This post is a "prequel" to my adventures, and its sole purpose is to set the stage. For those who either don't know me or need a refresher, I graduated with my Master's Degree a little less than a week ago and am now embarking on two internships abroad over the next 9 months (3 months in Iceland and 6 in Spain).
It's currently 5pm on June 12th, 2008. In less than 24 hours, I'll be well over the Atlantic on my way to Reykjavik, which is the capital and main city of Iceland. I'll be working and living there until the end of August for a company called Mannvit, which amongst other engineering specialties has a lot of experience in Energy. My job will be to look into the environmental impacts of Geothermal energy and to assess its likely legislation and roadblock considerations should the company decide to expand such technologies into the US.
Today has been hectic. I spent a few hours at the Spanish consulate working on my visa (that adventure starts right after Iceland in September), but thankfully it worked out ok. I was pretty nervous since this was my one and only chance to get all the required materials submitted in the proper format.
Following that experience, furious packing coupled with shipping out packages to parents ensued (they are wonderful for being such a trusty storage locker). This also involved me walking for 15 minutes with a 30lb box on my head - a little trick I learned in Ghana. Multiple bags of clothes were then deposited to The Salvation Army, and with that my room is finally starting to look empty. According to my count, I have boarded the campus shuttle 7 times today.
As I write this, I can't help but feel that my 9 month stay at MIT has gone by remarkably fast. I find this an interesting contrast because most days were agonizingly slow. Probably because of my personality, I feel it's better to focus on the positive aspects of my experiences here, and as such I thought I'd post a few pictures of Cambridge and Boston which I particularly enjoy. Flipping through my pictures has also helped me to get closure, and to let reality sink in.
The first one is probably the favorite shot I've gotten from my apartment, and it overlooks downtown Boston at sunrise.
This one was taken walking along the Charles River and it also covers the Boston skyline on a Spring day. Although the weather was especially windy, there remained no shortage of brave souls attempting to sail.
And no summary of recollections around MIT would be complete without a shot of the picturesque dome in the center of campus. This is one I took in the dead of winter on my way to an early morning class.
That's it for Cambridge and Boston. I hope you're just as eager to read about my experiences as I am to have them. I promise to post as often as I have interesting stories to tell, and the next one should start with the good stuff!
1 comment:
First Iceland and now SPAIN!? Congratulations on graduating from MIT - I mean I know its not that great of a school or very well known, but at least you got to hang out in Boston over the winter! :)
I'm really looking forward to keeping in touch and tracking your progress as you immerse yourself in these internships. You have actually been an inspiration to me to devote my own career to alternative energy (I have always been interested, but couldn't decide which of many environmental paths I wanted to follow).
I'm honored to have you as a friend,
Nick
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