When I’m asked how my summer is going, my normal response is “I’m convinced than San Diego is as close as it comes to paradise on Earth”. It hasn’t rained a single time singe I got here. Every day has been the predictable 70-80, sunny. According to the locals it’s “bad weather” when you can see clouds on the horizon. My whole experience this summer has felt as one extended vacation. This is sort of delayed post, but I had to wait until my life has settled down into a routine before attempting to analyze what’s happened.
All I knew coming in was that I’d be doing some sort of research in plasma physics at a private government contractor, General Atomics. In the spring, I received a long brochure describing the basics of the field, but I never get beyond the first line “plasma is the fourth state of matter”. I was also told that the company would take care of the apartment for the summer. Beyond that, I really had no idea what to expect from my job, the living conditions, or anything else. I was also coming in later than the other interns. Because of the quarter system, I had to skip on the required week-long course on plasma physics at Princeton. But somehow nothing bothered me.
When I flew in, I was met by the scientist who would be supervising my research. He drove me to the apartment, briefly explaining the outlines of what I would be doing. I was exhausted after the flight, it seemed late at night and having just flown from England to New York to San Diego, my sense of time was completely lost. I found out there are five other interns working at General Atomics (GA) for the summer. Four of them were sharing a two-bedroom apartment, and I would have one roommate in a one-bedroom place in the same apartment building. My apartment is nothing short of spectacular. It’s very spacious, all the amenities and a huge balcony. I found out that the company is spending $20G for the two apartments for the two months that we are here. And it shows. Downstairs in the courtyard, the apartment building has a gym, a swimming pool and a hot tub. My roommate had already gone to sleep, but he had written me a nice welcoming message. I read it, took a shower, and promptly fell asleep. Tomorrow would be my first day at GA.
