Still homesick

Almost a month in Oxford now, but I still feel like I just don´t quite belong here... The lab work is getting a bit better, I've learned some new techniques, and I´m able to do my own thing a bit more. Not constantly depending on the free time of other to show me around or assist, really feels a lot better. Unfortunately, some of the other girls are having a bit of a falling out right now, which (ironically) involves another Dutch girl. This has been going on for some time now (before I came), but has now somewhat escalated. Even better, one of the girls confided in me that when they heard I came, I quote "they were curious to see if all Dutch girls were rude like her". Always nice to know people have an opinion against you even before you get there... I have to admit I imagined living abroad in Oxford a little different. Or maybe I just have too much pastel color and rainbow imagination. At least winter hasn't kicked in yet, and the weather has been mild for the last couple of weeks, which is nice when you cycle to the lab everyday. And I found Dutch stroopwafels in Tesco, which is a nice reminder of home. I just can't shake the homesickness! Maybe once I make some (more) friends? Or maybe a nice trip to Primark will do the trick ;)

Hope you had a nice weekend

With love,

Willemijn

p.s. Oh, and I didn't get the PhD position. Not that I even knew, because they didn't have the decency to send an email or anything. My supervisor just told me. Nice to pay 50 pounds for an application, but not get any form of communication whether you got the position or not... She says she still has another option for me to get a PhD position, but to be honest, right now I'm not sure if I event want it or not...

A week gone by

God, my first week in Oxford! I made it, with some ups and downs. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was bipolar... I've never felt so sad and alone, followed by happy and hopeful in such a short time period. It's days like that when you don't really feel good about yourself, that your friends and family matter the most. I'm so glad there is Skype these days! I've been calling/chatting/whatsapping/Skyping with my friends and family almost everyday since I started last Monday. Especially the first few days were bad (they make such insane long hours here!), but now I'm slowly feeling I'm starting to fit in with the group. With an all girl group, you never know. Girls can be mean as hell, but thank God this group seems willing to accept me. Maybe it had something to do with the stroopwafels (Dutch waffels) I brought in today... Win them over with sugar! The lab work hasn't really started yet, I'm just learning some new cell culture techniques. And for some reason, the cell lines I took out yesterday were all dead this morning. Luckily, the lab technician didn't understand why it happened either (we checked everything), so it wasn't completely my fault! 

With love,

Willemijn

p.s. Submitted the application for my PhD yesterday! Fingers crossed!

First day

Are first days always hard? Because for me they always seem to be. I just feel like a complete idiot all the time... Every time they asked me "do you know this?" I had to answer "no". Not a good first impression. And even though I started at 10 am (which was pretty late), I got home at 7:30 pm. I repeat 7:30 pm! And it was raining, so I got soaking wet. And to top things off, my instant dinner, which said mild, was immensely hot. I had to chuck it away, because my stomach was getting upset. Fortunately, my mum gave me a call later, which made me feel really good. I feel like such an idiot tonight. I just hope tomorrow will be better... It can't get much worse right?

Willemijn

Oxford

My first post from Oxford! Even though I've been here for a couple of days already. I arrived with my parents last Thursday, and spent the first two nights at the hotel. We had such an exhausting journey, that we didn't really do anything but eat and sleep the first day. The day after, we went to see Tim and the house, and bought some stuff for the room. Which turned out the be a lot more than we expected. For one, Tim forgot the mention that we had to bring our own duvet. So we basically run around for groceries and utilities for the entire day. When my parents dropped me on Saturday for the final time it was a little emotional. Even though it's for just 6 months, it is my (and their) first time away from home. But so far I can say I'm not really homesick, as the house is really nice (although the kitchen could do with a proper cleaning) and Tim seems nice too, if maybe a little shy. I am a nervous about tomorrow though, and starting at the lab seems really scary now. But so far so good, and of course I'll keep you updated!

With love, Willemijn