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+## Visiting CMU!
+
+## Hello from CMU
+- I have been here since Sunday around noon, and it's been incredible and another highlight for me again this year!
+- I was picked up from the airport by a mutual friend and PhD student I had met at a summer school last year,
+dropped off my hotel, and then I met up with Jenny (who was flying out the following day!), who took me out to dinner and showed
+me around the city. It was incredibly clear, and we headed to campus for a brief tour. This was pretty smart of her, because
+it really facilitated my heading to campus the following day to work and get stuff set up for the talk, as well as meeting persons.
+- What they did was really smart; in the evening, the day before my talk, she sent out several emails to faculty and students
+to let them know I was in town, and to connect me with relevant people I should meet. It meant that the following day, my
+inbox was pretty much overflowing with people who were interested in meeting me, excited to hear about my talk, show me what
+they were working on, and the whole experience was really just quite incredible.
+- I had been meeting with students and faculty since 9:15am, all the way up to 3:30pm, and we started the talks at 3:30pm, and
+they were all really interesting! I found out that in their lab, PhD students have to all give a talk to the department each
+year, and they are given feedback on how to improve, etc. It's such a really creative and helpful way to help PhD students
+get accustomed to talking about their work and communicating their work. I was also told that sometimes this can be traded
+if one has given a talk at a conference, so that is also a motivation (if you didn't want to give a talk to your department)
+to publish and get your work accepted at a conference!
+- I can't reiterate how thoughtful and kind everyone has been! I really, really enjoyed my time there!
+- I was also able to finally meet a professor with whom I have been chatting for several years, who is a mentor to me.
+We were supposed to meet briefly, for five minutes, but we ended up chatting for around 17 minutes, and I am so sorry to his
+students for making him late today! But it was such an incredible experience to finally meet him, and one of my highlights
+was hearing him talk about a postdoc he hired; he spoke about his students in such a caring way; it was inspirational to hear
+someone just care so much about seeing their students succeed!
+- Finally, I got back to my hotel and did laundry; amazingly, my hotel has laundry! I haven't felt in a long time like I
+have connected so much with a lab in such a short time! It was the chillest, kindest group of people and quite a whirlwind.
+I'm grateful to have had the opportunity!
+
+## Here are some photos!
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu1.png" width="200">
+
+- spinach and shrimp dumplings! So good!
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu2.png" width="200">
+
+- sesame balls! Since Berkeley, I have been going hard on these things; they are so good! I'm hoping during summer
+I can find some more since I'll be back in the Bay!
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu3.png" width="200">
+
+- Fish fillet with rice. Also very good!
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu4.png" width="200">
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu5.png" width="200">
+
+- This sort of just blew my mind! So amazing!
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu6.png" width="200">
+
+- The three sisters were visible. It was so clear but also windy in Mt Washington.
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu7.png" width="200">
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu8.png" width="200">
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu9.png" width="200">
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu10.png" width="200">
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu11.png" width="200">
+
+- downtown Pittsburgh
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu12.png" width="200">
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu13.png" width="200">
+
+- Okay, obligatory photo together for my friend from Berkeley, who told us we were his two favourite people and so
+we had to meet! Did not disappoint!
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu14.png" width="200">
+
+- Sam took me on a tour of one of the highest spots in the area, which was at the University of Pittsburgh.
+We went up to the 36th floors and the views were incredible!
+
+<img src="/images1/cmupics24/cmu15.png" width="200">
+
+- How can you ever have a bad day with this view!?
+
+## Thrilled and happy!
+- Visiting the lab and the campus was a thrilling experience I will never forget. I left thinking so highly of this
+place and all the people I met. They were just great people, super passionate, creative, and genuinely lovely people.
+I've felt like it's been such a gift this year to have been giving the opportunity to be in such a positive space, both
+during this time and at Berkeley. Also, in the midst of all of that, I was working on research and a paper, and I felt
+like they really made it a healthy and productive space within which I could work. You really got the sense that the people
+here work hard but are also just good citizens, and that was something I super appreciated. Again, I'm super thankful for
+the opportunity and had an absolute blast!
+- Also, I bought another quantum book today, as I got a gift card from an organization I'm in. I'm hoping it arrives in time
+for my next flight, so I can read it along the way!
+
+## And that's it!