Needless to say, the trip to Europe was FAB-U-LOUS! My two favorite places were Barcelona and London. Barcelona had such a fun, contemporary feel to it. The parks were amazing and Gaudi's work is so inspiring and beautiful. Not to mention the nice sunny weather wasn't too different from that of Florida. In London, everything was so charming and elegant that it made me feel like I was in the middle of one of my favorite books. And there's something about the cool, cloudy weather that was relaxing and made me want to snuggle in a big comfy chair while reading one of my favorite books! We also visited Paris, Bavaria (Munich and Nuremburg), and Brussels on our epic journey and had a wonderful time all around.
Coming home was nice, too! As much as I love traveling and imagining what it would be like to live in other places, I've come to greatly appreciate not only being an American but also living in America. Every place in the world has its good and its bad, and sometimes it's easy to get bogged down by all of the bad things in your own country and think of all the good things in other countries. I've come to really appreciate everything that I can do as an American and how many great opportunities there are here in my own country. The next stage of my life in regards to location is still up in the air, but I wouldn't be surprised with myself if I limit my long-term trips abroad to my time as a graduate student instead of extending them into my post-graduate life.
I've also recently been given yet another amazing opportunity/recognition, but no details yet because it's still only partially official (lots of paperwork to do still...) While it's yet to make a big difference in my day-to-day life, it's re-ignited something inside of me that was lacking this spring. It reminded me why I got into graduate school in the first place and why I've spent my life working hard and pushing myself to be better. More details to come in later posts!
And with all of these wonderful blessings going on all around me, I only have 15 days until I leave for Japan! What an amazing opportunity to learn from a new lab and see a part of the world that I've never experienced. It's kind of bittersweet because I'll be leaving Austin at home, but the things that I'll learn in Japan and the work that he'll get done here will make it worth it for our relationship and our respective careers.
Life will be crazy when I get back, since I'm going to do my qualifying exam and submit my research proposal in October. Lots of studying, writing, and worrying about the exam(!) but it will be awesome to get that milestone out of the way after such a rewarding summer in Japan.
The next few days will be spent finishing up lab stuff (and maybe moving some samples...), packing, studying Japanese, eating hamburgers, and one last trip to the springs for some snorkeling. As always, life is crazy but incredibly rewarding and exciting!
No comments:
Post a Comment