For the second cultural immersion event, I went to the TriPython project night in Durham. It was sort of the opposite of the Open Mic, in that there was almost no talking for the whole event; instead, it was a table full of people working silently on their computers. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was surprised as it had been described as a more collaborative sort of environment. However, I have no objection to a quiet work space, and it did allow us to focus on our projects. I don’t think that silence was the rule; perhaps nobody felt comforatable breaking it after the atmosphere was established. I can definitely see the value of such an event, especially if one does not happen to be in an academic program; it’s a good way to be around other who are interested in programming without going into potentially stressful social situations. The option to start a discussion is also available, so it can be whatever the attendees make of it.