As promised, today you get to hear about yesterday! And a bit about today, although there really isn't much to tell.
Yesterday was really fantastic. I went in to work at around 10, taking all of the gifts with me that I brought from home. Everyone was very excited about looking through everything, and so four or five of us (Martin included) went to the social room with some coffee and sat and looked through all of the books. It was really funny, because Martin decided that everyone in the lab should have a go at reading the names of the cities that were on the Virginia map at the front of the books. It was pretty hysterical. They did fairly well, except that NO ONE could pronounce Culpeper correctly. Simon (who is actually from China) did a pretty good job at saying Tappahannock, which I thought was pretty impressive. And Martin was VASTLY amused by all of the British names in Virginia. He had a lot of fun using a British accent and saying Staunton. He also spent the rest of the day trying to remember the lyrics to the John Denver song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" because he knew that he had heard of the Shenandoah River before.
Other than that bit of entertainment, it was a rather typical day. Martin sent me some articles to read, and so I read them and did some brainstorming about my project and what not. Then, around seven a bunch of people from the lab went out to dinner. It was me, Martin, Guvanch, David, Bjorn, Simon, and Robert. We went to the inner part of the city, but we walked through the school campus as we went because I hadn't seen very much of it yet. It was really neat. The whole campus is on cobbles. Not just the sidewalks, like at VCU, but the ENTIRE campus. It was really neat. (But a bit hard to walk on...I almost turned my ankle once or twice.)
Other than that bit of entertainment, it was a rather typical day. Martin sent me some articles to read, and so I read them and did some brainstorming about my project and what not. Then, around seven a bunch of people from the lab went out to dinner. It was me, Martin, Guvanch, David, Bjorn, Simon, and Robert. We went to the inner part of the city, but we walked through the school campus as we went because I hadn't seen very much of it yet. It was really neat. The whole campus is on cobbles. Not just the sidewalks, like at VCU, but the ENTIRE campus. It was really neat. (But a bit hard to walk on...I almost turned my ankle once or twice.)
We went to a place called the Kleine Ratskeller to eat. The food was AWESOME. I got the wurst with sauerkraut and fried potatoes. Delicious! One thing I've noticed, though, is that German portion sizes are even bigger than American portions. I haven't been able to finish a single meal since I've been here. I feel really bad about it, but there is really nothing that I can do. I almost made myself sick last night trying to finish off all of my food. And what is so funny is that these super skinny German guys are polishing off these gigantic meals and then throwing three or four beers on top of it!
It was a lot of fun though. It was very relaxed. There was pretty much no one else in the restaurant, so we sat and chatted for three or four hours. It was crazy. We talked about all sorts of things: World War II, September 11th, famous German actors, science...everything. Bjorn and Martin got into this super scientific discussion/debate for at LEAST an hour and a half. It was a lot of fun to listen to even though I didn't always understand what they were talking about (it didn't help that I was full of food and starting to get sleepy). And it was really nice, because everyone made sure that they had their conversations in English so that I could follow along.
After we finished our meals, we wandered around for a bit and had a really entertaining conversation about American vs. European toilets (Bjorn started it!). And I have to say that as much fun as it was, I was almost relieved when we started walking back towards our respective homes. It has been REALLY cold in Germany for the last few days (as in, around 50 or 55 degrees during the day) and I didn't pack an actual coat. I had packed my new "autumn" coat in my bag and then decided that I didn't really need it, so I took it out. Last night I was seriously wishing that I had it. The only thing I had was a rather lightweight jacket with 3/4 length sleeves. I was FREEZING. But anyway, it was great fun! David was nice and walked me back to the guest house to make sure that I didn't get lost (it was about 1AM by this time, and some of the streets in the city are not well lit, so it is hard to tell where you are).
So that was yesterday.
Today was also a really good day (and much warmer, thank goodness!) Today I worked with Ute and Steffi in the molecular laboratory. (I guess I should explain that Martin's lab is literally one whole WING of the building. They have a HUGE molecular laboratory, and a very large fly room with equipment for the hearing tests that they do on the flies. And Martin's office is the largest I think I have ever seen in my entire life. It big enough to be a bedroom!) Anyway, I spent half the morning trying to use a microscope and tweezers to pull one segment of the antenna off of a bunch of fruit flies. Very difficult, and really really gross.
Then Ute and I went to the basement to get some liquid nitrogen so that we could grind up some flies and extract RNA from them. The thing that really blew my mind was that they don't wear gloves all that often! I couldn't believe it! RNA is one of the most unstable molecules outside of our bodies, and our skin secretes an enzyme that causes it to break down. At my normal lab, you never touch ANYTHING that goes near RNA without gloves. And everyone in this lab is handling the RNA extraction kit with their bare hands! (Nevertheless, we did get a fair amount of RNA from our samples, so maybe I'm just too paranoid).
So, yeah, that was pretty much my day today. I killed a lot of flies (which, I admit, I sort of feel bad about....it's one thing to smush them in your house, it's another to look at them up close while you are pulling them apart). But anyway, dass ist alles fur heute! (That is all for today!)
Love you all,
Me
It was a lot of fun though. It was very relaxed. There was pretty much no one else in the restaurant, so we sat and chatted for three or four hours. It was crazy. We talked about all sorts of things: World War II, September 11th, famous German actors, science...everything. Bjorn and Martin got into this super scientific discussion/debate for at LEAST an hour and a half. It was a lot of fun to listen to even though I didn't always understand what they were talking about (it didn't help that I was full of food and starting to get sleepy). And it was really nice, because everyone made sure that they had their conversations in English so that I could follow along.
After we finished our meals, we wandered around for a bit and had a really entertaining conversation about American vs. European toilets (Bjorn started it!). And I have to say that as much fun as it was, I was almost relieved when we started walking back towards our respective homes. It has been REALLY cold in Germany for the last few days (as in, around 50 or 55 degrees during the day) and I didn't pack an actual coat. I had packed my new "autumn" coat in my bag and then decided that I didn't really need it, so I took it out. Last night I was seriously wishing that I had it. The only thing I had was a rather lightweight jacket with 3/4 length sleeves. I was FREEZING. But anyway, it was great fun! David was nice and walked me back to the guest house to make sure that I didn't get lost (it was about 1AM by this time, and some of the streets in the city are not well lit, so it is hard to tell where you are).
So that was yesterday.
Today was also a really good day (and much warmer, thank goodness!) Today I worked with Ute and Steffi in the molecular laboratory. (I guess I should explain that Martin's lab is literally one whole WING of the building. They have a HUGE molecular laboratory, and a very large fly room with equipment for the hearing tests that they do on the flies. And Martin's office is the largest I think I have ever seen in my entire life. It big enough to be a bedroom!) Anyway, I spent half the morning trying to use a microscope and tweezers to pull one segment of the antenna off of a bunch of fruit flies. Very difficult, and really really gross.
Then Ute and I went to the basement to get some liquid nitrogen so that we could grind up some flies and extract RNA from them. The thing that really blew my mind was that they don't wear gloves all that often! I couldn't believe it! RNA is one of the most unstable molecules outside of our bodies, and our skin secretes an enzyme that causes it to break down. At my normal lab, you never touch ANYTHING that goes near RNA without gloves. And everyone in this lab is handling the RNA extraction kit with their bare hands! (Nevertheless, we did get a fair amount of RNA from our samples, so maybe I'm just too paranoid).
So, yeah, that was pretty much my day today. I killed a lot of flies (which, I admit, I sort of feel bad about....it's one thing to smush them in your house, it's another to look at them up close while you are pulling them apart). But anyway, dass ist alles fur heute! (That is all for today!)
Love you all,
Me
I soooo enjoyed reading your post. I laughed really hard about the toilet discussion. What a topic of conversation!! It sounds like you're settling in nicely and have made some fast friends. Eeeewwwww!! Pulling apart flies is gross! Love, Sheila :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, the toilet discussion was pretty interesting. Bjorn began by asking if I liked European or American toilets better, and then everyone had to ask about the differences between the two. It was crazy.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, pulling apart flies is really gross. And way more difficult than you might think.
I just want you all to know that in all of Kacey's technical rambling, I did know that RNA was ribonucleic acid! But I did cheat and look up the spelling in my Taber's medical dictionary! Hey, I'm getting a little age on me!
ReplyDeleteKace, I LOVED all the exquisite details! I could picture all the things you were describing.
Can you buy yourself a heavier jacket if the cool days keep up? Don't want my baby getting sick over there! Did you get the insurance thing straightened out yet? By the time Pingkalai gets back it won't matter....
Take care! I love you!
P.S. I will pray that those poor little fruit flies don't feel any pain and grief while you are ripping them apart! sniff sniff
Woo...ripping apart fruit flies! lol! Sounds like you are having a lot of fun over there regardless of fruit fly massacres. I am starting to get jelous! Hope the fun continues!!
ReplyDeleteThe toilet discussion was BOUND to come up! That was the very FIRST thing I noticed about Europe. In fact, I was fascinated by a toilet I saw that had the tank WAY up high on the wall, almost near the ceiling! We had to stop at a public restroom once and didn't know that most public restrooms are "BYOP" (bring your own paper) and we almost missed the train to our next stop trying to "drip dry"!
ReplyDelete