The world at least makes some sense again: I regained access to my research campus this afternoon after being banned since last Friday for administrative complications. According to the Pasteur (my research campus), the Pierre and Marie Curie University (my degree awarding institute), the Ecole des Neurosciences de Paris (my funding school), and the French government, I am officially a PhD student. I'm still not yet allowed to work in France thus I cannot have a doctoral contract, but this seems like the last hurdle before I can return to the regular grind of lab and trying to convince someone's insurance that the staircase to my bedroom really should not be supported by the handle of a broomstick anymore.
Even if things keep on going wrong in the world of administration, my social life is at least taking a turn for the better. I'm finally starting to develop some good groups of friends here. Since June I've been jointly organizing monthly Pub Nights for the young MIT alums in Paris along with Sidney, another MIT undergrad alum. We got together on this initiative after some initial prodding from the MIT Alumni Association in coordination with Susan Hockfield's visit to Paris last March. Last night, the Ecole des Neurosciences de Paris student reps organized their first of what will become monthly socials. Paloma's apartment was filled wFor the first time in a while it seemed I really had made a good choice in selecting this PhD program not just for the European quality of life but also for my intellectual growth and development: what a phenomenally rich cultural dialogue! My MIT AXΩ ties seem to be holding up surprisingly well overseas: I'm looking forward to welcoming a few sisters for a visit next week and I've been happy to have news from multiple sisters who have just moved or are about to move right here to Paris. And of course there's Valentin, who has done a lot to make this city feel much less lonely.
Having just passed my first year anniversary of my arrival in Paris, I am starting to see signs for events I remember. The second time around this city is no longer so intimidatingly novel. It's beginning to feel a lot more familiar and more like something you might call home. Things are making a bit more sense. It's nice not to just be a tourist here.
Even if things keep on going wrong in the world of administration, my social life is at least taking a turn for the better. I'm finally starting to develop some good groups of friends here. Since June I've been jointly organizing monthly Pub Nights for the young MIT alums in Paris along with Sidney, another MIT undergrad alum. We got together on this initiative after some initial prodding from the MIT Alumni Association in coordination with Susan Hockfield's visit to Paris last March. Last night, the Ecole des Neurosciences de Paris student reps organized their first of what will become monthly socials. Paloma's apartment was filled wFor the first time in a while it seemed I really had made a good choice in selecting this PhD program not just for the European quality of life but also for my intellectual growth and development: what a phenomenally rich cultural dialogue! My MIT AXΩ ties seem to be holding up surprisingly well overseas: I'm looking forward to welcoming a few sisters for a visit next week and I've been happy to have news from multiple sisters who have just moved or are about to move right here to Paris. And of course there's Valentin, who has done a lot to make this city feel much less lonely.
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| We went to a med student masquerade on a boat on the Seine earlier this week, giving me at last a real reason to buy my first Venetian mask. I relished that formal event excitement which grad students just don't get like the undergrads. |
Having just passed my first year anniversary of my arrival in Paris, I am starting to see signs for events I remember. The second time around this city is no longer so intimidatingly novel. It's beginning to feel a lot more familiar and more like something you might call home. Things are making a bit more sense. It's nice not to just be a tourist here.
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