foods, snacks - at Walmart. When going to Walmart, be prepared that everything is sold in huge portions. Juice and milk - 3 liters, ice cream - 8 sugar tubes or immediately a bucket. If you plan to eat in restaurants and cafes, cook $ 12-15 per meal.

Transportation: Transportation is very expensive. Bus ride - $ 2, train to San Francisco - $ 7. At the same time, having reached the city for cash, you will have to buy a Clipper Card for $ 3 and throw money on it. I threw $ 30, this was enough for 7 days. You can buy a card at Wallgreen's (a pharmacy network). She can also pay for the bus and train.

It turns out that the minimum required amount without taking into account the ticket for the conference is about 80,000 rubles. I spent less - the ticket was free, and since I was traveling from the company, e-Legion made up most of the expenses.

Participation in the conference

We should also mention the organization and how not to get lost. The day before the conference, you arrive and collect your badge and starter pack. The starting package includes: an iron water bottle, sunglasses, sunscreen (yes, you need it), a T-shirt and a backpack to carry it all with you.



Ticket Community Partner, which receive representatives of certified agencies Google, suggest Reserved seats. That is, you have the opportunity to take places in the very first row, as close as possible to the scene. Why opportunity? Because all places are engaged in the order of the live queue.

The sooner you get your badge, the better your place at the main performance will be. Categories of places: Reserved - the best places, the first 20 rows; 101, 102, 103, 104 - 30 rows after, 201, 202, 203, 204 - a huge number of places with visibility worse.

The badge is equipped with NFC and is a pass to free buses and all activities. For each report it is better to reserve a place in advance through the application. NFC will check if you have reserved a place on the report. Reserved - come through, no - go to the waiting queue. Reservation of places ends one hour before the event.

In the appendix, I made my own “My I / O” schedule, and was guided by the map inside it, where the location of scenes, sandboxes, toilets and other things was noted.

After making an individual schedule and recording for events everything is simple. Each participant wants to feel the spirit of California, learn new features, try out new features in practice, ask a bunch of questions IS. You, of course, feed. As a result, the day looks like this: we get on the bus, breakfast, reports / questions / codelabs (ICE), lunch, ICE, entertainment program, bus back.



Throughout the territory there are places for socializing and relaxing - you can play kicker, billiards and other games while chatting with other conference participants while you are waiting for the next report. The entertainment program consisted of live performances of various groups on the first and second day. Beer and wine in the evening.



As a result, we get a perfectly organized event, the opportunity to talk with people, see Silicon Valley, San Francisco, San Jose, Google and Facebook offices, Stanford University. Also, be sure to look at Pier 39 in San Francisco and see how sea lions are fighting with each other for places on specially equipped piers.



The main advantage compared to online viewing is the ability to chat with people, talk directly with developers and ask them questions. Next year I also want to go and this time get a car or a bicycle.