First day on the job



My office includes a window, tall ceiling, and ceiling fan.  These are all needed because the building is not air conditioned.  In the afternoon when temperatures exceed 30C (high 80s) and it is moderately humid by American South standards the office is hot but manageable with the fan.  The power went out for a bit Monday afternoon which made me appreciate the fan.  This is on the first floor above ground level (second floor in USA) but I was told to close the barred window when I leave for the day because snakes could come in via a tree next to the window.



I returned from lunch on my first day at work to find a worker standing on a table and just finishing the sign above my door.  The order of the names is typical here.

I will be teaching the 6th semester students (all 102 juniors in Civil Engineering) one hour a week, probably about climate change.  I will be using San Francisco Bay as a case study while teaching Postgraduate water students in Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics (which teaches hydraulics, sediment transport, and coastal engineering) two hours a week.  Monday the Departments had a joint meeting to formally introduce me and discuss my teaching and our common interests.  We drank chai (tea).  Earlier I had met the Acting Institute Director, Deans, and the Registrar. Chai is typically offered, and it is impolite to refuse, so I drank a lot of chai.  Fortuneately, it is really good here.