Today I moved into a new office. It's similar to the previous one,
but two levels higher. Unfortunately, the windows are small and near
the ceiling, so I can't enjoy the view. It looks like only
postdoctoral fellows and faculty can. There aren't many people there,
only another PhD candidate who started half a year earlier and
studied some hydrodynamic models. There are four people (including
me) attached to the office, but only one comes there regularly.
Remarkably, she couldn't explain the possible applications of her
research, even in principle. I think it's not useless (especially in
comparison to my topic), but some people don't care much about that
and only do what they need to get a degree. In addition, that girl
doesn't speak French and doesn't seem to bother learning it. I think
it's a sober approach since one rarely gets a postdoctoral contract
in the same country as the PhD. Also, sometimes it looks like the
French administrative staff creates artificial situations where
foreigners have to talk to them in their language. For example, our
Monsieur decided to ignore my email (in French), so I had to come to
his office to have a little chat and get my new keys. Yes, I've never
said they are unkind, but they prefer talking French, so if you
can't, well, no offence, but you are fucked.
