Maybe it's the wrong image I have from Unofficial Day at UIUC, but Dublin (Ireland) seemed to me quite green. Although, I only had the chance to be at its airport. Maybe, I also got some influence from the airline I traveled with, which proudly showed of the green colors. The overnight flight wasn't as tiring and desperately long as I was preparing myself for.
...and Geneva, gray.
Whoever mentioned the similarities between European and Mexican bureaucracy must have had some experience at CERN. I've been here for a couple of days, and already felt the differences between the straightforward procedures in USA, and the "helical" methods at CERN. For instance, I haven't been able to get internet access from my computer, 'cause I need to register it first. But I can't do that before completing my own registration at the User's Office, which is inconveniently closed Wednesday morning... so, if I'm lucky, that will be completed tomorrow, and everything should go smoothly from there. Or not.
As expected, Geneva has been rainy the past few days. Althought, I have to admit, t hasn't gotten to the point where it becomes a problem, besides, I'm currently living in the CERN hostel, which is located at a few meters from the office building. Ah, and don't tell anyone, but I got an umbrella, which I used today, without feeling a traitor of the sure-we-do-love-the-rain club.
CERN could be described as an entanglement of confusingly numerated buildings, which are equally confusing (internal halls that seem to go nowhere.) But, hey, this is about to become the world's largest accelerator in a few months! I could also say that is rather cozy. I definitely like that. There're lots of people from everywhere. I get to listen to as many languages as my brain can process (at least I overhear a couple of semi-understandable conversations.)
Tuesday afternoon, a couple of hours after arriving to the hostel, I went to my first meeting at CERN (it happened to be the internal UIUC meeting) and I have to say, I never imagined how amusingly critical was the situation of trying to connect at the poorly equipped conference rooms at CERN. Now I feel I understand the difficulties other at CERN have encountered in the past, while we were comfortably waiting for them at Urbana.
Oh please, don't misunderstand this post. I'm doing everything but complain about the last couple of days. I'm certainly enjoying my time, and looking forward this challenging experience (that sounded rather fake and elaborated, but I felt it natural... am I becoming fake and elaborated? Don't think so.) I admit it's kind of frightening to realize how things are going to change, an how I need to keep up with work, while dealing with new personal issues.
I do believe every new place, unquestionably, represents a new me. Most of the time, I've failed in making this new me, a better me. But, you never know, this might actually be the one and only chance to improve myself, or simple loose myself (along with those wrong do's that come with me, whatever this means.) Or not.
Right now, I have to finish my registration, take some trivial safety training (I know, they shouldn't be trivial, but apparently they are), and of course, get my computer to connect to the CERN web, o I can finally start working in what I was already assigned to.
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Much for two days.
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Arely can be found at 40 2-D15 temporarily, but eventually she'll move somewhere else. She believes in the magical power of speaking another language (even if badly), and likes Tequila better than Vodka, as any honest Mexican. She can be reached by the usual method, and would be thrilled to have news from the people she's already missing... or missing even more (for those whom she's been missing for more than a while.)
* * *
Having written that in a hopefully generally understood language (I don't doubt your reading but my writing abilities), I wish no one thinks wrongly of this (unlikely temporal) decision. At least, I'm not writing in some ineligible characters, or even worse, some ineligible thoughts.
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