Greetings from Lausanne

Well, I arrived two days ago. I have animals ordered, permits in process, and the rigs are free all weekend. I am pretty happy to be here. I am always stunned by the contrasts in societies over here. The contrasts between the people you meet here versus in the Netherlands, the styles of dress, and body language...it's all so different. I am staying with some friends, and that makes it much easier to be away from Veerle and the dogs. Still, I miss home all the time. I am trying to get some work done that should have been done already in Amsterdam (like right now...), but I am still a bit homesick.

Lausanne is a beautiful town on the shores of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). I see the mountains across the lake nearly every morning. There is a local game/joke surrounding seeing a certain snowy peak everyday. Good luck or something, I guess. The EPFL (university I am working at) is a federal university, which means budgets work a bit differently when you are appointed here. It's not an unlimited sort of thing, but it's a more negotiable thing. And you aren't under pressure to get grant money all the time like back home. That makes Henry Markram's position pretty cool. This lab is a specialty lab for what I also do in Holland, but on a more intense level. The have some real state-of-the-art work in progress here, so it's a real priviledge to have the chance to work in the lab. The people I see on a daily basis are more than helpful and friendly, and our friendships picked up right where they left off last visit. I feel practically like I have been here comfortably for months already.