words and meaning

I've mentioned it in an earlier post, I've been working with a student for a while. He's in his third year of university (which might correspond to junior, though I never paid much attention to the American collegiate monikers) and doing a three month lab rotation. He evidently picked the lab I'm in because it's a very fine lab. Why my boss picked me to guide him is less evident. Hardly anyone has ever applauded my mentoring qualities.

In any case, my student's stage is going pretty well so far. He is learning about crystallography and a little bit about the bigger picture of structural biochemistry as well. He's working hard and not lacking at all in dedication. What I'm wondering, though, is what exactly he's learning, what he's getting out of this.

I talk to him in French. I explain things, put forth suggestions, teach him tricks, and ask questions. Sometimes, when I'm finished, he stares at me evidently hard at work trying to figure out what it was exactly that just came out of my mouth - making sense of words. I don't claim to speak French. Instead, I'm kauderwelsching my way through a language that is still very foreign to me, using words that I think are right or deserve being used.

So while my student might have a hard time decrypting all the nuggets of wisdom that I lay out for him, I have an even harder time laying them out in the first place. But with a courage with words that even Giovanni Trappatoni would have envied, I make noticeable progress every day and feel like I'm actually getting somewhere. After more than a year, it's about time. My student's rotation will be a round success - at least for me.

On a side note, I put down my first-year experiences by request of ScienceCareers. They decided to publish only quotes and mis-captioned photos, but couldn't prevent the appearance of the full and unedited version on my home page. You go see for yourself if there is meaning for you in there.