Yesterday we drove down to the University of Miami to hear the head of mission at the Polish embassy speak about Polish-American cooperation. The talk was held in the Frost Institute for Chemistry and Molecular Science on a part of the campus I had never been to before. I had never been a fan of the UM campus; it always seemed a modern and uninteresting hodgepodge, with none of the stately beauty of northern colleges, or even UF and FSU. But I was charmed yesterday when I found, on the lawn in front of the institute, a collection of hammocks strung between palm trees. Some were green, others were orange, and a number were occupied by students, their bags resting on the grass below them. The hammock is a symbol of languid relaxation, and to find it in rows – like al fresco carrels – on a university green was as endearing as it was surprising. Of course, it’s exactly what one needs after a lecture on molecular science.
