Hello dear reader,

Despite my lack of spare time I have made an effort to write this post about how my first days have been. If you have comments, questions or just something fun to share, feel free to leave a comment.

My adventure started back on Thursday, when my parents drove me to Cambridge by car. We took a ferry boat from Dunkirk to Dover and a hectic left-sided ride later we arrived at The Granary, a holiday cottage where my parents would stay until Sunday.

Not long after my arrival, I first saw the house which would be my home for the next three months. At first I was a bit shocked as it wasn’t quite what I expected, but my reaction had probably more to do with my lack of sleep, the nerve wrecking car trip (driving at the left side of the street feels very awkward) and the dawning on me that the next three months would be very challenging. It wasn’t until the next day that I realised that the house has everything I need, that it is located in a silent environment and that it is very close to my work (walking to my work takes even less than twenty minutes).

The first two days I went to explore the city and I was (and still am) amazed by the sheer amount of breathtaking buildings. One of the first places I visited was the Fitzwilliam museum. Being a part of the University of Cambridge it’s entrance is entirely free, yet this is by far the most amazing museum I have ever been to. Not only the works of art but also the building has left an impression on me.

At Saturday my three fellow interns arrived in Cambridge. I have added links to their blogs on the right of this page, in case you want to read their stories as well. We are good friends together which only adds to the positive atmosphere.

Yesterday was my first day at work. I work at CARET, which stands for Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies. Their website links to a number of projects, such as this intriguing online manuscript museum. As the centre is a part of the University of Cambridge, all projects being done are for the common good with no financial targets in mind.

My friends and I will add functionality to Sakai, an open-source project devoted to offer a free educational collaboration platform which will make teaching, learning and research a lot more organised. Detailled information about my work will follow later.

That’s all for now, hope to see you in a next post.

Maxime.

NB: I might add some pictures of the boat trip, my house and working place in the very near future.

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