This is definitely the most bizarre science event I’ve ever attended 😛
The building where we have our lectures is gorgeous — we go upstairs for coffee breaks and the room has only a half-wall looking out over the valley and the ocean. It’s usually fogged in by the afternoon, but this morning was sunny and amazing.
I’ve meet several senior scientists who are kind, encouraging, and really interesting to talk to, but the leader of this school is something of a cautionary tale in favor of timely retirement. He can’t hear, so every speaker is yelled at to speak closer into their microphone. He doesn’t allow any historical accounts about European science that don’t specifically highlight his own contributions (and when speakers *do* forget to highlight him, they’re promptly interrupted…). It’s undeniable that this man was vital for the field, but I fear he’s beginning to become a caricature of himself. Two days in a row lunch has been delayed by an hour, not because of scientific discussion, but because of recaps (by him) of everything he did to become famous.
But my poster looks nice and my talk today was well-received, so I’m happy, even if I only found out I was *giving* a talk yesterday… They organize everything last minute here!
I did manage to commit a grievous error though — today at lunch I took the parmesan cheese on the table and sprinkled it on my salad. ON. MY. SALAD. Simultaneous gasp of horror from all the Italians at the table…. they’re so crazy! For them pizza + salad is weird, they do pizza with french fries 😛
untherapy abroad 