Friday, September 5, 2008

Final Report

My experience this summer, thanks to the help of ThinkSwiss, has been something that far exceeded my expectations and is quite hard to explain in words. Though some times were a bit of a struggle (the culture shock, language barrier and how expensive everything seemed in comparison to where I am from) I have grown immensely from my experience in Switzerland and am so glad that I had the opportunity to further my research skills. I had the chance to build great connections, experience a beautiful country and a new culture and to experience a city of great historical significance (Basel). I am eagerly looking forward to my next trip/stay in Switzerland and am currently looking in to graduate schools in and around the Basel area.

I feel my research in Switzerland was more thorough and to the point then research I have conducted in the U.S. We were able to get so much done within a few months. This could be partly due to the fact that I was part of a team when I conducted research in the U.S. and I was working one-on-one with a Professor in Switzerland. Upon my arrival in Basel, I was immediately introduced to other researchers in the Psychology department at the University. I was walked through the different experiments that I would be assisting with and quickly felt a comfort with the projects that I'd be working on and the people I'd be interacting with. The Professor was very knowledgeable in his field and was easy to work with. I enjoyed this greatly. I have worked with people similar to this in the U.S. but rarely does an individual get one-on-one time with a professor for such a long duration of time when you're still at the undergraduate level (in the U.S., that is).

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