It's another day, another pin dropped on the map!📍But before I tell you what kind of trouble I'm getting into in this new place, let's rewind and unpack the super-long, super-productive I had earlier. My mission was basically playing matchmaker: getting two institutions to hold hands and play nice. Think of it as academic speed-dating! 😉
We kicked off bright and early with a colloquium session, and yours truly was wearing the "International Guest Speaker" hat. Remember I was trying to ditch the old, boring, "death-by-PowerPoint" research presentation style? Well, I went for it today! I decided to bring the magic of waves to the hall, and guess what? It actually worked! I think I managed to 'soliton' everyone in the room. That's my new word for shocking them with fascinating physics and keeping them totally engaged. (If you don't know what a soliton is, just Google it! It's super cool, like a wave that holds its shape perfectly.) And yes, I gave the esteemed academics homework. They all have to go observe wave interactions at the nearest swimming pool or at leas a fish pond! Talk about an unusual assignment!
The sharing session wrapped up at noon, and then came the moment of truth, lunch! Our hosts proved that you don't need a fancy, extravagant buffet in a soulless hotel ballroom to show warmth. Nope. We got the most delightful, simple lunch boxes! They were delicious and just so real. It truly felt like being welcomed into their home. We got to explore their awesome building, proving that genuine, down-to-earth hospitality is the absolute best. No black-tie event needed!
The afternoon shifted gears to a benchmarking session. Basically, we were comparing notes on our undergraduate programmes (yes, turns out we're practically twins!). It was a fruitful-yet-serious discussion. I'll spare you the nitty-gritty details, because let's be honest, talking about course syllabi isn't exactly prime social media content. 🤫
Meanwhile, I heard the students had their own parallel session and were having an absolute blast! They were probably swapping stories about the weird homework their international speaker just gave them. 😂 I really hope this trip becomes one of those core memories they'll talk about for years!
After all that mental gymnastics, the hosts spoiled us again with a dinner box filled with all my favourite things! Seriously, it was like they had access to my secret cravings list. Again, a simple, humble box made me feel so incredibly happy and appreciated.
The minute the event was over, I did the classic dash, back to the hotel, packed my suitcase in 3.5 seconds flat, and then it was time to move on to my next big adventure: exploring Surabaya! 🎉 Huge shoutout to the hosts. They even arranged a smooth ride with a university driver to whisk me off to the next location. Everything went off without a hitch!
It was a super long, brain-power-intensive, but totally awesome day. Now? I'm signing off for some serious, undisturbed beauty sleep. No alarm clock is being set for tomorrow morning. That, my friends, is what I call a vacation win! Wish me sweet dreams (maybe I'll dream of perfectly propagating waves).
Okay, that's all for now, bye! 👋
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