Première journée de travail!

Early morning rain drops pounded furiously on my window, serving as an alarm to get me out of bed for my first day of work at the Curie Institute. Despite nature's rather rude awakening, I placed my feet on the floor and a smile on my face, encouraged by the knowledge that in two hours I would be surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the field of biomedical research. But first: breakfast. My host, Nadia, had stopped by the boulangerie for a baguette and croissants moments before I descended the stairs for my "petit dejeuner," so I savored the fresh bread and some juice while going over the bus route in my head.
After getting ever so slightly lost, I managed to meet up with Allison and Heydi outside a café and we entered the Curie Institute for the first time together. On the fourth floor (troisième étage) we found the Houdusse research laboratory where I will work for the next two weeks. After a brief tour, Allison and Heydi departed, and I was instructed to follow Charles, one of the younger researchers in the lab. He bears a striking resemblance to an acquaintance of my sister's who, oddly enough, has plans to study in France next fall. As I trailed Charles around to various equipment and supply rooms, I tried my best understand what exactly he was doing. As he explained in detail later in the morning, his task for the day was to purify two proteins that had been produced by genetically modified E. coli bacteria the night before. The material is complicated enough, but it was even more challenging to grasp when explained in a combination of French and heavily accented English. Of course, i can't possibly imagine how difficult it must be for Charles and the others to try to explain such complex ideas in a foreign language such that a high school student can follow them. Thus, for the most part, I learned best by watching, but I was allowed to pipet all of the substances to create a buffer for the proteins--providing proof that my hours spent poring over my AP Chemistry textbook have some practical application.
Overall, my first day in a research lab was thoroughly enjoyable, even if I felt my presence to be entirely foreign in an otherwise efficient and francophone environment. As a relaxing end to an intellectually stimulating day, Heydi and I met up after work to explore the neighborhood. We were drawn to the first store sign that hinted at vintage apparel, and it turned out to be a treasure trove of beautiful European designer labels from the past century. Had it not been for the exorbitant exchange rate between euros and dollars, Heydi and I would have quickly become the proud owners of several pairs of 1960s sunglasses. Instead, we chatted briefly with the shop owner in French, then moved on to find gelato, a European fare generally quite appealing to the traveler's wallet (and tastebuds).

-SM