And So It Begins…

I’m guessing if you are here that you already know who I am, or at least I hope you do. I started attending the University of Surrey in 2016 and I knew when I joined that I wanted to go on placement abroad. Surrey showed that it was one of the best places to provide you with an international placement for microbiology.  I had hoped that my placement would be in America, but really, I was just looking to study abroad and travel a little too. Now in 2018, I have just under a month before I go and study in America for a full year. To me, this seems crazy because I feel somewhat unprepared. It involves so much planning and visas and packing and everything that you need to do before you start uni but across the ocean, which means you’re a bit distanced from the process. I thought I would find the whole thing more daunting, although as time runs out I’m definitely feeling like there is a lot more stuff I need to do, like finding somewhere to live. One thing I really wanted to start earlier and I’m starting now is this blog to involve my family and people I know in what I hope is going to be one of the best years of my life. I know that my family probably won’t be able to visit me, and it is debatable whether I will come home during the placement (because flights are expensive) but, I still want people to stay updated with what I am doing even though there is a whole ocean in the way.

I was never that good about staying in contact with people and even though Facebook is helpful I don’t really post on it, so nobody really knows what's going on with me anyway. I mean I never really know what is going on with me. Also, I’m friends with people that probably don’t really care about what I’m doing with my life as is the trap of Facebook's mutual friends and being polite to people you meet at random gatherings. So, this blog gives the opportunity for people to actually seek out information if they want to hear it. I’ll probably post on Facebook to say that a blog post is up but, for the most part, this blog will just be here and people can check in and see what I’m up to, if they want to.

I also want this blog to help people who are going on placement that have very limited information. I love my University and have really enjoyed my 2 years there so far, but if we are being honest, they haven’t really provided a lot of help and information for this placement. I had to write my CV and cover letter; do all the steps for my visa (of which there were many) and find accommodation. Although, I’m not surprised. Imagine helping more than 400 people find a placement and prepare them for all the other things that they need to do to go on this placement. I was quickly overwhelmed by the lengthy visa application process including a visit to the US embassy and particularly finding accommodation in a country miles and miles away. I mean I am still struggling to find somewhere to live for a 2 week period at the start of the placement. Even small things like phone contracts and bus routes and all the things that you would forget about until you actually arrive have been playing on my mind. However, one thing I do have under control is my flight (I hope, I mean it's booked).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that this process is meant to develop skills in me that mean I’m a working professional (Will I ever be a working professional?) But even so, there are some aspects of the process that just need a little bit more support further in advance. Although I will be the first to admit that I was working on all the components well in advance. I didn’t consider myself a worrier, but I seem to be waking up in the night thinking about all the things I still need to get done. So, not only did I think that I could regale my family and friends with some brilliant anecdotes (because I am the funny one) I also thought I would write a bit more factually about some of the aspects of my placement. Not only are you in for a treat of a lifetime (Seeing my innermost journal thoughts) but also, potentially, some actual useful information. 

To start off this information-giving fest, I thought I would talk a little bit more about the placement I’m going on. I will be going to North Carolina to work in a lab at North Carolina State University. I will be arriving on August 1st and from what I understand I’ll be shadowing a lab manager and potentially some students to gain an understanding of a professional laboratory. I know that my work supervisor studies antimicrobial resistance and epidemiology (Studying pathogens within populations) and with some luck, I might actually be able to work on something I’m extremely interested in, viruses! Although working with any microbes really is brilliant to me considering I’m doing a microbiology degree. I want this placement to give me a broad knowledge of all the techniques that I might need to use to help me in my chosen field. I’ve always been interested in disease and I’m particularly interested in how pathogens influence and move through populations. Hopefully with this year in the lab, I might be able to better understand the techniques used to analyse populations and investigate different types of disease. As this is part of my degree, there is also an emphasis on skills for employability. I will have to complete a number of assessments including: updating my CV and finding a suitable job description that I would fit; reflecting on the skills I have developed over my time at the lab; writing a report on a project that I will devise during my time there and presenting a poster about my project. Although this doesn’t count towards my overall degree grade it will be noted on my certification.

Despite the assessments, I still think that I will enjoy these opportunities to develop some skills and showcase what I am learning (cause really I’m just a big nerd). I hope I get the chance to travel around the States a little bit and to have some really authentic, cool experiences. I also get to hang out with my pen pal of 5 years. Which is crazy because even though we’ve spoken for so long we’ve only met once. I think having such a rigorous 9 to 5 job is going be difficult. Purely because I’m used to keeping strange hours while I’m at University. But, I think I’m up for the challenge, even if it means getting out of bed at 6 AM. Though hopefully that wont't be the case.

You might be asking yourself ‘What is this blog actually about?’ (or you might not have even read this far). I mean is it just a diary that’s online that everyone can look at? I guess the answer to that is yes and no. There’s definitely going to be aspects of me talking about my life and things that are going on. But, I’m also hoping that there will we be aspects that help people who are in similar situations to me. For example, in one of my next posts I’m probably going to talk about applying for the visa that I’m getting. Another might be all the things you have to organise to do a placement in America. But once I’m on placement the real show will be keeping people updated on what I’ve been doing in the states with reflections on what I’ve been working on and such. Hopefully I’ll have something interesting to say. Overall, it will be a general look at my life and then it will also have bits of information thrown in for good measure because you have to get people coming back for something.

I had grand designs for a posting schedule keeping everything I’m talking about in chronological order including all the steps that I have taken to get to my placement before actually arriving in America. That was going be every 2 weeks and now I’ve got less than 4 weeks to go and a lot of stuff to pack let alone write about. Either way, when I get to my placement I suppose I’ll update fairly regularly or at least try to. That way it might become a habit and I won’t forget to post.

Feel free to drop me a comment or a message on Facebook. I’ll be happy to hear from anyone, considering I’ll be in a different country. Alone. For the most part. Also, if you are interested in being reminded every time that I post. Then let me know, and I’ll probably start a Facebook group or email list or something where people can stay up to date.

If you have any questions drop them below and if you have any concerns then also drop them below I guess but, I’ve got enough of those going on myself so I’ll probably ignore them (sorry not sorry). If you have anything that you want me to talk about then also put that below or drop me a Facebook message or an email or whatever really, do what you want. And Nan if you’re reading this please don’t let Granddad embarrass me in the comments.

That’s all from me folks, you can go now.