Adventures of the Globe Trotting Sisters

When I was younger (back in my far and distant youth), my oldest sister embodied everything I envied. She was short (if she reads this she will probably roll her eyes at that comment)--I was (am) at a weird middle-y height; she was charismatic--I was painfully awkward and hermit-like; she had balls--I well um, was ball-less.

You get the picture.

I wonder why space makes people appreciate another person for not just what they do for you, but also for who they are as a person and what they did for you when you were unconsciously growing up. Resenting my sister was easy with my parents always pointing out her qualities, and regardless of how many times I said out loud I did NOT want to become like her...I think a lot of what she accomplished both in high school as well as in college drove me forward and fueled me with ambitions to ...perhaps not become a mini-her...but to become someone better than myself. And for that, I think I can finally recognize what a large influence her life has been on mine and how much of my own personality..and even I think my values...which would have been different had she been anyone else (had we not been sisters).

Focusing my stream of consciousness, my oldest sister came to visit me today here in Germany. She and my other sister just finished up medical school and are in the middle of that transition from student to ... whatever comes after that. Because really...when is the definite line drawn between childhood..or perhaps not childhood...and being a grown up? Can we actually ever say that we are done growing up and reached that grown up status? To say, yes, hello world, I am now fully developed and bring it on because my ways and personality are now set in stone?

yikes! reel it back in.

let me re-start:
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So I have been in Germany for a week now (WOAH) and I have to say that now the glitter is out of my eye-balls, I have realized several things that make this country less spectacular.

1) there is no cereal in Freiburg.

2) I am the new kid in town. Tangent: let's re-wind to the first day of lab and the first day of complete humiliation. Here I was surrounded by these beautiful, beautiful (when I describe these people I need to repeat 'beautiful' at LEAST 2 times to emphasize the seriousness of how disgustingly beautiful these people are. ugh) German graduate students. Dr. Shastri was introducing me to everyone and then abruptly, almost mid-sentence, cut out and told them all: yup! I'll leave you guys alone so ask her about anything! be nice to her! be her friend! ---then he scurried off and I was left cornered and trapped. fed to the wolves? shafted?

If I had distress flares, baby, they woulda been gunning all over the place.

3) on a related note, can I just say that being alone in a new country and not knowing the language is super scary?

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In any case, Kristal decided to come and visit me before she starts her residency in Rhode Island. And good lord was I thankful for a familiar face. That's kind of funny really since her face looks so much like mine...so really...a mirror would have... no. i won't go there.

anyway. this post is getting ridiculous. I wish MIT had a class on how to write a blog. (actually isn't there an xkcd comic that relates to this? I think I need to get a blogging for dummies handbook)

SO after a hectic traveling day for both of us (my sister not only had to run around RI before getting here setting up her apartment and buying a car, but British Airways went on strike and she had to get her flight rerouted on Air France. and I...well, I just got on the wrong train....which. ok never mind...AND all this compounded with the lack of having cell phones and being in a foreign country led to an adventurous meeting!) *breath*

..we went around Frankfurt for a day! We museum hopped and I had my first Bratwurst. If I had continued with being a vegetarian (or actually whatever it's called that still eats seafood) I would have been pretty lost here since everything here is meat, bread, and cheese!

This post is pretty much a lost cause. I need the will to go back and redo it all or an editor. I have neither. So I am going to hurl pictures are you in an attempt to distract you and conclude with an update of my project (because really...aren't I here to do ...something a little useful?) we'll see. Coherency will come later.

People

Do you ever have the urge to tackle these people and steal all their balloons?

We found the entire Asian population in Germany right here.

Kristal outside the Opera House

A spot o' green.

Looking good there, doctor.

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My project:

Meeting a graduate student from Switzerland today to ask about cell lines and then ordering materials that will hopefully come in a week!

oh phew finally. the end.

Senses OVERLOAD

Guten Tag!

So I have arrived in Deutschland in one piece--no appendage or luggage missing in the process. The process being flying of course! Can I just say that I think it's amazing when planes have two levels? Lufthansa was a pretty spiffy airplane with bathrooms (excuse me, i mean washrooms) on the lower level! how splendid. what made the flight over here even more awesome is that no one was sitting next to me! So I definitely first-classed it in economy with my legs up and everything.

First sighting of this fabled country full of German people

Ok, so maybe the plane ride over wasn't actually that out of the ordinary...so maybe I will wow you with where I'm going to live for the next 11 weeks!

What a cute house! that's my dorm? OH SNAP

my room! Take that Next House.

So I'm staying in this international graduate dorm, which is actually a really cute cottage thing on Katharinestrasse (the street name!! the pronunciation of which will be the death of me. I cannot get lost here because I doubt I will be able to even ask for help!)

Yesterday, Dr. Shastri and his wife gave me a walking tour of the entire city which was gorgeous. They both know so much about the history of each building and the city that my mind was about to implode with all the interesting facts they were throwing at me! About the cobblestones, the black forest, the cathedral, and the different Catholic bishops (which is crazy they knew so much about since Dr. Shastri is Hindu and his wife is Lutheran)!

Where Belle sang "quiet town in a little village" you only THOUGHT Beauty and the Beast was set in France, didn't you?

Can places like this exist in real life?

The Cathedral. The builders really did a nice design job where the light is so beautiful at the ceiling and the front.

Just as Beautiful!

I actually arrived on a holiday so the town was practically empty as we walked around! Dr. Shastri and his wife took me to a Chinese restaurant (haha) for lunch and then an Italian ice cream place (haha x2) afterwards. I love listening to both of them talk to each other and trying to tell me more about a certain thing/place than the other. It's a friendly banter/competition and both of them know so much about everything!

Even though I've only been here for a short while and have yet to become really familiar with Freiburg, I already am in love with the town. After lunch, Prasad and Ulrike brought me back to my dorm and after insisting "are you sure you will be alright" and "do you know your way around Frieburg" and me replying "yes yes, of course!" and "it's a pretty small town, I'm pretty sure I won't get lost," they left to go home and I promptly went back out to explore more and of course...get lost. After about two frantic hours circling around the center town (it really is quite small....) I made it back to my dorm and slept for 12 hours straight. In my defense, I lost half a day in the flight over. I can't wait till Monica gets here! I think we'd have a ton of fun running around this place (and also to Switzerland and France!) We'd also increase the Asian population in the city by a significant amount.

It's odd coming from Hawaii and MIT where the Asian population was always the majority. This is the first time I've ever walked down the street and actually only seen white people! No one really cares at all, but it's definitely a new experience for me! Also, everyone here is BEAUTIFUL...like no jokes beautiful. Hopefully at the end of 2.5 months I don't develop too bad of a complex being surrounded by Heidi Klums!


My Project

I'm pretty excited about starting my project in Prasad's lab. Because he wanted to wait till we met face to face to really tell me about what I will be doing, I was basically in the dark since we first set this summer up. Mystery Revealed!

So my project will basically be identifying new markers for early breast cancer detection. Prasad wants to eventually develop a new imaging technique for earlier breast cancer diagnosis that will be more accurate and less buggy than MRI and mammography. I'm really excited about this and was slightly bulldozed over today where Prasad was throwing out all this information about cancer development! Hopefully I can do some prelim lit research tonight and catch up on my cell bio and cancer stuff that I haven't touched for a year. (nuts! I should have brought that Lodish textbook with me in my suitcase) All in all, the stripped down goal this summer for me I think is to develop a way to induce DCIS cells in vitro specifically for our studies and then run protein expression analysis on these cells. I'm pretty excited to learn how to make 3D cell cultures since my previous cell work was only dish and 2D. I've also never had the chance to develop a project on my own so this certainly will be an interesting experience! Ok, my mind is still trying to process all this information and I have a ton of stuff to (re)learn on so for now, Guten Abend!

This is the unknown beginning right now

Right after my finals ended (well, actually right after I took a shower to dispel the scent of panic and fear that hung on me since finals week began), I have been running frantically around Boston getting my extremely disorganized life into some semblance of order.

Yay productivity!

List of what I have been up to: (I love lists)
1) Exchanging some mula into Euros (and then running back to cancel reorder a different amount...which made the bank teller give me major stink eye)
2) Buying some summer reading books (including a library book I lost over the semester which I had to replace..haha.....)
3) Shoving allll my things into storage (which thanks mom, for the huge mirror, heavy floor lamp, and oh yea...the METAL COT)
4) Trying to find someone to let me sleep on their floor for Saturday night since my dorm kicks everyone out at noon today (and then begging the house manager to let me stay one more night an hour before check out...thank Julie!)

*phew*

In all this random hustle bustle, I all of a sudden realized that today is my last full day in Boston...and pausing a moment, also the last day I will be seeing my senior friends until.... well....until I see them again.

I was never good at saying good-byes. Well, actually I don't think anyone is....unless there is a professional "good-bye" sayer out there.. which is not only ridiculous (and also incredibly lonely) but highly unlikely.

That actually made no sense in rereading.

The weird thing about the end of college is that compared to the end of high school, where our friends are tied to their families...and where there is always the promise of some sort of home coming....the end of college has no such certainty. College brings together people from all over the country..the world even...people from far different cultures and nooks and crannies come here for four years and then disperse to new locations to begin the rest of their lives. Once we graduate here, it truly is the beginning of the unknown.

I hate the phrase "time can only tell."

But really. Will we stay in touch? Will we stay close?

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Anyway, so this was my last full day in Boston (as aforementioned) and it was a beautiful, beautiful, sunny, breezy day. However, I talked myself out. So, all I have left are these photos and the thought that next you hear from me, I will be in Germany (ZOMG!) and beginning my adventures in a land where I only know two words (and both those words, I learned today I've been mispronouncing forever):