During the ride from the AAG meetings/hotel to the airport, a fellow passenger in the van was a scholar from Switzerland. His flight was, of course, canceled. But, he was heading to the airport because he figured that going to the airport would take less time than being on the phone--apparently the system told him that the projected wait time, due to call volumes, was at least 75 minutes!
Meanwhile, even as we were only half way to the airport, he got a message from his collaborator that Friday would be the earliest he would be able to leave. This is the second time he has been stranded like this--he was apparently vacationing in the US when the events of 9/11 unfolded :(
A day earlier, at a talk, I was sitting adjacent to a group of grad students from Scandinavia--they seemed to be happy at the thought of an extended visit in the US for which their universities cannot fault them. I tell you, it all depends on where you are viewing the event from .... perspectives do differ ....
The best comment I overheard at the conference related to all these? Hasn't Iceland caused enough troubles even before this volcanic eruption? Obviously, the reference was to Iceland's role in
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