So, things have been going well here. I am very lucky to be observing in the labs. My team is very helpful besides the occasional Dutch conversation that I understand only three words of. Also, I have been able to dilute antibodies, cut tissue for slides, mix buffer, and create capillary storage tubes. The tours have been great too. They have very advanced behavior facilities and I may get to observe intestinal extraction and inversion from rats for a graduate lab practical. I am a little nervous about this though. Sam is correct though, the animal welfare systems are looked at in a different way than in the U.S. Hunting may as well be a sin according to some people I have talked to.
To answer the questions:
What did you do over the weekend? What did you find interesting? Why was it interesting?
We went into Amsterdam this weekend. We had been warned, but I would never have believed the extent of the drug and sex trades there. The city was green with marijuana and it was just sad to see what may have been a very beautiful city at one time filled with stoners. The canals were nice, and the museums were interesting, but the crowds for everything were horrible. They ruined the art experience for me. We met several other American students there, and it was nice to talk to someone who doesn't hate Americans. Even at work, they make jokes about how we as students just shoot eachother all the time. It was interesting that everyone we met was a tourist in Amsterdam. It made the city feel less like a real place, and more like a twisted Disneyworld.
Now that you have been there nearly two weeks, how has your behavior changed in your day-to-day life? What changes have you had to make to adapt to your new environment?
I can ride a bike now! I am certainly getting better at it. Also, I have been speaking differently. I knew it would happen because I pick up dilects without even realizing it, and I hope people don't think I am making fun. I really can't help it. I have also been trying to avoid asking questions about what I should be doing day to day. I think it is just expected here that you will figure it out on your own, so I have just been popping in and out and seeing different research on my own.
How have you changed the way you think or respond to eating, traveling around, your daily schedule, communicating with others?
Eating is interesting. There are no instant meals here, and it is hard to cook for one. Plus, I only know a few Dutch words now, so buying ingredients you need to make boxed things is impossible. I tried to make soup from a bag the other day and failed miserably because I just tried to make up what I thought the directions said. I was wrong. Travel is expensive. We have narrowed our travels to things we feel we must see or will die because we would both be bankrupt by the end if we didn't. I love hearing other people's opinions on travel because I now know some good places to go in the area that will be less expensive in the end. Communicating is hard sometimes because if you are the only one who doesn't know Dutch in a group, they will just leave you out to avoid using English. Most everyone speaks English, it is just getting them to use it so that you understand the jokes at coffee or the tests they are running is difficult.
What types of questions should Dr. Hurley be asking you to help you record your thoughts, observations, reflections on your international experience?
Questions relating to what we are doing specifically may help us hone in on a better way to explain it to others when we get to 199.
Things are good here. I like the laid back lifestyle and I like seeing all these tests actually being done. I have attended a few peer reviewed research presentations, but most of it is over my head. I am glad to be invited though. It is good to know what students are expected of here.
Here are a few pictures of the labs I have seen.
Taking pictures of cells:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb122/Allieolie639/DSC03686.jpg
A tent designed to measure energy intake under low oxygen conditions:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb122/Allieolie639/DSC03690.jpg
Device used for slicing tissue thin enough to place on a slide:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb122/Allieolie639/DSC03689.jpg
Mummified fetal pigs:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb122/Allieolie639/DSC03695.jpg
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