From Scotland to England

The town of Didcot itself is more of a change for me. Back on the interview day in winter, some students fidgeted at the thought of living in such a 'dump' of 25000 inhabitants. Being used to the living with the small town folk (I grew up in a town three times smaller), I was amused by their disdain, but only until I actually got here. When the brochure for incoming students said it is a ''modern town'', I had no idea it was a colloquial term for a housing estate with a railway station. One can tell at first sight that Didcot expanded rapidly in reaction to the housing crisis in and around London – it is simply a patch of land with houses built on it and some chain stores put in the middle. Although, to be fair, I may have become too spoilt for choice after living in Edinburgh for three years. I am not losing hope, however, I still haven't managed to find a decent café here. Upon meeting my flatmate, I inquired about the existence of such a place and got laughter as the sole response.

But enough moaning – the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, where I will be spending the next 12 months, has made a much better impression on me. In contrast to the stressful, quick-paced interview day in winter, I had the chance the take closer look at the site. It feels a bit like a university without undergraduates – there is a library, lecture theatres, laboratories and, most importantly, lots of people passionate about what they do. I also very much appreciated the friendly but professional manner of my supervisors. Students often worry they will end up as a human coffee maker on their placement, but that is certainly not the case here. On the contrary, as I am a part of probably the smallest team here (it consists of three people including myself), my job will likely be fairly varied.

More time is needed for further conclusions about this stage of my studies. After my arrival three days back, I am still in what I call the ''safe mode'' – that is, having the ''I only just got here'' feeling, not knowing where things are in the flat, reluctant to really unpack and buy groceries and therefore ending up getting a takeaway every day. Obviously, this is necessary for a time, but I think I overstepped what would be a reasonable period about three times already. Now I just need to convince myself fish and chips count as a healthy meal and make it to the bistro before closing time.

One last observation: I, of course, miss home a little bit, but curiously, I largely mean a certain Edinburgh flat by that word. The very same flat where I would miss Prague three years ago. Everyone loves paradoxes, right?