Packing up and Winding Down
Today is officially the last day of the APSS 2011 program.
It’s been a rough week as the lectures just keep coming and the “competition” project has been ramping up to the results turn in and presentations today. When you’re in a summer school program with a bunch of other graduate students, you know they’re pretty much all over-achievers and are highly competitive, even if just with themselves. So, even though it’s the last few days in a foreign country (for the most of us), much of our hours have been spent hunched over a keyboard, mashing maniacally on our computers, trying to coax mode shapes and natural frequencies out of our simulations.
APSS 2011 - Team 2 Representin'
I think most of the Americans are more than ready to get home. In addition to the culture shock that’s finally boiled past the novel phase is that with all of this project work, most of us would rather actually be working on our research! While we’ve all learned a lot while we’ve been here and have great opportunities to see and do, nothing can really replace driving around in your own car and having the choice between taco van or tandoori truck for your midnight snack.
Too bad I can’t take the friends I’ve made here back home with me.
Tomorrow…. I mean… today we will present on our projects and have a farewell party. It will certainly be bittersweet – while I’m more than ready to finally be able to sleep a full night in my own bed, I’ll be leaving a lot of people that I really hope I’ll get to see again in the future. What I can look forward to is that now I probably have another 20 reasons to travel; I need to go visit some of my friends!
Seoul and Tokyo, here I come!
Hope I don’t cry at the party….
