Marcella Back at TRI

In 2020 we were all surprised with a world pandemic that changed our lives and our way of doing most things as we were used to. This was the same year I had the opportunity to come back to TRI as a postdoctoral fellow after I finished my PhD thesis in Brazil. A year of good and bad news for most people, but unfortunately a year of a long wait until we were able to cross the borders and move to Princeton, NJ.

Due to the constant spread of the virus, the borders were all closed and the visas to enter USA stopped being issued for a long period, they only started being issued again in November 2021, which is when me and my husband were able to stamp ours and begin the moving plans to Princeton New Jersey.

Moving from your country to another is definitely a great opportunity to grow personal and professionally, but also very challenging. In the past weeks I learned that our lives can fit into some boxes and bags, that thing are just things that actually don’t matter much, what matters are the people you have in your life.

It is nice to be back, but it will be nicer in the summer!

Life in USA is definitely different than in Brazil, where sun shines all year and we don’t get low temperatures as here (which are in Celsius and not Fahrenheit, so I never know the temperature in the places). I’ve been here before and yet I am getting used to a lot of new things. We are getting used to use a bunch of more clothes than we ever did, that in US things are all very distant that the other, meaning you really need a car, mainly in this cold weather and that thing are all in bigger sizes. Being in Princeton again is also a feeling of returning to a place that made me feel like home when I visit in 2016 and met lots of nice people that I miss. TRI showed me that you can feel welcome in a completely different place, and there is a lot of people willing to help you if you need.