Any guest lecture or coffee break is an excuse to start up a conversation with someone new. I’ve also been asking individuals if they’d be interesting in chatting with me one-on-one about their research. One graduate student walked me around the park across the street, showed me to her favorite castle and told me all about her work and her time living in the area. I’m definitely still in the process of integrating into the community at the institute. It’s hard to meet new people when you start working somewhere new, and it can be even harder if you’re not sure what behavior is appropriate in the culture of a new country. Having lunch with the new professor reassured me that it’s ok to test the waters. There are still some cultural barriers between me and my new colleagues, but I’m trying to be less afraid of seeming too different. The whole point of me being here is to make connections with other scientists and learn about their culture along the way. Now that I’ve started to break the ice, I’m able to work toward doing just that.
