Yogyakarta

Greetings from Yogyakarta where we are experiencing high temperatures and 90% humidity. We have had some very heavy afternoon thunderstorms but no flooding.

 Mid-semester exams begun on April 15^th. We had a ten minute oral exam to avoid the “temptations” to use GPTchat and other Internet Artificial Intelligence tools. Our Tourism Economics students have finished their radio podcasts about local museums. They are now doing their participative field research as “tourists” evaluating museums. It is a good learning experience. We are planning a May Day event to try to promote our tourism program. Worker Day is a national holiday so the students do not have to attend lectures. We are asking various tourism professionals to share their experiences in the field. Fortunately, tourism is a very multi-disciplinary field. We are trying to attract our own students from the Economics, English Language, Psychology and Pharmacy Faculties. In addition, we also hope to attract people in their mid-life who are contemplating a change of careers. Please keep our success in your prayers.

Personally, I have spent a lot of this free time preparing the Keynote Speech for our on-line international conference of the Blue Economy. It focuses on the need for more research about our oceans. They are somewhat neglected. We know more about the surface of the moon and Mars than we do about the oceans. The conference is “free” because it is completely online. Please pray that we get a global audience interested in doing authentic research in this vital area. Millions of people depend on the oceans for their work and food, especially in developing countries. Because the high seas are outside the jurisdiction of any government, there are some serious ethical and moral issues involved in the use and exploitation of the oceans.

Be assured of our thoughts and prayers during these especially troubled times. One of the key activities to increase our happiness is to spend quality time counting our blessings. It is a very wise advice.