Twisting by the pool

Still here in a very hot and humid Kuala Lumpur, attending the four day long IFIP LYICT Conference - 'ICT and Learning for the Net Generation'. Last night we had a memorable evening barbeque style Conference Dinner by the side of the hotel's luxury swimming pool. I don't wish to sound twisty, but it wasn't all glamorous. We had to send the wine back because it was off. And we were visited by plenty of insects too. Fortunately, I didn't get bitten once by a mosquito, for which I am truly grateful. The damn things can carry the dengue fever virus. Now they tell me...

I have eaten prawns every which way now. Even tried sushi last night, but I won't be doing that again. 'Be adventurous, Steve' said one of my hosts, encouragingly, pointing to a plate of large spider crabs. I looked closely. I thought I saw it move, so I did too. Sharpish. In the opposite direction. But generally the food here is great and the company is excellent. For the strong stomached among us, there is even Prawn Sambal (a very, very hot curry) on offer at breakfast.

I have met so many interesting people from every corner of the globe, and I am in no doubt that several friendships have been forged that won't stop here in KL. Today I spent an intensive but rewarding time chairing the first of two days of working conference, in which my group of 20 academics explored the theme of 'Digital Divides and Cultural Understanding'. They came up with some very interesting research proposals. The results will be up on a wiki over the next few weeks, but we are not sure what we will be doing yet, with our musings. There is the option to write joint authored journal articles, or more likely, proposals for conference papers for next year's IFIP event, which will be held in Brazil. We will see tomorrow when we do the wrap up plenary sessions.

In the meantime, jet lag is kicking in again, but later each day. Just in time for me to fly back and endure another four days adjusting at the other end. Oh, deep joy....