USA! USA! USA!

I made it to the Windy City! But have only just been connected to the internet so here come a lot of posts (I’ve been typing them up on my laptop in the evenings and waiting to post them all).

Flying into O’Hare over Lake Michigan was fantastic – I had a window seat so was treated to a wonderful view of Chicago. I could make out the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and Grant Park, as well as spotting some of the larger beaches along the coast. I can’t wait to explore what looks and sounds like a fascinating city!

I’m staying in Naperville, which is about 40 miles from the centre of Chicago and a fifteen-minute drive from Fermilab – this is where I will be working for the next 10 weeks. I’m not quite sure exactly what my internship will entail, but I’m working under the supervision of Douglas Tucker, who works on the Dark Energy Survey. More on that later.

The apartments they have put the interns in are great – they are a decent size and, most importantly, have massive walk-in wardrobes :) All the better to store my future purchases in! Our blocks of apartments are clustered around the ‘club house’, which has a gym AND a pool. Result. And we’re dead close to lots of shops, supermarkets and restaurants. Including three drive through (I still can’t quite bear to write it as “thru”) pharmacies, two drive through Starbucks and a drive through bank. Honestly, I don’t think anyone around here walks anywhere!