When going abroad, you never really know what to expect. For instance, I never thought I would end up living with 8 other Dutch students. And although I thought I knew the USA, I am continuously surprised by many things. Take American politics where things just keep getting crazier. But even more astonishing to me is the fact that racism is an everyday problem and Americans seem to deal with it by being extremely politically correct.

During the week I am of course busy working. The lab I joined aims to treat diseases by using cellular and molecular therapies, thereby designing and creating biomaterials to reach these goals. The lab’s research really is world class, which makes it very interesting and at the same time quite challenging. My own goal here is to try and model the effect the surrounding of cells has on protein production, which turns out to be a bit more difficult than I hoped.

Whenever I am not working, I try to see as much as possible of Boston and the USA. Night life in Boston is quite similar to that in Eindhoven; everything closes at 2 am. The difference is there is no such thing as ‘De Hoek’, so there is no getting food before going home.

Apart from Boston, there are many interesting places to visit. New York, Washington DC and the White Mountains are well within reach. Further away is an option too, I just returned from a road trip to Miami and as it turns out night life there is not at all similar to that in Eindhoven…