SPIE is hosting its Optics and Photonics exhibition in San Diego this week. Many of my colleagues in the publications department went there, so it has been very quiet in the office building. I didn't mind it at all, as I have been working on a translation for SPIE's CEO. The document I translated was a brochure of a scheme the German photonics community is trying to implement by 2020, talking about upcoming projects and explaining how photonics is going to affect industries in the future. Its impact will be enormous. What electricity was for the 20th century, photonics will be for the 21st. Even though I speak both English and German, I found it challenging because a lot of the content was very technical and sometimes hard to translate as some expressions were very language specific.

But it has not only been hard work: Kate and I got our own ad in SPIE's newsletter stating: Adopt A Scot: "Rent" an intern for lunch, dinner or activity of your choice. Our colleagues are just amazing and ever since the newsletter came out, we got many offers, ranging from Thai lunches to hiking and camping trips. People are so welcoming and are always keen to learn more about Scotland. I find it interesting how people tell us about their ancestry. It usually sounds more like some kind of recipe: I'm a quarter Irish, a quarter Swedish, a quarter Scottish and a quarter German. Americans are proud to be American and they show it: Whether it's the national anthem before every sporting event  or displaying the flag in a any location possible- you get the feeling of unity. Where does that come from? Does it go back to the days when people had to leave Europe and set off to the "Land of Unlimited Opportunities", in which you could be anyone or anything no matter where you came from? Surely, conditions for the American Dream have changed, especially in today's economy. but the spirit stayed the same.

I'd like you think that I can be whatever and whoever no matter what my background is. I think the Saltire Foundation is on the right track to make students see for themselves that this is indeed possible. I was not born in Scotland, but I want to be a part of it. Because I want to be a part of Scotland, I was given a great opportunity with the Saltire Foundation. So here I find myself, being proud to represent Scotland in the US.