Some things never change.
After a blissful night of sleep, it was now my first day at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro as an undergrad scientist for the next couple years. The campus was seven metro stations away from my apartment, but it was also necessary for me to take a bus to get there. Unfortunately, there seems to be a somewhat universal law that trains must always be crowded. I used to take the 7h47 a.m. train in Tokyo and it was crowded to the point that the last passengers had to be pushed into the train by the assistants over there. So… I was already used to this kind of situation, but it was never a pleasant one. And on top of that, to make matters worse, there was the extreme heat that made you feel like your oxygen was being drained; how can this city be so hot!?
I`m feeling suffocated and my bag is pressing hard against my chest from the overwhelming amount of people inside the train. Please, can this be over already? And how are these men capable of wearing a full suit in this kind of environment??
At least the bus wasn't that crowded, and I even found a seat by the window. Luckily this bus line was not so heavily required during weekdays as it directly led to the famous tourist site "Sugar Loaf", which I should go see one day or another…
Anyway, despite not going out for tourism, just the view from the bus window was jaw-dropping, I didn't notice much in the taxi as I was just too tired after such a long flight coming from Japan, but now, while cruising along the coastline on a sunny day, seeing the crystal-clear sand on the beaches and how neat the architecture blended in with the nature, it was just straight up gorgeous. Living my whole life in Tokyo, I don't think I've ever seen a big city like Rio with so much green and native vegetation, especially a tropical one. Because of the natural irregular terrain, the city is filled with mountains that have dense live tropical forests, easily seen from almost any part of it, surrounding the urban area, which made it feel like I could encounter a jaguar or a blue macaw on the next corner.
Another very interesting trait from the city was how close the beaches were from it; almost the whole coastline had populated beautiful beaches, and they were just a few meters from where people lived and worked, and if you didn't live near it, there were metro stations just a few blocks from the beaches that granted easy access to them. Talk about accessibility!
Getting out from the bus, at the front of the campus building to my left, even though it was still a bit far away, I could see in the distance the cable car wagons from the Sugar Loaf going up and down on the horizon. Despite being a normal weekday, the movement was intense as I could guess there were tourists from all over the world taking their vacation time in Rio and going to one of the most famous sightseeing attractions.
However, to my center view, there was the main place that I'd dedicate myself to for the next two years. A white building that had only three floors but had a very large facade occupying two whole blocks. It had that old European aesthetic as it was built in the XIX century under the direct influence of the Portuguese architecture style of the time. Old, but elegant, it certainly made me excited to know more about this interesting place.
Following the instructions Prof. Fukuda passed me in an email, I was to meet him in his room at Block C room 32 as we needed to discuss the project and its schedule. It wasn't that hard to get the right directions as the university was kind enough to give the new students digital and physical copies of the campus map, and so I easily found Prof. Fukuda's room, one of the many doors on a long corridor mostly filled by other professors' rooms.
Knock Knock.
"Excuse me, Prof. Fukuda?"
"Please come in!" - An exciting voice from Prof. Fukuda could be heard on the other side of the door.
Anxious, I entered the room where I found an elegant man behind a very neat and organized desk with numerous papers and two Wide Screens over the desk. He had gray hair, no facial hair, and a robust torso which indicated that he must have put a lot of time in the gym. It was also very apparent that he must have Asian blood in him, undeniable from his eyes; in this case, he was half-Japanese, a fact that made him feel more approachable to me. His smile made me blush a bit, I won't deny it.
"Next time you come in, please, you can enter without knocking."
"A-ah… Yes!"
"Please, sit down, we have much to talk about!"
I grabbed the nearest chair and sat opposite him.
"I know we already talked quite a bit via email, but I must introduce myself once again. I am Professor Roberto Fukuda, PhD in Marine Biology and ex-head of the Biology Institute at this University, and it's a pleasure to meet you" - Prof. Fukuda had a very sweet and soothing voice. It was really captivating.
"Oh, I am Miyuki Kashiwagi from the University of Tokyo, I'm pleased to meet you too!"
"Kashiwagi-san, I'm extremely happy to see that you accepted my offer. Leaving behind a home, family and friends for two full straight years to come to a faraway land that has a totally different language from yours…. It must have been hard on you."
"Well… Yeah, but not exactly" - I looked away while saying that. Prof. Fukuda, a bit curious about my reaction, asked:
"Uh. Why do you say so?"
I didn't actually have an answer to that question. Actually, I think that I kind of had, but was too afraid to believe in it. Leaving behind Japan was hard, but far less than I thought it would be as I mostly felt relief and excitement from being far from home. But the unfortunate reality was that to accept these hidden feelings would be the same as recognizing that I had problems back at home, something that made me feel guilty, considering that I was more privileged than 90% of the world. "Rich privilege" you can call it, but repeating that to myself only made me feel worse as I just disregarded my true feelings, which believe me when I say it, can have destructive outcomes to your mind in the long run. Nonetheless, I still denied it….
"No particular reason. I think I'm just excited with the prospect of studying with such a highly regarded scientist" - I was truly excited, but that wasn't the whole picture. So, I guess you can say that it was a partial lie. Anyway….
"Well, I'm glad you think this. But know that most of your accomplishments were and will still be 100% your merit. Sure, I can be a good guide, but it's still all in your hands."
"Right..."
"Anyway. You must be questioning yourself why, from every other possible person in Brazil and in the world, I've chosen you."
That's true, I still didn't completely understand why I was chosen. I mean, my university project was reasonably good, but yes, I was curious to know why I was selected from all the available options, and Prof. Fukuda was willing to tell me.
"And I'll be honest to you. It was just a hunch."
"Uh?"
"Yes, a hunch."
"I think I'm not following, Professor..."
"Kashiwagi-san, your project was nothing exceptional and you know that. But to be frank, it's very hard to see undergraduate projects that are worth too much attention from well-established scientists"
"Nothing exceptional?" I kinda knew that already, but it was hard hearing it from other people, especially from the one person that was the reason for me to come here in the first place. I won't deny that for a moment a tiny bit of regret for coming to Brazil took over my mind.
"However," - He continued after a brief pause.
"I must say Kashiwagi-san, that what I'm searching for is not a curriculum but capable students who are first willing to make any difference in the world."
"How's that so?"
"It's a subjective judgment. But I saw behind a nervous and shy girl an extremely curious and passionate scientist willing to know more about the marine world. It was no coincidence that you were able to observe something that no one else did before, even if it was something that didn't make that much of a difference for the knowledge of marine biology. You must have poured in hours and hours of dedication and research to notice the different patterns in those fishes. This is something that only people really interested and obsessed about researching can notice. "
That was true. I really dedicated hours and hours of my day researching and going over different sources and materials. I accidentally noticed that those fishes were acting a bit different than we thought they would, which led to the theme of my paper, but only after I reviewed the submarine footage for more than 50 hours, studying what I've seen.
"You know. Like you, I also have good eyes. Not for fish…. But for people."
He smirked in a way that seemed to me strangely sexier than anything, which made me break eye contact and blush a bit.
"Th-thanks. I appreciate that you recognize this feature about me and have given me this opportunity. I hope we can work hard together!"
"But let us end with the introductions, you know about my project, right?"
I've prepared myself extremely well for this conversation, of course I know what you are doing. It's like the reason why I came here.
"Oh, yes. You want to create a new methodology for studying marine life utilizing modern technologies and different approaches from the traditional ones, right? I've studied thoroughly your papers and materials you've published, so I'm quite familiarized with what you are trying to accomplish."
"Indeed, I can see you've prepared yourself as I'd have expected."
"I have just one question. Why Rio? I mean, I know Brazil is your homeland, but this isn't the place most known for abyssal plains, and with your reputation you could research anywhere you'd want in the world"
"Yeah… I know Brazil doesn't have the best reputation for being the most academic country in the world, but you're wrong in one of your statements." - I think I've hurt just a bit of his pride.
"O-oh, no! I'm sorry, I didn't want to sound like that, it's just that, it's kind of… different, you know? Generally, we see big scientists working in the US or Europe. It's just uncommon for me to see Latin American top scientists. But I'm so sorry, I didn't want to sound rude" - I've started bowing, asking for forgiveness
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Please, Kashiwagi-san, don't be so formal. You didn't offend me, as it is indeed different. You don't see many Brazilians on the forefront of science"
"But as I was saying, your point is wrong. We may not have the deepest sea plains, but here in Rio depths can reach more than 2000 meters. This is enough to the point that we may extract oil from it, and surely enough for our study. And what I want to achieve here is not the end result, but a training"
"A training?"
"Yes. Here the sea depth doesn't go down as quickly as in other places around the world, which helps in segmenting the exploration. And despite not being as deep as in other oceans it is enough for the proliferation of deep-sea marine life. The research site is also very close to the coastline, and because of that we are able to optimize time and distance as we can research extremely close from the coast and the university labs."
Well, that does make sense. Thinking from that perspective, it's the perfect place for researching in a realistic way while saving funds for when you go to a real deep-sea exploration in a faraway part of the world. I was initially puzzled by the presence of Prof. Fukuda here in Rio, but that is just genius!
"I'm really impressed, and very excited. I must apologize again for judging your methods. I'm sorry!" - I was still a bit embarrassed from what I've said before.
"Oh, haven't I said already? Don't worry about it! I know I'm different, and that's why I am good at what I do!"
"That being said. I think we've talked enough for today, just please read these two papers for next week as we will discuss them in the lab. And by the way, let me guide you to our lab. My students know they will be having a new foreign colleague and they are extremely excited to meet you. Follow me."
"And, ah! Here is your lab coat, you will need it!"
That was a very special moment for me. The lab coat was the maximum symbol of a scientist as we need to wear it all the time while we are in the lab. When the professor handed the coat to me, it felt like I was being accepted into an exclusive inner circle. I followed him all the way to the lab while looking at the lab coat, very clean and neatly folded, with a sparkling glow in my eyes like a child.
But as we reached the lab door, Prof. Fukuda gave way and opened the door for me, just to reveal an extremely big surprise...….