I am writing this while being almost finished with my experience in Saudi Arabia. Here, I wish to recollect thoughts about my perspective on the country, and my choice to be there for three months. First, I hope I will not make it sound like the classic review of these places. The reason for me to go to Saudi Arabia was twofold: I wished to gain research experience, and I wanted to do so in a field that was distant from my previous attempts. This is because I am still very junior and do not want to crystallise into one single topic from the beginning. For this reason, I am very happy of how it turned out to be.

Moving on to the actual place, the project of KAUST is amazing. Never anywhere in the world there is a city built for the purpose of hosting a university. The effort to do so is remarkable, and has to be recognised. I felt great here, and would do this again anytime. The quality of research is even more enhanced by the fact that here research is valued, a lot.

Moving to the human side, differences do not create boundaries, and challenges are interesting, so when going to another continent, it is always stimulating, just differently. Obviously, moving to the US one will clash with some things, and moving to the Middle East some others will appear. Nevertheless, the effect is the same: growing as a human being and strengthening personality. I have learned so much from being here, especially in terms of how prejudice kills interactions, and often word of mouth does not relate with actual reality (in the sense of: you never know until you try). I come back to my home country with a different view on the struggles that the people of Saudi Arabia have, as well as their strengths. Here, you can smell that there is an identity, that goes well beyond the concept of country, and I feel like it is very suggestive to experience it live. In the desert, in the cities, in the shops, these people leave a mark. On the personal side, especially the last month has not been easy for me. The stress of wanting to do research, the judgment from admission processes, and the deadlines came all together. Thankfully, I can say that without a doubt this trying period made me learn a lot.

Thank you KAUST, and thank you Saudi Arabia, I have never felt so welcomed by the local people, and will always cherish this memory with me. I hope that people from far away in Europe will understand this, and come visit you, enhancing the globalisation that you so much wish to have.