Hey everyone, so the first week of an amazing experience has already come to an end. I'm here in Boston working for one of the world's most innovative biotechnology companies, Genzyme. For the next seven weeks I will be working within the biomaterials department alongside a very friendly and welcoming team.

The flight over from Edinburgh good and I was travelling with two other girls that are interning in Boston also. Our first experience of Boston was the taxi journey from the airport to our apartment which was interesting. Straight away I could tell this was a much more laid back atmosphere than back in the UK, there were cars cutting in here, there and everywhere and not once did anyone beep a horn or appear to show any signs of annoyance. After walking into the apartment I could not believe the standard of accommodation we had been given. It is amazing! I am sharing the apartment with Susie who is also working for Genzyme. In total there are 6 of us, 4 of whom are working for Liberty Mutual, all living within 2 minutes of each other. The most spectacular thing about the apartment though is the view! Just undescribable, we have huge windows that stretch round two walls and look directly out across the Charles river to the centre of Boston. We are living in Cambridge, which I learnt the other day is actually a city of its own, not a part of Boston as I originally thought. At night the best view is to be seen...all the high rise buildings with the lights on and we can even see the floodlights of Red Sox Stadium, Bostons famous baseball ground Fenway Park.

I feel we have seen a suprising amount of Boston and Cambridge already in just a few days even on the first night we took a wander to find a supermarket and found a bustling lively area with restaurants and bars, that we later realised is right by the MIT campus. We have even managed to master the 'T', the train system that is like the underground in London, its so hot and sticky, but easy to get to grips. So after one day of chilling and familiarising ourselves with the centre of Boston we were to get straight into work Monday morning. Luckily for me and Susie, our orientation was held at the Genzyme Centre, right next to our apartment so only had to leave for work at 8:45! The first day we met a few other interns from around America and met Catherine, who looks after the interns at Genzyme and deals with University relations, and attended many health and safety presentations. Unfortunately, for the rest of the time here we will be working in a city called Framingham, which is further inland than Boston and so have to get a shuttle bus from Genzyme Centre at 7am to the Framingham campus of Genzyme, which itself is huge and requires the transfer to another shuttle bus to take us to the specific buildings. On arrival I met  the team that I will be working with, each and everyone of them are so welcoming , and was briefed on the project I will be taking part in. Which should begin next week as I have been reading through numerous journals and safety manuals of training to get to speed on the project area.

Outside of work, we met the Liberty Mutual interns and friends from their offices for drinks in a very american bar, which has a big fake horned cow behind the bar. We were also got the chance to meet up with the Saltire Fellows at a BBQ, along with some important people from Liberty Mutual and Genzyme. This weekend we're also going to take a duck tour of Boston, giving us a good chance to see more of the great city.

I'm sitting here writing this blog, looking out at the stunning view of Boston and still cannot believe I'm here! The only worries I have are that I feel this whole experience is going to go too fast.