Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Home Sick for somewhere not technically your home

I couldn't find an exact term for the feeling described in the post title, but that is how I feel right now. I've been back in Tucson for a little over a week now and there are aspects of Grenoble that I miss: the mountains and their monolayer of green trees; the eminently walkable city with smaller specialty shops lining the streets; the ability to take a train anywhere within the country; and of course the yummy cheese. Of course I can't discount that the sum of my feelings incorporate much more than the scenery and food. Michel's lab was very hospitable and I was able to make good friends and colleagues, my friends Emily and Alli were a blast when it came to traveling about the country and into Belgium and Germany, and of course hanging out with Craig in the beginning eased transitioning into a foreign country much easier. I have to say, I got very lucky. Lucky that Craig and I were able to come to France thanks to the ACS GREET Fellowship, and experience different European lifestyles. It would be mind-numbing to try and qualitatively describe in words my feelings towards my 7 weeks over in another country. But I can say I'm happy.

Hopefully the opportunity will arise to visit Grenoble again during my graduate career, and, if not that, at least sometime within the not-so-distant-future (I refrain here from trying to put a quantitative value because it all depends on which side of the "break-even" line entropy decides to lie on). Again, I'd like to thank the ACS GREET program for this fabulous opportunity to not only travel to another country but also begin a lasting collaboration with the Vivaudou group, whom, in my opinion, made the trip out there very enjoyable.

Au revoir for now, but hopefully not forever.

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