“Back in the Netherlands, I pay a reasonable rent for a single room. But during my first month here, I lived in a room not for one, not two, not even three, but four people—at four times the price. I used to confuse the terms ‘roommates’ and ‘housemates,’ but now I had three actual roommates.”

“After six weeks, I moved to my own room in a quiet residential neighborhood. I now cycle to work every day and feel (almost) fully settled into American life. My workplace is a hybrid lab, with one room for building hardware and an adjacent space filled with desks. Here, I’m doing research on predicting ocean waves using measurements from a network of autonomous surface vehicles.”

“I have my own desk with extra monitors, plus free coffee, a fridge, and a microwave. It’s fairly similar to my old, familiar spot on Flux 4. Right now, the team consists of one other visiting student researcher from China, one PhD candidate, and about a dozen part-time undergraduate students. This mix creates a friendly but focused atmosphere - people work hard. Sometimes even deep into the night... or so they say.”

“In my free time, I go running regularly as I’m training for the San Francisco half marathon. I also meet up with friends and try to soak up as much of American student life as possible. Since it’s summer break, campus life is still relatively quiet, but once the semester kicks off, it’ll be time for the full experience with frat parties and college football.”

“On weekends, I explore the region by hiking in the hills or along the coast, checking out San Francisco neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and taking trips further afield. Three weeks ago, I went to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks with fellow TU/e student Mick Gielen, who’s now in Boulder, Colorado for his research.”

“Still on the agenda: celebrating the 4th of July on a beach in Los Angeles, visiting Mick in Boulder and a friend in Boston, a road trip through California, Nevada, and Arizona and hopefully, a trip to Hawaii near the end of my internship.”