The story so far

A while ago (probably over the summer), I decided that I would not be on
campus for the Spring semester. This could mean study abroad, exchange,
or field study. I had been considering Semester at Sea, but decided it
was not for me. I looked at a number of study abroad sites, and none of
them really clicked. I started investigating internship opportunities
domestically (that's the field study option).

I asked CJ and CR if they knew of any labs or related that would not
mind a student intern. I was basically offering myself as free labor
(OK, so they had to pay me in experience/knowledge, but otherwise free)
in the hopes that I could find some sort of experiential learning
opportunity. CJ asked me to continue to pester him, to make sure he
would give me some information. He gave me three names of friends of
his with labs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). I sent them
all cover letters and resumes, and the one whom CJ had thought least
likely emailed back to say, "Yes, I think we can arrange an internship.
I will get back to you next week. Give my best to CJ." This of course
is DM. My request was on 10/9/2010 (non-European dating, as in
October). The response was on 10/30. This should have set a precedent
in my mind. 20 days to respond.

Now, I was particularly excited about the prospect of working in a lab.
I had other choices of things to do for the Spring, but I decided that
working at the National Cancer Institute under DM would be really cool.
As I have said since the start of my Division II (major), "How can one
learn to communicate science, without knowing the science." I was going
to get a chance to know the science first-hand.

I paid attention to all of the deadlines for school. I filled out all
of my paperwork. I had to get JM's signature as he is my chair. He
basically thinks that I am off and doing things and learning, etc. so he
does not much care what he is signing for me. He is very happy to help
out in a bureaucratic way, but he also does not think we have to meet so
often if I am just going to ask him to sign things.

Hampshire has a January term. You take one class for three weeks in
January, meeting everyday. It is about equivalent to taking a class
over a semester (except that it is physically impossible to do the same
amount of reading in one month as a person might in four). I decided
that if I do not get this internship with DM, I would take "Gene
Cloning" over January term. I would get extensive "wet" lab experience
doing interesting molecular things. I asked CR if he thought that I
should take Gene Cloning (he teaches it) even if I end up with this
internship. He tried his best to talk me out of it without explicitly
saying, "Don't do it." Fine. I taught myself Cell Biology instead
(Alright, I am still continuing to teach myself Cell Biology almost two
months later).

Every few weeks, I would email DM and ask for more details. It was as
though he was enjoying tantalizing me; releasing just the tiniest morsel
of information at a time. He would say things like, "I have a meeting
on Thursday to work out details. I'll let you know." And then, he
wouldn't. Also, he never responded in less than five business days. It
became the end of the Fall semester (beginning of December), and I still
did not know if he wanted me there at the beginning of January. I had
already told school that they could have my room for the Spring, but I
did not yet know whether I would be there for January. I asked CJ what
chapters I should try to learn for Cell Biology. He told me to do most
of the non-molecular stuff. I wrote down which chapters he suggested.

DM said that I would start on Feb 1, but that he is still trying to work
it out. That's a relief. Parents can stop bugging me. I can look for
an apartment. I can even commit to scheduling things for January!

January was awesome. In addition to Cell Bio, I tried to learn some
linguistics as well, but that will have to be a whole different blog. I
really enjoyed the
learning-at-your-own-pace-with-no-external-responsibilities things. It
was pretty pleasant. I did have a job for Fall and theoretically
January (teaching Religious School at a local synagogue). But the
kids/parents could not get their acts together. So really I made my own
schedule and did what I wanted when I wanted. I even learned some Cell Bio.

I used roommates.com and craigslist to try and find potential
roommates/landlords. I found a few options, and in the middle of
January I went down to meet them, tour apartments, etc. I liked JK the
most, and I liked his condo the most. Not difficult. I also met with
DM for the first time to get to know him, ask questions in person
(rather than waiting for five days for a response), and actually hear
what the project was about. I barely understood what he was saying (if
I had not been studying Cell Bio, I really would not have understood).
Basically, all that molecular stuff that CJ said I would not need, I
needed. Badly.

I debriefed with CJ. He told me stories from the old days about DM. In
grad school, apparently DM had two girlfriends. One who knew about
both, one who didn't. It was a really nice conversation. I also had a
really nice chat with CR. It was the first time that I was really
chatting with him outside the bounds of the teacher-student setup. I
know that at Hampshire students are supposed to be like peers with the
faculty. That's why we call everyone by first name. Blah, blah, blah.
It is really hard to do that in practice. I am sorry to my faculty
members that may have felt otherwise. For me however, it is only now
(speaking for the end of January, beginning of February) that I am able
to appreciate faculty as peers. My bad. Sorry.

Somewhere in there, DM said that it would be the middle of February.
Then somewhere in there, he said the end of February or beginning of
March. Grr.

I took things into my own hands. I told JK that I would be moving in on
2/22. It worked. I did that.

Thanks for bearing with me. I should really write as it happens.
Unfortunately this blog was a late idea in the whole process. I promise
shorter posts in the future.