Especially in labs (since they are such small, insular environments), I sometimes find that it is easy to get sucked into the culture of a place and feel as though it is the only place in the world. I do like my lab here, but getting away from it (and Spain, more generally) for a weekend made me think more critically about it and question what it is that I personally want to get out of a job in science.
At the same time, getting space and perspective made me appreciate the things that I have here in a new way. It wasn’t until I walked through my apartment door last night that I realized that it has really started to feel like home, and I am truly comfortable both in Seville generally and in my spaces (my apartment, the rowing club, lab) in particular. It was lovely to be around the snow and the mountains in Scotland, but seeing orange trees lining the streets and the towers of Plaza de España on the horizon also made me smile. I loved the gothic architecture in Edinburgh and the very quaint houses in St. Andrews, but I also love the Giralda and the Moorish influences here. I came back to Seville feeling as though it certainly is not perfect, but it is a really wonderful place and I am lucky to live here. Even after a tough week of experiments last week, where multiple pieces of equipment inexplicably stopped working, I was excited to come into my lab today and keep working towards something that feels bigger than myself.
Having many places that feel like home is one of the greatest joys of living internationally, and even just a short weekend away reminded me that there are even more places that I can explore and eventually call home. The great thing about research is that it makes those opportunities readily available.
