2020 10 31
This post is the first post on my blog.
We have been in Jena, Germany with my wife for two weeks. The city welcomed us with some rain and cold weather. The temperature was over 20 degrees when departing from Istanbul, there was a 10 degrees cooler air in Jena. Since we brought our big coats with us, there was no need to open bags and we did not feel cold.
What are we doing here? I was awarded a postdoctoral research grant from TÜBİTAK, we came to use it. I will only do research at Friedrich Schiller University for 12 months. The subject of my research is clear: The Role of Innovation in Ecological Transition. In fact, I will examine the environmental consequences of policies implemented in the field of renewable energy. First, I will start with a simple model and then analyze with system dynamics. Yesterday, I had a meeting with my supervisor Prof. Dr. Uwe Cantner. He is a very intelligent, helpful and friendly academic. He immediately said the shortcomings that stood out in my draft project. I also took my notes with excitement.
I am afraid of not being able to use this wonderful research opportunity effectively enough due to Corona. I walk 45 minutes to the office every morning. In our building, where many researchers normally work, only some of the researchers who come part-time work even less. As such, communication weakens. The office given to me is a large room and I am the only one in the room. There are also extra screens. I connected one of them to my laptop. I'm used to dual screens, something that increases throughput and speed.
When I'm in the office, I occasionally stare out my window. Landscape is very beautiful. There is a garden and trees in the middle of this campus of the university. Sometimes I go down to the garden when the sun comes out. This is an inspiring garden. I take my cell phone and take notes by talking. I develop questions and ideas about my research in this gardening session. Then, when I go to my office, I look at the notes and make them tidy and transfer them to my computer for using later in my work.
Jena is generally a place with partly cloudy days. In the evenings it is always cold. Since it is in a valley, it is not as cold as the plains around it. We also have a river: Saale. It makes the air here very temperate. Still, one's face gets cold when you walk for a long time. On my way back from the office in the evening, I walk another 45 minutes, this time uphill. Since the number of places to shop is limited, I usually have to climb the ramps with food on my backpak or in a beg in my hand. I will give information on foods and drinks in my second article.
I can say that we adapted in two weeks. For now, the place we are staying in is a forest-lined guesthouse of the school: Am Herrenberge, 11. The Soviet-era building often houses researchers from the university. Most of them came from outside of Germany. And most of them are Asians. One month later, in December, we will move to one of the university's other guesthouses, IBZ Humboldt. This guesthouse is closer to the city center and the problem of going up and down hill will end. It will also be better for our baby who will be born in February. It's more advanced in terms of security, plus it has a great garden!
Here we met friends of a friend of mine from Istanbul. They have a daughter. All three are pleasant people. The first week they immediately invited us to breakfast. After a great breakfast and a great chat, we came back to our house. However, the tiredness of these last two months was not over yet. Now, as the second week ends, I can say that we say goodbye to the accumulated fatigue at some level.