My Future Looks Dark

My future looks dark... but in a good way. I just found out that I got a fellowship to study rural well water contamination in Finland next year. It'll only REALLY be dark in the winter, during which time it will also be very very cold. In the summertime however, I will hopefully be zapped with hours and hours of sweet sunshine.

I just found out yesterday, and now that I’ve had a chance to do some serious emotional adjusting, I’m excited. I took the application process very seriously. I thought about my project, the laboratory protocols, connecting with an adviser in Tampere, working out funding, getting my adviser here at the UW to offer his support, and all of those technical details. I did not spend any time picturing myself going to Finland next year.

I’m going to miss Ana’s baby being born. At this point in my life, many of us are transitioning from students/kids/earth-wanderers to professionals/adults/parents/grown-up earth wanderers/etc. I’ll have to keep track of everyone from Finland. I’ll miss the family Christmas. That’s an enormous bummer. Unless I can get everyone to come to Finland, in which case it would be unforgettable (though dark)! Where will I come home to? Seattle? The Bay Area? Southern California? Or maybe somewhere new, like Washington DC? I have a supportive and extremely fun community here in Seattle, it’s a shame to leave, and the thought of never coming back to live here makes me sad.

Checking out Scandinavia sounds awesome! I’m looking forward to giving the language a try. I LOVE learning languages and all of the goofy stories that go along with it! Both career and vacation-wise, I’ll have lots of opportunities. My adviser in Finland has connections in Estonia, which could turn into research, but would be really fun to check out. I want to ride my bike through Estonia, regardless of research collaborations. I hear that’s the thing to do—bike tour through Estonia. I may FINALLY be able to visit our German relatives. Everyone tells me stories about them, but I’ve never even met most of them. And, ever since Adrienne got back from her Transiberian Railway adventure, I’ve been dreaming of hiking around Lake Baikal, and finding my way through the nomadic communities in Mongolia. Maybe I’ll have a chance to take that trip and do some long awaited travel through Asia, after I finish up my project in Finland.

Hmmm, there’s lot’s to think about between colony counting in the lab!