SLAC… A Great Place to Have Lunch

A few days ago, during the SLAC Summer Institute program, I was having lunch at the SLAC cafeteria when a thought struck me.

"What a great environment to have lunch."

What made me say that?

Well, as I sat there, I realized that I was having lunch with four very different, yet very similar individuals. One was a young, female physicist from Romania, another was a young, male physicist from Germany. Both were at SLAC for the conferences on dark matter.

Rounding out the group were two coworkers, one from Australia and the other originally from Scotland. As you could expect, the ranges of experiences and viewpoints in any topic imaginable would vary, and stimulating conversation would ensue. As it happens, that day we talked about drunk driving laws and general alcohol tolerances of different cultures.

This may not have a lot to do with my education in the way of journalism or particle physics, but it was very good, I think, for life lessons in general. And it's like that all the time at SLAC. There are many permanent residents from every country imaginable, and there are always conferences or meetings going on that attract an even larger international crowd.

It's a great environment to live in, and I think Americans in general could benefit from working in such places. There are many different views on many different topics and many different cultures to learn about. Too often, I think, we get stuck in our own country and don't broaden our horizons. Sure there are differences between Boston, San Francisco, Ohio, Miami, and Texas, but they pale to the differences between France, Spain, Germany, and Romania, which occupy an area even smaller than the United States.

It's not our fault there aren't many other countries around with strikingly different cultures, but we would do well to remember there are other countries out there, and try to visit them once in a while.