My first week in Delft

Delft is a nice, small and historic town. I think it is also much nice than Melbourne or Sydney. It's old, and the canals add much beauty to the scenery. I enjoy cycling around the city and jog along the canal. Most of the time I cycle or jog alone. Occasionally I went out with some new friends here. People are very nice and interactive, esp. those graduate students from our group. I think the fellowship in the research group is healthy and delightful. Some foreign graduate students really take effort to organise group activities. I tell myself that I will join this activities as much as I can during weekends.

Yesterday night my 'boss' invited three of his research guests (me and two Americans) to his house for dinner, which make a very memorable experience. The interesting part was that we began our dinner at around 7 pm, and chat until 11pm at night. Since it is summer the sky gets dark only by 10 pm. The host played some classical music in the dinning hall, and occasionally there were long quite moments where everyone was just listening to the classical. Wow, I never experience such kind of moment. In Penang, in a gathering of similar kind, I usually won't 'allow' moment of silence to happen. But the experience last night was different. its romantic and special to me.

For the last few days I managed to do something that I almost can't hardly do successfully in Penang: I manage to wake up early (typically before 8 am), and manage to do a short period of mediation after waking up. My plan is that I wish to change as much as I manage some life style or daily habit, and also to raise myself to a higher intellectual level during this sabbatical leave period. I think in Penang I was always very 'huaxin' - flowery heart-ed, and can hardly able to concentrate for long hours to do extended period of study or thinking. Here I will try to change that. I actually admire the westerners who generally has good degree of concentration and discipline. By associate myself with many such intellectual I wish to also gain more such quality.

09 June 2009 6:15