Last week we still hadn't started lectures, but things were very much already happening.

On Tuesday, we all went in to greet the 500+ new students who are starting to study International Relations at UMY. On Friday, we had lunch with our IPIREL colleagues at Phuket. And then there was Sunday brunch with the whole UMY International Relations family at The Westlake, hosted by our delightful Rektor, Pak Bambang Cipto, whose many talents and kind, unassuming manner I very much admire.

On Saturday a few of the staff went up to Kaliurang, where the IR student committee was hosting the new students for a weekend event. Up the long hill, past the very imposing Universitas Islam Indonesia campus, past the large shrimp roundabout (Kaliurang means shrimp river in Javanese), to the venue. After snacks (without which no meeting in Indonesia takes place), we were taken to the big hall where 500 fresh, eager, blazer-wearing students awaited us. My new American colleague was (literally) a roaring hit. But we were all made very welcome.

We each did our little bit of encouragement. And the students responded very warmly. That's the great thing about Indonesian students, or at least about UMY students. They're warm and responsive. I miss that in other places.

It's a big moment, the beginning of your university experience. I wish them all the success in the world, and hope their current enthusiasm can launch them into their new semester with style, and buoy them up during the inevitable sticky bits that all academic enterprises experience.

This week, lectures began. There's always a lot of work involved in getting things up and running. And the first week inevitably brings hitches. But hopefully we've got off to a good start.

Had a great dinner on Thursday with some UMY alumni friends. If our new students can emulate even part of the successes and ambitions of these guys, then they'll all be doing just fine...