BY YI JIAHE
The common adage claims that “a picture speaks a thousand words”, and indubitably, pictures can convey details of our experiences which would otherwise require a mountain of words to express. Yet it is also true that actions speak volumes, and indeed it would take volumes do justice to the experiences we gain from said actions. As such, I would like to preface this short reflection with a message to you, the reader. Treasure this experience, for you can gain more from the trip itself than any video, poster or write up about it.
Our visit to CERN may not have been the first for the C.N. Yang Scholars Programme, but it was definitely the first for those of us who visited the research institute in 2018. For me personally, it was the first time I had visited Switzerland, or even been to Europe.
As such, the first thing that struck me was how different the city itself was, as well as the lives of those who lived in them. As the plane approached the airport, I saw no signs that CERN, housing technology on the level to uncover the mysteries of our universe, was located nearby. Rather, the first sight that greeted us as the plane descended for landing were large expanses of farmland, occupied by grazing cattle and sheep. Despite being the 2nd most populous city in Switzerland, the buildings in Geneva were sparse towards the border to France where CERN was located, and still no more than a few stories high in the heart of the city. When we left the compound in search of food at 5pm, the nearest mall was already closed, leaving us no choice but to procure our dinner at McDonalds. Yet even the familiar fast food chain was as we had expected, with prices much higher than what we would expect back home and a different assortment of foods on the menu.
In fact, the food in Switzerland remained foreign to me even as the days passed. We attempted cooking with local ingredients, trying out exotic foods such as raw beef tartar and horse meat. While I had my fill of strange flavours in Switzerland, the experience also led me to appreciate what we have back at home more.
Nevertheless, this picture tells a story of a rainy day and dampend spirits, brightened by the warmth of the locals. Not once, but twice were we offered excellent service and even food served on the house.
Of course, the trip was not all about eating; we attended lectures and more imporantly tours of the facilites in CERN. From the smaller sized particle accelerators, to the very first one used in CERN, we got to see the supporting infrastruture and learn of their histories. The scale of these smaller accelerators and the other systems which play a large role in CERN are sometimes overlooked as we attempt to share the larger picture.
On that note, simply by being there we got to experience many things, ranging from hands-on experiments, parts of CERN not highlighted by the exhibits, or even exhibits out shined by the more major parts of CERN. Nearby the cafeteria was a small solar powered fountain, meant to allow passers-by to interactively discover the effect of shade and light intensity, sun tracking in a simple non-descript display. Being nothing particularly ground-breaking, naturally it is an unknown exhibit in the compound, yet therein lies its beauty. The solar-powered fountain was one of my favourites for it was an unknown interactive exhibit, hidden in plain sight. The discovery of the fountain and interactivity of it reminded me of the joys of discovery in science and that CERN not only looks towards the frontiers in particle physics, but also exists to spread an interest in science. Similarly, we discovered a small science museum which was unfortunately closed, but also contained a number of interactive exhibits out in the open which I had a wonderful time at.
Finally, I would like to end off with one of my favourite locations we visited in Geneva, the junction as it is called. The journey there, scenery at the peak, trip back and contrast in the junction of both rivers each has a number of stories to tell, emphasizing that even pictures, said to speak a thousand words is nothing compared to the experience of doing something in person.