The True Beginning of my Time in Alberta: August 14th, after the Move In

Today, August 14th, was split into three sections: 1) the move in and 2) the meeting with my  professor and 3) the toastmasters meeting. Please see post #2 for item 1!

Speaking honestly, I expected move in to take longer, lasting until right before my meeting at 3:50 pm. (Which meeting you ask? The one with my professor obviously!)

Instead, we finished around 3:10 pm, giving ample time to make our way to the massive and modern Medical Sciences building. Just a mere 9 floors devoted to various sciences. You can sure tell this is a research university can't you?

My professor resides on the 8th floor, near the top, with his lab. The lab was hidden behind a door with code access, and we had to be let into the hallway. And we had to go down the hallway for what felt like many minutes, like the tenseness kept building. I was so concerned about making a great first impression, especially as a Fulbrighter.

And then suddenly the door was in front of me, and I entered the lab. Before meeting the professor, I in fact met my supervisor, the one I'd be working more directly with, who turned out to be (slightly) older than I expected. But much more friendly than I expected! By this point, I am used to supervisors being distant, detached (though admittedly I've had the professor-as-supervisor *relationship* previously). And then the professor walked out, who was incredibly humble in behavior. Even though he is an incredibly talented and well-accomplished researcher in my field!

After realizing, I handed my gift over, and my dad and I spoke with him about both the lab and about Edmonton. My supervisor also chimed in our conversation. Fortunately, both of them knew about my having muscular dystrophy. This made explaining to them possible accomodation needs very easy! Basically, all that I require is supportive seating while doing research work, which seemed to be the case in the lab. And those back-supporting chairs seemed to already be in the lab!

Not just the professor and the supervisor -- everyone there yesterday was incredibly friendly, even on matters like transportation to the airport. Certainly, I expect this level of connection as I head into Monday, when I expect to 'properly' start in the lab. Like I was excited to be joining the lab, the rest of the lab seemed excited to meet me. This...is extremely unlike my previous experiences in research where the lab exists as a few different cliques, sharing the professor as a focal point.

Maybe my experience is too limited to even hazard a guess as to how labs 'should' be.  But this first impression was fantastic. This lab, finally, came across firmly as a place for me to grow.


To add to this atmosphere, Professor had just become a full Professor, as he was welcoming me into his lab. Truly, my being here feels incredibly fitting, and I hope the rest of my time confirms this feeling.

Another major surprise came later: the professor had already found my interview with my hometown newspaper about the work I would be doing in Alberta. In fact, he already posted it on the website! This cemented my thoughts on this visit: Monday can't come soon enough, I ended up concluding.

But there was one more item that felt necessary to truly begin my time in Alberta: Toastmasters. Two hours after the meeting with the professor, I attended the university Toastmasters meeting, which was held in an older building on campus. Truth be told, it felt uncomfortably close to a mix between 80s high school hallways and 80s college classrooms.

After a few moments waiting nervously in an empty room, people started filing in, and I got the opportunity to meet many of them. Quite a few of us hailed from other countries, providing a rich template for engagement. And one of them shares my older sister's name! Truth be told, I will need to spend more time to truly connect with this group.

Again this first encounter was promising. As a fairly seasoned Toastmaster (of 3 years), I got the opportunity to offer guidance and insight into broader ideas of Toastmasters. Yes, even in a new format by a different group in another country. Against this backdrop, it is quite strange that I elected to play general evaluator -- to evaluate a meeting format that I had never participated in! (It's a role that people perform once they have been in a Toastmasters group a while.)

In the end, much of this format revolved around speakers, evaluators, and Table Topics -- with which I am intimately familiar -- even with new interpretations of the roles of Toastmasters. There were even roles I had never heard of, like quiz master, employed. Rather than being overwhelming, I found myself fascinated by and immersed in this alien format.

Of course, it's not *that* weird, but in the conserved Toastmaster format, deviations can appear massive! In the end, my coming to Alberta has exposed me to other ways to do Toastmasters. I....have become so used to my group in my hometown that seeing other groups is almost necessary for me. It is a way for me to grow as a speaker, alongside my efforts to grow as a researcher.