Familiar Comforts

So it's been about a month since I've posted about how things are going here at Utrecht and that's for a number of reasons.  I always want to have a nice coherent story to tell about my life in these posts but it often works out that this story bounces all over the place and I can't always manage it. So as a result, I'm just going to talk about my life the way it is, jumbled and fun.

This past month has been the most academically intensive of my time here so far.  We jumped into a 3 week section on molecular neuroscience and although I have some background and experience in the field, it was still demanding and cognitively exhausting at some points.  In addition to this block, we also had our midterm exam and the largest paper thus far.  Although I've had the grade scheme explained to me, it's still foreign and so it's hard to know what to expect.  If there's anything I hate, it's uncertainty.  So you can only imagine how this new grade scheme may have set me a little on edge!  But it's all over now and I'm happy enough with my grades.  I could always do better but I'm happy to have it over with.  Now that I've taken one exam I can better understand and prepare for the final exam next week!!

I continue to be blessed in the people who surround me here.  I've been able to connect with a number of great people and it has made adjusting to moving here much easier.  It's great to have international friends because you can connect over cultural differences and struggles that inherently come with being abroad and it's also great having dutch friends because they can help you out in the opposite way by teaching you more about their culture and generally helping you out by for example reading and translating the soup of the day for you....everyday.

Friday was our last day of classes and it was a bit sad.  I'm happy that the fundamentals course is over but I'll miss seeing all of my classmates everyday and sharing lunch together. I hope we all make an effort to see each other every few weeks and get together for nights out!

My *big news* is that I've chosen my internship for the next 9 months (finally!).  I'll be doing it in amsterdam which isn't the ideal since I'll have to commute but I'm positive that it will be worth it.  I'm working with transgenic mice and chronic stress modeling with attention to neurodevelopment.  What really sealed the deal for me was the opportunity to learn a number of biological and behavioral techniques.  I'm also looking forward to this part of my masters.  Doing hands on research was a huge part of my excitement with this program.  I'll start working in a few weeks and then leave for a vacation at home for 3 weeks over xmas.

One of the reasons why I named this post familiar comforts is because although I've been adjusting well and enjoying it here, I miss silly things from home.  I miss knowing what sizes I wear in shoes and clothes.  I miss going to one store and being able to find everything I might be looking for in one trip.  Here I have to wander around to different stores for different items.  It makes it a little harder for me because I'm just unfamiliar with the stores so I don't have as many "go-tos".  All of these examples are very silly and shouldn't make a difference and generally they don't but occasionally I want what I know.  I think it comes down to missing familiarity in my daily life.  I'm always working to create new familiars for myself but it's still a challenge.  And in good form, I'm giving myself more challenges by moving my daily work to another city! I guess I'm addicted to trying new things :)

Going home will satisfy those cravings for tacos and breakfast burritos with green chile.  I'll get to go skiing, spend time with great friends and see my family.  It's maybe a little silly to go back home so soon but at the same time, I can be sure that my family won't be working and friends will be home for the holidays.  It's surprising that I've only been living here for a few months.  I still have so much to learn and experience in this city and country!  Hopefully a little fluency in dutch is a part of that formula too.