Hej från Sverige!
I'm writing this post over a nice cup of coffee from the KTH kitchen before I set out on a FULL day of lab work. Yep, I've got my own experiments to run and data to collect (notably not analyze, because I have not a clue on what a CV graph tells you). I've sort of moved into the second stage of my internship where I am not learning so much, and instead running controls and experiments to verify that we know what's going on.
But let me back up, where am I?!? Well, a little over a year ago, I was perusing an article for a lab report when I realized the authors were all Swedish! Essentially after tossing the idea around a little bit, exchanging some emails, 6:00 am calls (noon for the swedes), and one fellowship later, I was on a plane to the land of the midnight sun!
My dad came with me to help me get through the airport and settle into my lodgings for the summer. I had time before my job actually started so I also got the chance to wander around the city and see what's poppin'. But then the vacation portion of my trip came to a close as I hopped on the commuter line (Pendletåg) for the first time and rode off into the city to that ivory tower, castle on a hill, KTH.
So my job for this summer is as a research assistant in Dr. James Gardner lab, a group of masters, PhD, and post-doc researchers all working in the realm of metal-organic chemistry. Our host institution is Kungliga Tekniska Högskola (veteskap och konst), the Royal Institute of Technology (science and art). This university is at the very northern end of Stockholm and is "a public research university that conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university".
So far, I've been here a little over a month and it has been amazing; I love working here. Everyday I walk into Teknikrigen 30 and either head to the office to do some data analysis/ reading (either articles or my current self-assigned assignment Electrochemical Methods; Fundamental and Applications") or over to the lab to check our experiments. I've been given full access to the labs and stockrooms and machine spaces and really work on my own time. I feel for the first time that I am really doing research.
My supervisor, Mahboubeh, is also super nice and we've stuck a nice balance where she gives me responsibilities, but also is there to instruct and guide me in the process. And this is what really has stuck me since being here. At williams, we are primarily a teaching institution, we are preparing students through lessons and creative thinking, but there is only a soft pressure to get into a lab and DO research. Our facilites pale in comparison to what KTH has and the attitude of the people here is more formal, or at least, more science driven. This isn't to say that williams is bad, I just mean that each one has their own guiding principles. Both of these have been enjoyable to experience and as I continue through this summer, I am learning not only the techniques and ways of conducting oneself in a research setting, but also what it means to be a full time researcher, where that takes over your time as school, or at least becomes the center of it.
This is all important to me since I am planning on attending graduate school and aiming for a PhD in chemistry, at some point hopefully securing a professorship position someplace. There are a lot of steps in between those two points though and so I, or really my mom, have to remind myself that I have to take things one step at a time and enjoy the moment.
And enjoying the moment I have been! Its been a little hard to balance work + training + having fun, but I find times to go work at different coffee shops, jump in the lake in Stockholm after workouts, go to museums/events. So far, the notable things I have done are going up north to Nörrfãllsviken (or something like that, I don't want to go look it up right now), for midsummer with my host family. There, I was very inspired to really make the effort to learn Swedish, which isn't nearly as hard (or easy) as I thought it would be (there are so many words that have "för" in them and I can never remember them). Also, I feel like the universe is affirming me as a Chemistry and FRENCH major, since my "best" friend here is a born and bred frenchman. Simon and I have lunch together and sometimes go out into the city after work, and he has introduced me to some of his other French acquaintances here at KTH. It seems as if as the swedes all leave for holiday, the French move in.
Even with the standard study-abroad douleurs (a little loneliness, despondency from time to time, panic at seeing something cost 500 kr), this experience has been great so far and I am so excited for it to continue as the more time I spend here, the easier the basic things become and the more exciting things arise.
I'll definitely post again, but for right now, bye/hej då!
(please excuse any typos or anything weird sounding, I wrote this in one sitting and did 0 proof reading)
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