Today I went to meet my new supervisor and visit the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

First things first: Riding a Bus in Rio is as exciting as riding the roller coaster! It is a 40 min ride from my apartment to the university, and I was hoping to play sudoku on my way there, but with the speed, sharp turns, and bumps of the ride, no way that I could control a pen! So I’ll have to look for something else to do (maybe I should look into this podcast thingy).

My new advisor is a VERY friendly guy. He gave me a tour of the COPPE building and we would stop every few meters walking down the halls to greet somebody – a student, a professor, a staff member. So different from my experience in Tokyo U., where professors and students would rarely talk unless they had business to attend to! Something else that made an impression on me is how everyone talks about soccer all the time – I thought it was just a stereotype, but everyone in Rio seems to be crazy about their soccer teams. My supervisor and his other pos doc were hotly discussing which team I should cheer for.

Prices in the university restaurants are compatible with prices in university cantinas in Tokyo. The number of undergrad students walking around, gathering, talking, and loudly studying outside impressed me. I remember how it was when I was an undergrad myself in Campinas, but I may have grow unaccustomed to it since studying in Tokyo U.

I don’t get to have my own desk or my own locker – this disappointed me a bit. It seems hard to me to make a emotional link to your workplace if you don’t have your own space in the organization. Also, it would be very good to be able to leave all my working materials in the university and not worry about lugging them back and forth.

On the other hand, I already have plenty to work to do. My supervisor’s line of work involves the data classification, using data from a “Flux Citometer”, a machine that calculates a lot of medical information by throwing laser beams at cells. Pretty cool. So some problems related to this research were thrown at me for thinking, then they asked me to read two related papers. Then a book that will be needed for some classes I might be giving next year. Then I was also asked to make a presentation on my PhD research two weeks from now.

And then, as if this is not enough, my supervisor introduced me to another professor that has similar research interests as mine, so that we can see if we can work together on something.

Oh, and I still have to learn Matlab! (at least the lab’s machines all have Matlab for Linux already installed).

This was a full and intense day, and the week promises not to let up the pressure – but since I was complaining that my vacations were stretching, the change is welcome!