Na primeira pessoa,  Maria Miguel Castro  partilha connosco a sua experiência Fulbright. Ao abrigo de uma Bolsa Fulbright para Investigação com o apoio da FCT (23/24) e no âmbito do seu doutoramento em “Biomedicine” da Universidade do Porto, Maria desenvolveu parte da sua pesquisa na Johns Hopkins University, PA, EUA:

 

 

«Six months flew by, and it was only when it was about to end that I realized how wonderful it had been. From the daily life in the Johns Hopkins lab in Baltimore, being challenged by both the language and the work, to the trips exploring American and world history, the cultural exchange with my Asian housemates, and the lunches, dinners, and parties with so many American and Portuguese friends… there was so much that it’s hard to put into words.

Personally, it was a time of significant growth, resilience, confidence, and professional appreciation. I believe these are all valuable skills for the future. Professionally, this experience opened my mind to different ways of working in the lab, provided opportunities to work with new equipment, and challenged me daily to master the “monster” of the confocal microscope.

I went with the idea of the American dream, the one you see in movies, but I brought back much more than I imagined. Over these six months, not everything was easy; there were moments of homesickness and a desire to return home. However, all of that fades when you leave a city where you lived for six months and have five goodbye events, postcards filled with words of affection and friendship, and more friends than you can count on both hands. Without a doubt, I will miss the time I spent in the US.

I am so grateful to Fulbright for giving me the opportunity to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience in the US.»

 

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Thank you so much, Maria, and welcome back!

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