Since I always wanted to go to France, I decided to join Daniel Mansuy’s lab at Université René Descartes in Paris. They did not have anyone who could purify proteins, and I was good at it. In graduate school, the purification of the protein I was studying took about seven days and I basically could not go home until the protein was purified and frozen. I brought this same type of rigor and determination to my lab in France. People thought I was crazy to work through the night to purify this protein, but they loved me because now they had protein to test their molecules for inhibition. I had a wonderful time in France. The lab was close to the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Les Deux Magots, and it was beautiful. Then I moved to Wisconsin for a second postdoc experience in Perry Frey’s lab. What I really liked was that all the faculty at Wisconsin were very personable and were super excited about science. They also had an amazing library, and I loved to just go there, sit, and read.