Hi Everyone! I've been here for about a month and finished jumping through (most of) the logistical hoops of moving and starting a job. I feel like it's time for me to share a little about my experiences so far.
First, Baltimore is wonderful. It's just a big enough city that there is something fun going on every day of the week, from free concerts to outdoor movies to food truck festivals. It's just small enough that nothing is too far away and, after only a month, I have already run into people I know several times while just walking around the city. There's also a farmer's market a couple of blocks away from me every Saturday morning, which I love. I couldn't ask for more.
In terms of work, it's taken a little while to get into the swing of things, but I think it's finally starting to go smoothly. Most of my job is working with the communications department at the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) to get publicity for the research that the center produces. Right now that means "translating" a paper about oysters so that non-scientists can easily understand it, which is interesting but challenging when I know much less about the topic than the paper's authors. We had a meeting on Thursday about exactly who the brief (for this paper and others) should target, though, so I feel like I'm on a better track now than I was before.
I have also been asked to contribute in a way that I definitely didn't expect--by subbing in a lab for a researcher who will be away for a few weeks. Since I haven't been in a lab since I took Psych 101, this was initially surprising, but so far it's been pretty fun, and the research so far is yielding really cool results. It's also a great way to get up from the desk for a while to go do something pretty active.
The office environment is pretty casual and friendly- it's fun right now because there are a lot of people working at CLF in summer internships, so it's a pretty big group of people and a lot of them are very young. A lot of the employees also live in the same area as me, so it's easy to get together and they all share similar interests in food, sustainability and activities in general. One colleague even loves to hike and is planning to show me all the best places around Baltimore, which apparently aren't far away at all.
The only downside to being in Baltimore is that most of the other P55 fellows are in or near DC. It's a little far for me to get to for weekday evening gatherings, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to go down there during the year.
First, Baltimore is wonderful. It's just a big enough city that there is something fun going on every day of the week, from free concerts to outdoor movies to food truck festivals. It's just small enough that nothing is too far away and, after only a month, I have already run into people I know several times while just walking around the city. There's also a farmer's market a couple of blocks away from me every Saturday morning, which I love. I couldn't ask for more.
In terms of work, it's taken a little while to get into the swing of things, but I think it's finally starting to go smoothly. Most of my job is working with the communications department at the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) to get publicity for the research that the center produces. Right now that means "translating" a paper about oysters so that non-scientists can easily understand it, which is interesting but challenging when I know much less about the topic than the paper's authors. We had a meeting on Thursday about exactly who the brief (for this paper and others) should target, though, so I feel like I'm on a better track now than I was before.
I have also been asked to contribute in a way that I definitely didn't expect--by subbing in a lab for a researcher who will be away for a few weeks. Since I haven't been in a lab since I took Psych 101, this was initially surprising, but so far it's been pretty fun, and the research so far is yielding really cool results. It's also a great way to get up from the desk for a while to go do something pretty active.
The office environment is pretty casual and friendly- it's fun right now because there are a lot of people working at CLF in summer internships, so it's a pretty big group of people and a lot of them are very young. A lot of the employees also live in the same area as me, so it's easy to get together and they all share similar interests in food, sustainability and activities in general. One colleague even loves to hike and is planning to show me all the best places around Baltimore, which apparently aren't far away at all.
The only downside to being in Baltimore is that most of the other P55 fellows are in or near DC. It's a little far for me to get to for weekday evening gatherings, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to go down there during the year.
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