- This update is part of the FRONTIERS residency at the Carlos Simon Foundation. In her second month, Marit Bonne moved from research and planning to recording interviews and developing the podcast narrative.
¡El tiempo vuela! I can’t believe a month has passed already. It has been a pleasure getting to know all the different people working at the Carlos Simon Foundation, both on a professional and personal level. I have met so many people in quite a short time, so I am truly sorry if I forgot your name or introduced myself again when I’d already met you 😉
The first month was very much focused on orienting myself on all the different research lines, reading papers and manuscripts, talking to PIs, postdocs, PhDs and lab technicians, observing lab protocols and accompanying researchers to the confocal microscope. Sometimes, the amount of new information and techniques made my head spin, especially in the beginning, but I noticed that I slowly got the hang of it. Actually, I loved being in the lab again surrounded by scientists and capable people and them showing me how they handled the tissue and how it sometimes went ‘wrong’ (a scale never works when it has to). It has made me nostalgic.
Of course, next to diving into the science, I am planning to make a podcast. This meant immersing myself in a medium that I was not (yet) an expert in and I have to say that it’s quite challenging. I ordered equipment, listened to podcasts, played around with multiple storylines and started to identify what I wanted to put in what episodes. Sometimes, it’s not necessary to invent the wheel again, so I called in the help of a few Dutch experts in the podcasting world, to ask for advice (which they had!). In the coming months, I am going to actually start recording! I am very excited about this.
However, this first month also meant immersing myself in Spanish culture, eating a bocadillo during almuerzo on fridays (including olives and peanuts), being part of a birthday breakfast, winning at bowling (hihi), trying not to be scared of the kids throwing ‘petardos’ (fireworks) at you during Las Fallas and learning bits and pieces of the Spanish language AND get familiar with Spanish songs (even more important, I would argue). Everyone here is very kind and open, which I appreciate as both a science journalist as well as a person in a new country 🙂
Personally, I think starting is often the most difficult phase of any creative process (this includes science!) and I have definitely experienced this the past month. However, I feel like I am getting closer and closer to understanding what scientists are doing at the Carlos Simon Foundation and closer and closer to the story I want to tell. Looking forward to the coming months!