那只穿了衣服的狗叫做CoCo :)

我终于学会了做鱼。。。

今天趁着家里没有人，我再一次尝试的做鱼，终于成功了。。。爸妈，下次你们来，做给你们吃。。。

I want one...too

they look like the dogs I want to have someday....

Clarification--there is absolutely no connection between the dog behind the shrubs and the smoked meat.......

the dog is owned by my landlords´s neighbors and the smoked meat is a popular spanish delicacy that one eats with bread...no connections....

a party at my lab

今天是12月8日

今天晚上回家，发现我的房东已经为圣诞节的派对开始做准备。据说有将近50个人（他们的朋友，有德国人，瑞士人和西班牙人）回来，让后会有很多很多的吃的。我今天很荣幸的成为一位吃到我房东为圣诞节准备的甜点。我很难形容那是什么，因为我在美国和中国都没有见过。不过它是甜的，和它是相当好吃：）。我房东告诉我它放一个星期后更好吃。哎，我要是有那个本事，我一定会做八宝饭。。。：（

我今天很悲伤的发现我上上上个星期买的奶酪发霉了。晕倒一下，我一位奶酪跟酒一样，放越久越好吃。。。

星期日我和几位在西班牙的朋友去看TWILIGHT一位关于一个吸血鬼和一位高中女孩相恋的故事。演的很好，可是很奇怪，里面的吸血鬼跟我想象的不太一样。。。没有长长的牙齿。。。。

这几天西班牙天天下雨。。。。

明天就是12月1日了

这个星期五，我的房东一家人去了德国。我决定用这个机会来练习做饭。因为下个星期三，我一位朋友会从伦敦过来看望我。前天，在下班回来的路上，我路过一家超市去买东西。我买了一颗大白菜，花了一欧元。后来想了想，真是让我晕倒一下，因为这就表示我花了将近10元来买了一颗大白菜。在西班牙，2欧元就可以买一瓶红酒，这不就表示两颗大白菜可以换一瓶红酒吗？我也买了一条鱼，可是让我超级郁闷的是那条鱼煮了煮了就变成了一条鱿鱼，我最讨厌吃的鱼。所以我只好把它给扔了。。。哎。。。都怪我从来没有见过生的鱿鱼。。。


这个星期天，我花了一些时间在读西班牙的报纸。其中有关于在印度发生的事情，有关于西班牙政府决定派3架飞机去接困在泰国的西班牙人。还有一篇比较美国的南北战争和西班牙的内战的文章。我读了之后更发现林肯的伟大。在美国的南北战争结束之后，那些南方士兵都别给予自由。可是在西班牙的内战结束之后，FRANCO的独裁政府和他的长枪党杀死很多反对者。美国的南北战争的目的是为了消除奴隶制，可是西班牙的内站是为了推翻西班牙第一代的民主政府。不过文章说道西班牙非常非常的幸运，因为FRANCO后来指定一位西班牙的王子为他的继承人（Franco好像只有两位女儿），不过那位王子认识到西班牙需要一个民主的政府，所以他自动弃权。西班牙因此可以开始改革，发展它的经济，加入欧盟等等。不过这篇最后呼吁西班牙承认当能在FRANCO政权下的牺牲者。因为到现在为止，大部分西班牙人都希望像前看，希望忘记FRANCO时候的发生的事情（有一点像中国对文革的态度）。不过我觉得西班牙之所以可以很顺利，很快的从独裁转换成一个百分之百的民主政府因为他们的人口比较少（大概是45，000，000人，在美国没有医疗保险的人是47，000，000），是美国总人口的五分之一，中国的30分之一。

这几天我在给老鼠打针的时候，发现了一个很奇怪的现象。为什么老鼠上半部分的牙齿是黄的，下半部分的牙齿是白的？哎，后天我需要取出他们的大脑。。。好难受啊。。。

我这几天在学关于动物的西班牙语。发现一件很好玩的事情。西班牙语的孔雀是pavo real，意思是皇家火鸡，那为什么孔雀的英文是peacock而不是royal turkey呢？

前几天我在书店了看到了一本书，是关于Anita Delgado，她是马德里的一位跳舞演员，和一位印度王子一见钟情，成为了一位印度王妃。可惜后来因为那位王子长时间在欧洲（那时候印度还是英国的殖民地），他和另外一位英国女孩发生了婚外情，他们离婚了。现在在西班牙最畅销的一本书也是关于一位印度皇家贵族和一位意大利女孩在英国发生的恋情。不过这一本是小说，而不是真实故事。

住在我房东对面的房子院子里有一只大白狗。以前它看见我的时候会跑过来。可是因为现在它都不理我了。。。哎，我决定去买一些狗饼干给它吃。

an article in the New York Times

I just read the article "Time for Him to Go" by Gail Collins (it is currently #1 on "the Most E-mailed" section). The entire article was extremely interesting as Ms. Collins calls (jokingly) for the resignation of both the President and the Vice President immediately after Thanksgiving so Democractic can began to run the country and President Bush can avoid becoming known as the worst president in history. Nevertheless, the part of the article that struck me the most is

"In the past, presidents have not taken well to suggestions that they hand over the reins before the last possible minute. Senator J. William Fulbright suggested a plan along those lines when Harry Truman was coming to the end of a term in a state of deep unpopularity, and Truman called him “Halfbright” for the rest of his life."

Sigh, out of all U.S. presidents (possibility out of all the current and former world leaders), I admire President Truman the most, but at the same time I owe Senator Fulbright the opportunity to be in Spain. Even though it is kind of sad to see the enemity between these two wonderful politicians (ah, actually statesman is a more accurate word to describe them), I couldn't help but again amaze at the sense of humor that exist in American politics :).

来西班牙两个月了。。。

我发现今天是11月18日了，我是9月12日去的西班牙。虽然说我有两个星期是在美国度过的，不过我来西班牙已经有两个月了。这两个月， 我用了三跟牙膏，一瓶洗发水和3罐咖啡。 可是好奇怪，我觉得这两个月好长好长，不过可能在我回美国之后，我会觉得在西班牙的日子过的很快。不过现在回想过去两个月，我总体来说过的很开心，很满足的。不过我这几天心情不太好，我有几只老鼠状态很糟糕，昨天有两只不幸的去世了。我看着它们病怏怏的，却不知道该怎们办。。。。

对西班牙有了更多的了解

今天我离开实验室以后，去了书店，去看了看最近有什么书出来。其中两本书吸引了我的注意力。其中一本是“茜茜公主的诅咒”。我小时我最喜欢的电影就是茜茜公主了。爷爷把那个电影介绍给我的。我看了好几遍，真的非常非常的喜欢。第二本书是西班牙70岁的索菲皇后的备忘录。她在嫁给西班牙国王之前，是希腊的公主。西班牙人非常的尊敬她和她的丈夫因为在1970年西班牙的独裁者FRANCO去世之后，她和她的丈夫自动弃权，帮组西班牙建立一个民主的政府。我看了她的照片，她的笑容很漂亮：）我现在对西班牙更有一些了解。FRANCO是在1930年西班牙内战结束后成为了西班牙的独裁者。在二战时，他支持了希特勒。而且他的手下秘密的杀死了很多反对者。可是在50，60年代他花了很多精力建设西班牙的医疗制度，等等。随意他一去世这后，西班牙人有了一个'PACT OF SILENCE'，有点逝者已逝的意思。我想可能是因为FRANCO有罪也有功，西班牙人也想像前看。西班牙的经济真正变好的时候是在西班牙加入欧盟这后。我发现在路上的老人个子都非常非常的矮， 年轻人个子跟美国人差不多。所以那些老人个子矮的原因应该是当年西班牙物质困乏的时候造成的。

今天早上我起来后，我去院子里把我前天洗的衣服收起来，结果发现我的衣服结霜了，恐怖。。。。

一个很有意思的晚上

今天晚上，我的房东邀请我去他们教堂的一个音乐会（他们的信仰是德国天主教）。我去听了，很有意思。所有的音乐（都是古典音乐）都是又一个有25岁的风琴弹出来的。因为音乐会是在教堂里举行，一边听音乐，一边看着被蜡烛照亮的圣母玛利亚的雕像，真的让我感慨万分。 My curiosity and sometimes even admiration about religion is its power of giving people hope and sense of peace in a world that is full of contradictions, human sufferings and unexplainable phenomenons. Even though my hope and sense of peace come from my conviction that science will eventually be able to explain everything in this world, I still cannot help but to believe (especially when I was immersed in the music of Bach at a solemn Germany church) in the presence of higher being (hence making me agnostic）。

音乐会结束这后，大家聚在了一起喝红酒，吃点心和聊天。我喝了一点一点的红酒，还是觉得不好喝。在聊天的时候，我学到了在圣诞节的时候，人们会喝一种特殊，很甜，热的红酒。

虽然说我现在还不能百分之百的区分德国人和西班牙人，我感觉西班牙人的五官比德国人的五官更像亚洲人一些。

当人们慢慢离开的时候，我的房东，他们的朋友（一对穿着很正规的夫妇）和我一起上了车。我以为会回家，结果我们开车到了一个餐馆前，（当时所有的车位都被占满了，正当我的房东准备double park的时候，有一个人出来把她的车开走了）。我们走进已给已经很满很满的餐馆，这个时候已经是快11点了。当我们坐下的时候，一位侍者走过来，问“vino（红酒",我赶快说了一句”agua para mi"。后来我们一起吃了饭。因为在教堂了大家已经吃了，在餐馆里是吃了一些典型的西班牙：油炸虾仁，土豆沙拉，等等。然后大家开始聊天，他们的朋友问我在那里工作啊，什么呀，等等。在我们离开的时候，我发现我的房东在给的小费。我有点吃惊，因为我在西班牙的朋友告诉我在西班牙的餐馆不需要给小费，因为小费已经包裹在饭前里了。不过在我们离开时，那位侍者很热情的向我们招手告别，餐馆了老板也出来要我的房东下次再来。不过我们准备开车离开的时候，我们发现一辆double-parked的BMW把我们的车给挡住了。结果我的房东的朋友到餐馆里把车的主人给找到了，她把车给开走了。在回家的路上，我的房东告诉我几十年前，酒比现在还要便宜（西班牙现在的酒已经够便宜了），可是当年虽然人们可以买到大量的酒，但是没听说谁成为了酒鬼，但是现在他们已经听说有人染上酒瘾（尽管酒现在变贵了）。我怀疑这后酒的价格没有关系，而是因为几十年前，西班牙还有FRANCO独裁的阴影，而现在西班牙是一个相当自由的国家。

好可怜。。。

可怜的老鼠

昨天下午，在我给一只老鼠打针的时候， 它一跳降落到了地上，然后消失在房间里的某个角落。一个小时以后，我放弃抓那只老鼠，因为我觉得这些老鼠一辈子住在一个笼子里，太可怜了。或许，它们衣食无忧，但是那么无聊，要是我我一定会发疯。因为觉得这只老鼠勇气可嘉，我决定放它自由。所以，我在地上放了一些食物，我就离开了。今天早上，我告诉了实验室的人我的一只老鼠逃跑了，他们很吃惊，其中一位愿意帮我抓回老鼠。因为我无法拒绝他们的好意，然后他们也告诉我，如果别人抓住那只老鼠，它一定会被杀掉了，所以我们一起回到了给老鼠打针的房间，找到了那只可能因为刚刚睡醒，还在发呆的老鼠。我给它注射了一些盐水，然后打了两针。。。可怜的老鼠。。。。又回到了笼子里了。。。

可怜的狗

今天我看见了一只腿特别特别短，身体特别特别长和粗的狗。可是它的主人个子又高又长，那只狗因为跟不上，只好一跳一跳的走。太可怜了。。。。。

昨天我在西班牙的超市上看见了柿子，太稀奇了

Maybe because of the U.S. elections, maybe because of a sudden decreased exposure to English after coming back to Spain, I am have haunted by a strong urge to watch reruns of my favorite show The West Wing (kind of a couple of weeks I reread some of my favorite Chinese books during high school and middle school--yes, mom, I have to confess to you, there were times you thought that I was doing homework, I was actually reading Chinese books :) ). Anyway, I am seriously considering getting the DVD collection of the West Wing. Maybe, maybe...

This Monday marks the 3rd day of measuring the behaviors of mice that I did surgery three weeks ago. The surgery seemed to have work on most of my mice--they can only turn in one direction--but maybe because of the surgery, because of the background or because of their ages, I did not expect the difficulty in injecting L-DOPA into them. Comparing to the kind of work I did in undergrad--watching mice run around looking for cereal or chocolate milk in a maze or even injecting with drugs that change their behaviors but did not cause pain or death--I feel guilty about what I am doing right now and and have been asking myself again and again whether or not all the pain and anxiety that I am inflicting on the mice is worth it. The thoughts I used to have at MIT on what is like to be a mouse have also come back to me. I honestly cannot imagine a life confined to a cage that is on a rack most of the time. Sigh, if a mouse lives in nature, it can run to different places, take on different adventures, it can forage, watch for enemies and have offspring. The mice here cannot do anything to change or to better their fate. Sometimes I wish that they would stay still and not bite me, so I can finish the procedure quicker and put back to their cage. I do wish that they don´t get to stressed out during surgery so they can survive the surgery and live a month longer. But how is a mouse going to know that? Anyway, I still strongly belief that animal research is necessary, but I hope that someday, there will be enough funding, enough knowledge to enable the the lab mice can have a live similar to the mice in nature.

Last night, I began reading a book that I bought almost almost a year ago when it was recommended by one of my Spanish professors. It was el laberineto de la soledad by Octavio Paz. Instead of starting at page 1, I went straight to page 400something, to the chapter that compares Mexico with US, and it which the author pointed that the difference between U.S. and Mexico is largely consequence of the differences in
their civilization. That part of the Mexican tragedy--the feelings of sorrow and confusion about self-identity--comes from knowing that even though U.S. and Mexico occupy the same continent, have similarly history, yet the former is blessed with the Constitution, with leaders like Washington, Lincoln and FDR and with the strongest economy in the world, the latter is haunted by wars, dictators, drugs, inequality, instability and economical difficulties.

One point mentioned by Octavio Paz was that Mexico has a closed culture whereas U.S. has an open culture. That when it struck me that the world is indeed full of contradictions. In American, personal privacy is deeply valued yet there is the freedom of speech, where reporters are by in large free to report anything that is wrong with America. Whereas in Mexico, maybe because of the residual fear from the dictatorial regimes, people are open to share facts about their lives but not about the society they live in.

Reading this book suddenly made me realize what is special about Europe. It is the European Union. A Spanish citizen can enjoy the the same social and health benefits when they go to France and Britain. Since Berlin is only a 2-hour train ride away from Madrid, one can find job in another country without really have to be separated from one's family. Mexico as a nation feels lonely because the countries on North America much more separated. America does not feel the same solitude perhaps because it is the richest and most powerful nation in the world and because it is so entrenched in its own affairs that there is no time to feel lonely.

新的照片：）

前面三个是我在西班牙住的房子的照片。我的房东有两个连在一起的房子，我一个照片照不下来。其中一个照片里的凉台是我房间的凉台：） 后面几张照片是我今天在研究所照的：）

昨晚的噩梦

昨天晚上我10：30睡觉，结果第二天早上（今天星期六早上）醒过来，已经是8点半了，外面的天已经亮了。我之所以起的这么晚是因为我昨晚做了一个噩梦。我梦见我在家的时候，有人给我寄一盒子的又小又黑的老鼠。我希望让老鼠留下来，做为宠物。但是爸爸妈妈坚决不同意，我只好把老鼠回到盒子里，准备寄回去。在我把老鼠一只一只拧起来的时候，我醒过来了：（我怀疑是因为我有两个星期没有和老鼠打交道了，星期五的时候和老鼠在一起了时候，有些不习惯吧 ：）

在新英格兰水族馆里超级可爱的企鹅

wow,我在波士顿其中最难忘的一刻就是看见那群企鹅的时候。它们是在是太可爱了，不过很好吃也很爱发呆。有好几只企鹅站在石头上一动也不动，可能是睡着了吧。当人们喂它们吃鱼的时候，那些企鹅你挨着我我挨着你的聚成一团抢这吃。

我的房间和在实验所的图书馆

上次我提到在波士顿发生了很多让我感动的事情，其中的一件使我能在西班牙照照片：）））

因为现在外面在下雨，所以我明天才能照我住的房子和研究所的外面的景色。

在第一张照片上一个玉的颜色的杯子（里面有一个乳色的蜡烛）是我这次会波士顿一位来自于西班牙的朋友给我的，杯子是她亲手做的。嗯，妈妈，你可能会觉得房子有点乱，但那不是正常的。我是突然心血来潮的时候，决定拍照片的。我一般是早上去实验室以前整理房间，那时候是晚上。

嗯，最上面的照片是我在研究所里最喜欢的地方，那就是它的图书馆了，虽然它很小（更像一个阅读室一样），不过他们的科学杂志很多很多。

今天在实验室的一个人告诉我他的噩梦。他梦见他在做饭的时候，炉子突然爆炸子。这真是一个可怕的梦！当我问道他周末会做什么，他说他和他的女朋友会邀请朋友来吃晚饭，难道是他因为要替朋友做晚饭而当心？嗯，当我能做出西班牙菜的时候，我一定拍张照片，POST上来。

回到了西班牙

我现在回到了西班牙。今天的心情不错，重新适应西班牙比我想象中要容易一些，因为实验室的人都很热情。在我要回西班牙的时候，在飞机场上，我花了很多时间在想我在西班牙究竟学到了什么，我去西班牙是希望学到什么。我现在对我在实验上学到了东西很满意，可是在生活，文化和为人处世方面呢？

我现在很想念我在美国见到的人，也很想念在水族馆里的企鹅。这次会到美国，发生很多让我很感动很感动的事情，哎，不过因为我太害羞了，所以就不一一列举了。

这个星期六我将会开始我的课题的第二部分，这个部分是要给老鼠一种药，然后观察它们的反映。可能和手术比起来，这个会更枯燥，因为有30只老鼠（3只已经去世了：（ ），啊，每一天要做同样的事情做30次！！！

今天回到西班牙后，把屋子清了清，去超市买的牛奶，鸡蛋，奶酪，番茄和苹果。

我回到了美国

今天（22号）我飞回了美国。昨天，在我确定我做了手术的老鼠（31只）健康状况稳定这后，我到了几家衣服店买了一套面试的衣服。今天到达叔叔家之后，我把衣服洗了和装进的箱子里。虽然现在已经很晚了，可是我却睡不着。可能是因为后天的面试，不过我觉得最大的原因是生活又改变了。在我刚刚习惯了在西班牙的生活，在我刚刚适应每天从实验室上下班的生活时，我回到了美国，美国不光是比西班牙晚了六个小时，在美国我还需要去面对新的事情（面试。。。）。我想我比较喜欢有规律的生活，可是人生很难一沉不变，很难维持它的规律，我现在就当时为以后我无法预测的改变而做准备吧。 可是今天我还是发现虽然我来西班牙的原因之一是学新的东西，了解一种不一样的生活方式，在适应的时候我觉得很难过，比如说在我第一天住进我的房东家的时候，我其实有些害怕，因为头一次住在陌生人家。当我第一天去实验室之后，我很紧张，因为不知道自己该做什么。可是当我一旦适应这里的生活之后，我就不希望它在改变了。不过我也要理智一些，因为无论如何我不可能在西班牙度过我剩下的人生（我觉着刚才那句话不太对头，可是我找不到更合适的说法）
昨天晚上我的房东告诉我一件很有趣的事情。临走前我把下个月的房租交了。可是因为我没有350欧元的零钱，所以我给了他们一张500欧元的现金。他们告诉我在西班牙人们称呼500欧元的钞票为BIN LADEN，因为大家只知道它的存在，却从来都没过见到它。晕倒一下。。。。。。
在12月初，我的一位在英国的朋友会来看望我， 我很高兴。而却昨天我的房东主动告诉我如果我有朋友或家人来西班牙，可以免费住在他们家。我觉得自己很幸运，可以碰见这么好的人。

第五个星期

这个星期是我来西班牙之后最紧张的一个星期。我发现当我很心里事情很多的时候，我反而不太做梦。像前几个星期，我天天做梦（而且都是噩梦！）。但是这几天，我都是我躺下来就睡着了。因为我下个星期三回美国，我这个星期需要把要做的手术做完。明天就是手术的最后一天了（5只老鼠）。我已经做23个手术，很遗憾的是有两只老鼠在手术台上停止的呼吸。那真的是一个很糟糕的感觉， 主要是因为它们在不停的吸入麻醉药，所以心跳的很慢，我觉得如果一只老鼠太紧张，太害怕，它的心脏就更容易因为麻醉药的缘故而停止。我现在学会在手术中渐渐的减低麻醉药的剂量，我发现它们这样子恢复的更快一些。不过，我今天有一个很恐怖的经历。每次手术减速后，我会把老鼠放在一个空的，敞开的笼子里。笼子下面是一个电热毯。一般一只老鼠需要在里面休息半个到一个小时再能恢复体力。但是今天的一只老鼠一刻钟之后，趁我不注意的时候跳了出来，消失不见了。我当时之后放下手中的一切，满屋子里找老鼠。半个小时以后，当我准备放弃的时候，和我同一个实验室了的研究生进来了，然后我们费了九牛二虎之力终于找到了那只躲在一个仪器轮子里的老鼠。哎，有惊无险。

week 4 in Spain

实验室

今天我终于得到了那位教授的认可来开始我的课题。因为我22号需要回美国，所以下个星期我每天需要做6道8个手术。我最多最多一天只做过6个手术，所以这将会是一个挑战。这个周末我在练习一下。这次学习手术我发现我的粗心让我走了很多不必要的弯路，我很想有形容我对这个事实的感受，可以我形容不出来。

朋友

昨天我的一位好朋友带我去西班牙的一个很繁华的地方。因为西班牙的天气变冷了，尤其是早上。我现在没有冬天的衣服（都还在美国），随意我决定先在这里买一件大衣。大衣买到了，然后我也看见了西班牙几个很有名的风景：皇宫，大教堂，歌剧院。我发现在西班牙贫富的差距也很大，有很富丽堂皇的商店，也有街上讨饭的人。我朋友告诉我在西班牙的独裁者FRANCO去世以前，人们的经济条件都差不多。但是FRANCO在70年左右去世后，西班牙马上变成了一个民主制的国家，有些人变的非常非常有钱。我朋友告诉我有一位西班牙的女商人比英国的伊丽莎白皇后还要富有。天哪。。。

见闻

每个星期二，FULBRIGHT， 是我研究基金的机构，有一个讲座。上个星期是一位中国人。因为希望在中国做生意的西班牙人越来越多，来听讲座的不光有大学教授，还有律师，公司顾问等等。那位中国人经历很特别。她出生于上海，高中的时候拿过中国的游泳金牌。在交通大学学的是工程，后来在86年在美国留学的时候认识了她的丈夫，一位西班牙人。很来在93年跟随她的丈夫定居在西班牙。几年前，因为西班牙电话公司（TELEFONICA）希望在中国打开市场，她成为了这方面的负责人。像她这样在西班牙的中国人很少见。她说在西班牙多余九成以上的中国人来自于浙江，他们多是开杂货店，然后大部分都不会说西班牙文。在她的讲座上，她指出在中国做生意的挑战其中包括如何和政府打好关系和了解中国的文化。然我有些困扰的是她不停的强调中国人一般都不会说不，如果他们说“我想一想”这就代表拒绝。有时候说是也可能是代表拒绝。这让我发现了一个问题。不论是在美国还是在西班牙，我遇到了很多人都会认为我是中国人（我是中国人：） ）。不过，现在外国人在话更多的时间和经历来了解中国，当我告诉别人“我需要考虑一下”，他们会误解我是在拒绝吗？我想以后我在说这话的时候，我一定要花更多的时间来解释我为什么当时无法做决定。
讲座结束以后，一位穿着很正规的西班牙女士接近我，问我愿不愿意免费的住在她家，条件是每天下午5点到9点，我需要和她的7岁的儿子说中文和英文。因为5点对我来说太早了，所以不太可能（虽然我很希望可以和一个西班牙家庭住在一起，更了解他们的生活方式。现在我的房东是瑞典人和德国人）。不过让我影响深刻的是在劝说我的时候，那位女士（她是一名公司顾问）告诉我不需要每天和她的儿子在一起，因为她的儿子很忙，有画画课，小提琴课，英文课，中文课。。。我听都要晕倒了。。。才7岁啊。。。。

有过了一个星期。我又有好消息又有坏消息。坏消息是我这个星期做了的手术有好几个都不成功，只能再接再厉了。好消息是我碰到了一些有趣的人和有趣的事情。上个星期二，Fulbright, 我所拿的奖学金，有一个聚会。我碰到了前几届的奖学金得主。 让我印象最深的是一位开始学音乐，后来决定留在西班牙读外交和立志当一名外交官的女孩。当一名外交官也是我曾经的一个梦想（12岁来美国以前梦想：） ）。 如后，不知道在欧洲是不是都这样，这样聚会吃的东西很一般， 一碟一碟的杏仁，橄榄，的土豆片，但有许多许多的白酒和红酒。虽然我不喝酒，但是我看这这么多瓶酒还是觉得很感叹。啊，说道酒，上个周日是德国的OCTOBERFEST， 十月佳节。在那里，有很多很多的啤酒。最小的啤酒杯有一升的啤酒。前天，在西班牙的德国教会举行了自己的OCTOBERFEST。我的房东是德国人，所以他们邀请我去。那天我从实验室离开，去了那里。也有很多很多啤酒。。。让后我看见一个买吃的地方队伍很长，但不知道是什么。我就去排队，十分钟以后我发现他们在买白香肠。这是我头一次看见这么大，这么白的香肠（2.5欧元一个）。虽然说我当时对吃肉实在是没有兴趣（因为老鼠的缘故），但是看见这么多人买，有人一次就买3，4个，我还是买了一个，吃了几口，哎，还是吃不出来它有什么好吃的。然后我就去看了看了卖蛋糕的地方。我的房东曾经很自豪的告诉我德国的蛋糕很好吃。我买了一块，确实很好吃。
现在西班牙的气候开始有一些变冷。主要是白天和晚上，不过我的房东有很多的被子和毯子，我可以随便用，所以这个气候的转变对我的影响不是很大。

在西班牙的第三个星期

我来西班牙马上就要满三星期了。因为我碰见了很多好人，因为我住在和工作的环境很舒心， 现在的我已经完全适应在这里的生活 我自己都不敢相信在过三个星期我就要回美国去面试。当时去西班牙的时候，我以为我要去一个很遥远的地方去很久很久，结果根本就不是这样子。我觉得来西班牙以后，我发现这个世界其实没有我想象的大。我很希望在我回美国之前开始做我的课题，不过这就要看这个课题需要的老鼠会不会按时的被运过来。
前几天当我和实验室的同事一起吃饭的时候（现在我用刀叉的方式已经跟他们一样了），他们其中一位说他以后可以定居在欧洲的任何国家，但绝对不会在美国。“我不能忍受美国的生活方式”。当时我就开始想，欧洲和美国生活方式那里不一样了？我在这里的同事工作时间也很久（早上9点到晚上6-7点）。到目前为止我发现在这里人们吃饭的时间不一样，让后大家每天都很开心，无忧无路的。我记得当我在麻省理工的时候，看见的大部分研究生（也有本科生啦）都是神色紧张，行走匆匆，独来独往，好像时间很少的感觉。但在这里，大家做事情都是不慌不忙的。然后从观察我的房东的家庭，我觉得在西班牙，家庭成员之间来往跟多。比如说我的房东的一岁半的小孙子几乎每天晚上都会过来（他已经认识我了，见我就说TAO, TAO。。。）另外有一点让我不解的是在西班牙酒真是想当便宜，跟牛奶的价格差不多。2-3欧元是一般的，如果优惠的还有少与一欧元的。可是为什么在新闻里听不到关于喝酒过多的警告。噢，我都忘提了，在我们吃饭的食堂，有一个售卖啤酒的机器，一瓶啤酒半个欧元。这个是我头一次看就自动啤酒售卖机。这是世间之大，无奇不有。
今天我从实验室回来的时候，经过一个咖啡店，买了一杯牛奶咖啡，一边喝一边读店里提供的报纸。这种感觉真是非常非常的好 ：）

update on lab

Three days ago, I was finally able to see the results of one of my surgeries. It was a huge relieve to finally know that surgery worked. The goal of the surgery is to inject a thin needle into a small part of the brain called the striatum (the greater goal is to create a mouse model of Parkinson's disease by injecting a toxin that causes the the death of a specific type of neurons). The only way to check whether or not the injection occurred at the right place is to extract the brain, fix it, and cut it into thin slices. For the past few days, I have been performing the two steps—surgery and brain extraction—over and over again. There were accidents, mistakes, catastrophes (I lost (or accidentally killed :( ) two mice after I switched to a new anesthetics and broke a really expensive syringe that holds minute volume of solution). Watching a mouse's heart rate gradually slowing down and eventually stops was one of the most horrific lab experiences that I have ever had and breaking the syringe definitely caused me a lot of anxiety. But it was truly fortunate in everyone in the lab was supportive and understanding. When I ran back to the lab with the broken syringe, one of the graduate students told me that it had happened before, normal for people who have used it before (I know have a new, working syringe).
Another lesson I learned from this is the importance of details. When I watched the surgery, I thought I took enough notes that I could repeat it without any problem. But there were so many little things ranging from variability in the mouse's brain to the ways to prevent clogging in the syringes that added unexpected complexities and difficulties to the surgery. I can now better appreciate the saying that practice makes perfect.
Sorry, enough about the surgery, I have to mention another aspect—this aspect will have even greater influence on me than learning the knowledge and skills—that is the people I met in lab. They are truly the most wonderful labmates one can ever hope to have. While they never hesitate to point out my mistakes, they also voluntarily share with me the tricks they use to carry out different procedures. During lunch time, we could talk about anything, ranging from our families to to our likes and dislikes.
For this coming week, my goal is to perform a surgery in a much shorter time.

令人沮丧的一个早晨

现在的我每天都是早上做饭，因为下午回来时已经是又累又晚，让后我也担心我的房东需要用厨房，所以我就在早上把早饭和晚饭都准备好。前几天还很容易，我有煮面条，煮鸡蛋，还有用微波炉热馒头等等。让我沮丧的是今天早上我5：50起床，让后开始做早饭。我这个周末买了一条鱼，然后今天早上把它放在水里煮。可是不知道为什么，我煮了半个小时以后，那条鱼还是很硬，结果我等的不耐烦了，就把那条鱼给扔了（不过西班牙的鱼很便宜，那只鱼只花了我两欧元左右）。不过我还是很沮丧。我觉得我最近都不会吃鱼了。。。。。。不过我今天早上没有吃鱼可能是一件好事，因为我上午给老鼠做手术。如果有吃鱼，我可能会很不舒服。（深深的叹了口气），现在因为老鼠的缘故，我在食堂了看见肉就觉得反胃。啊。。算了算了，不想了，不想了。。。

一个又开心又难过的周末

这是我在西班牙的第二个周末，发生了很多令人难忘的事情。

开心的事：

昨天晚上LEDIA的妹妹带我到几个中国店去了。 那些店离我现在住的地方很远，不过坐地铁好事很快。老实说我不是很习惯大部分西班牙的食物。他面的面包太硬了。。。所以我以后可能每一个月去那里一次。 这次我买了豆腐，馒头，包子，大白菜，豆奶和粉丝。那天晚上，我替LEDIA的妹妹做了晚餐，然后我每聊了很久。我非常非常的喜欢她。她现在正在学习成为一名护士。虽然她很忙，但是她还是抽空来看望我和问我有没有需要的东西（昨天我是非常需要中国的东西。。。她真是雪中送碳）。她也邀请我去她和她妈妈家吃晚饭。当我有时间的时候，我一定要去。她也告诉我现在我住的地方是马德里比较富裕的地方。这解释我的困惑，因为我发现周围都是房子和汽车，还有穿着很正规的百人。在中国店的附近，我看到了很多被的种族的人，包括东方人。我觉得自己很幸遇，因为我的住的地方周围真是非常非常的漂亮--宽敞的砖头路，各种颜色的花，风格各异的房子。我的房东为人非常非常的好（LEDIA的妹妹对我的房租很吃惊，因为在这个地方350欧元的房租算是相当的便宜）。 我的感觉是应为我的房东的孩子们都长大了，然后他们可能觉房子太空了，所以愿意把几件房间来出租。然后最重要的是我住的地方离研究所很近，这替我减少了很多麻烦。因为马德里的地铁虽然很方便，但我对它还是觉得有些紧张。不过我也觉得很遗憾，因为我现在环境让我无法和各种各类的人打交道。


难过的事

今天因为我用了太多的麻醉药，我的一只老鼠去世了。我并不怕给老鼠做手术，可是我现在还是无法掌握怎么调整麻醉的剂量，这样老鼠又不疼但又不会因为麻醉剂量太高儿死亡。道目前为止我已经替5只老鼠做了手术，每只都花了我2-3各小时。我的目标是半个小时。因为我的课题是需要给大概45只老鼠做手术。

First week in lab

Hi everyone, sorry for the belated post. The past five days were busy and yet wonderful. Below are several aspects of my week

Lab (yay!:)

The lab I work now is both similar and different from the lab I worked at MIT. Same because the techniques, the science, the goal are the same, different in the hours, the people and the culture. My day usually begins at 7, where I would cook breakfast and then go to work around 7:45. At work, I spent time reading papers and learning the techniques I need to carry out my first project. This weekend, I will have a chance to practice the techniques I learned (because during the weekdays, the equipments are usually occupied).

Definitely the thing I liked the most is the people. Even though I spoke Spanish at a much slower speed, they were patient in listening to me and always asked me if I needed anything. Especially on Wednesday when I was learning the surgery, the person who taught me was unbelievably forgiving of all the mistakes I made. I also greatly enjoyed going to lunch with them everyday. In America, I usually hold my fork with my right hand. But after a week of watching people around me always holding the fork in their left hand, I found my usage of utensils becoming more and more European.

In some ways, I found Spain and China to be very similar in its current history. Both countries were involved in World War 2, both countries lived under stringent political situations until the 1970's, and both countries have witnessed their economic growths and increase in international influence in the past three decades. However, Spain's progress does not seem to be nearly as publicized as that of China. When I told people that I am going to go to Spain, people are fascinated by it because Spain is a popular place for tourists with its museums, sports and food, but they are surprised that I would be doing research there because of the perception that there is very little science going on. Indeed, I wondered about it. Because in my neuroscience class, we learned about the discoveries made by the Spanish neuroanatomist Santidago Ramon y Cajal during our first lessons, yet, Dr. Ramon y Cajal made his discoveries in the early 1900. What must have happened is that with the civil war, World War II and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco starting in 1930s, the science in Spain came under a halt (I feel like the Franco period is extremely similar to the cultural revolution in China...that most people who went through the period are reluctant to talk about it). But when I arrived at the Cajal Institute on Monday, I was extremely impressed by its building, by the people, the resources and equipments. But this institute built only 7 years ago, when the Spanish government began to devote massive funding to attract more scientists, especially Spanish scientist who went to do research abroad. With the equipments being the same, I had no trouble of getting adjusted to performing the actual tasks required for project. But what is a little difficult is lab is set up in everything (5-7 people) work in the same medium-sized room where most of the equipments are, one can often hear conversations, making concentration more difficult. I really really enjoy the friendly environment this creates, but at times when I really need to focus on absorbing an idea, the sound can become disruptive (another possibility is that my ability to focus was weakened by the need to converse in another language).

The most fascinating yet difficult skill I learned this week is surgery (I won't go into the details here...). But moments when I saw definitely shaken by I saw the brain and the beating heart of a mouse. It is not the first time I saw these two things, but it is the first time that I was the one holding the scissor and scalpel.

Another random observation...in U.S., working with lab animals requires a stringent process of getting trained, applying to perform specific procedures on animals and wearing all the necessarily gears. In Spain, because it has become revive its research activity, many rules are still in the process of being developed and finalized, there is definitely some "gray" area. For instance, I am required to obtain a license to work with animals. To obtain that license, I needed document showing that I have been trained to work with animals, but the rule does not specify what kind of document I need. (update: but I was able to get the license. )

Place to stay (yay!:)

My new place landlords are amazing people!:) Especially Kirsten, one time I had to leave in a hurry, so I left my cookware in the sink, and she washed it for me later. Talk about cooking...I feel both fortunate and unfortunate. Kirsten had every kind of cooking utensil one can ever imagine...basically a full-scale kitchen...but my cooking skill is not developed enough to take advantage of this...sigh....

News ( :( )

Today when I finally had the time and energy to read the news, I was extremely saddened by both the English and Chinese news I read. It is hard for me to imagine that during the past five days, U.S.'s banking system had been in crisis, and parents in China are lining up in the hospitals to have their newborns examined. Because I am in Spain, I did not hear these tragedy talked about (or perhaps it was discussed just that I did not pick it up :( ). But returning to the topic on the similarities between China and Spain. So far, the price of the items in Spain are same and even more expensive than that of U.S. (with the exception of wine and chocolate). Yet, I see the supermarket full of people. China, on the other hand, despite the economic growth, its price of most items is significantly lower than that of U.S. I had been wondering why China received much more notice for its economical growth, and the most explanation I could come up with is the absolute size of China and its close economical ties with U.S.

My first formal Spanish dinner

This past Sunday, Kirsten invited me to have lunch with her family and friends. I happily accepted her invitation, but I was nervous about having lunch. Lunch began around 3:15 P.M. and took place at the backyard under the shades provided by a fig tree and grape vines. The people present were Kirsten's family and Martin (from Germany) and Honey (from Austria). In the beginning, while we were eating salad, cheese and BBQ meat and drinking either wine or orange juice (I chose orange juice), I noticed myself to be the only person using the American style of eating, i.e., first cut up the food with fork on the left hand and knife on the right hand, and then put the knife down on the plate and switch the fork to my right hand and then pick up the food. Everyone else was his or her utensils with the Europeans whie, i.e., eating with fork always held by the left hand and knife by the right hand. But no one seemed to mind :).
Along with the salad and later a stew as the main plate and dessert, the entire meal took two and a half hours along. During which we talked about many things, including soccor and politics. It was very relaxing. I thoroughly enjoyed it, except at the end, when I was helping Kirsten putting away the dishes, I noticed the massive number of dishes and cups and utensils that needed to be washed :(.
But everything else--which was all wonderful--has definitely given this meal a special place in my memory.

Sunday morning in Spain

Today I woke up at 8 A.M., which was very late for me. I think it was because the temperature was low (around 15 C) and I had a nightmare that lasted longer than usual. The house was really quiet and the only sound comes from the chirping of birds outside. After brushing my teeth, I realized that I did not have food, but I was not sure whether or not Caprabo, a supermarket about fifteen minutes away from where I lived, was open. After browing through its website and failing to find its hours of operation, I decided to walk to Caprabo. It was a On my way to Caprabo, I saw only a few people (mostly older people) on the streets walking their dogs. Unfortunately (but I kind of predicted), Caprabo was closed. I searched really hard but could not find its hours on the entrance (before leaving, I also looked at its website and could not find the schedule there either..faint...). Instead of going back, I decided to explore the area surrounding Caprabo. After walking in a random direction for about 15 minutes, I found a local bakery that was open and bought a loaf of bread for 0.95 euros (about $1.40). The owner was unbelievably nice and patient because it took me a long time to decide which one to buy. Moreover, when I asked him whether or not he sells coffee, he directed me to the bar near the street corner. I went into the bar, bought a cafe con leche and sat there and read the newspaper "el pais" for about 45 minutes. It was surprising that a significant portion of the newspaper was devoted to international news: there was a special coverage on Stalin, on the image of governor Palin, on the conflicts in Bolivia and Venezuela and on the tortures of minor in Guatamolo Bay (the last news definitely disturbed me). It seems that Spaniards pay a lot attention to news, for most people who were walking their dogs were also carrying a copy of the newspaper. In the cafe, where the owner provided "el pais", "el mundo" and "ABC" for his costumers, those who were not chatting were reading the news. However, they were all people who were middle-age or older, so I don't know if young people in Spain read the news as much (though when I talked to Kirsten's son yesterday, he was eating breakfast while reading the news, so maybe :) ). On the book review section, it talked about a book that teaches people how to save money at a time when the economy is bad. Faint....... It seems to be true. When I was walking towards the market, I saw several houses and apartments that were up for sale.
One thing that I remembered from orientation was the talk bu Professor Anden. He was concerned about the fact that very few young people in Spain pursue science and engineering. After observing the people walking on the streets, I realized that young people, much more often than older people, tend to walk in large groups (older people either walk alone or walk in group of two, like husband and wife, mother and daughter). It just dawned onto me that compare to the humanities subjects, science and engineering require more individual thinking. At least for me, I can only absorb the most difficult concepts when I am thinking in a quiet place where no one else is around.
Sigh...today is Sunday, so I know that Prado's museum is open for free. I really really want to go, but I have work to do...sigh....maybe next month, when things become more relaxed...then I am definitely going to spend a lot of time at that museum.

现在终于可以打中文了

谢谢西西的建议。。。。。。

今天我终于找到我即将要工作的研究所了。它离马德里的市中心很近。如果做地铁的话，我会需要10 分钟，走路的话需要差不多半个小时。我想我多半会走路了，因为路边的风景很漂亮。这里的路很多都是砖头铺的。那个研究所也是两栋砖头房子，这样的话冬天里面希望不会太冷：）。

我也在附近找到了超市。不过很奇怪的是这里好像没有新鲜的牛奶。所有的牛奶都是在盒装的， 好奇怪。。。

我的房东们（Kirsten和她的先生）今天就会回来。我刚才碰见了他们的二儿子。他在学经济，曾经在美国上过半年学。我觉得自己有幸运又不幸运，因为我和Kirsten一家沟通很容易因为大家都说英文。可是这样子我就没有练习西班牙文的机会了。不过不要紧，我在外面和在实验室了可能都会说西班牙文。

今天当我在外面寻找咖啡店的时候发现了一个问题。我去的两家里面都有人在抽烟。因为是在太呛人了，我只好离开了。然后超市里也没有已将做好了的咖啡饮料。我发现在西班牙，即使是只喝一杯咖啡，大家都会坐在那里喝，而不会拿了咖啡就走。。。。这喝美国好不一样啊

My new place

I just moved to my new place....given a map of Madrid, the house I am living in would located somewhere in the upper right quadrant. I really like my landlords. They are a couple, the wife is a middle age woman from Sweden while the husband is a middle age man from Germany. This is the first time they have a tenant from China :). Also living with them is their youngest son (whose girlfriend is learning Chinese, so he told me that she is very excited about meeting me) and a 23-year-old girl from Puerto Rico. I still need to learn their names...but they are extremely nice. The neighborhood I live in is full of brick-walled, two-story houses. It is absolutely beautiful and different from any place that I have ever lived before. Even though I don't usually take pictures, now I really wish that I have a camera so I can show everyone what the house looks like. Maybe...later...:)

亲爱的爷爷奶奶爸爸妈妈,
两天前,我发现我只能离开西班牙三周。这意味着我将无法去武汉这个冬季 :(. 对不起 :(

a surprise.....

I waited for two days before posting this news because I had been thinking about the pros and cons of this news. During orientation, I learned that we are only allowed to spend 21 days outside of Spain. Since I will most likely need all of these days for interviewing, I will not be able to go back to China during Christmas and New Year. While this news made me very sad, I thought of the possilibility of my family visiting me in Spain. Moreover, I feel guilty about applying to schools while just beginning to work at a lab and I do feel I owe the professor more of my time..especially the days right before Christmas and the days right after New Year. My greatest wish now is that I could complete a publishable experiment by the end of June 2009 and know where I will be going after that. However, when I met with my advisor at MIT, she told me gently that if a project is not doable in one year, no matter how hard I try, it will still take two years (this is part of the conversation where she was trying to convince me to still do some traveling while in Spain). I was extremely surprised when she supported the idea of travelling, for she is one of most hardworking scientists I have met, but she told me about her experience as a young research in Isreal and how she regretted not being able to travel because she was focusing on research. My original plan was to spend all days in the laboratory and go to the museums and parks when I have free time during the evenings. While I still have not made plans for traveling, I began to feel pessimitic about the possibility of completing a project in one year (or 9 months to be exact). But I will know more when I meet with professor Moratalla on next Monday.

This is also the first time when I find myself not being able to hear the voices of my parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins, so I suspect that I am more prone to being homesick...but now I know this risk...I will try my best to prevent it :).

Again...I am finding myself having difficulty to wait until 2PM to have lunch....faint.....but I won't be able to do so anyway, because I have to move to my new place at 2PM.

Chinese translation of finally found a place to live

Xixi...the software you told me does not work on my computer...so I have to relie on the google translator being I figure the software out :((( Ah...but I have to say..there were so many mistakes with google translator...that I had to delete several sentences because they just did not make sense :((

之后，很多人要求在几个酒吧附近的地方....有人与GPS在他的手机最后指示我向街santolinos ....叹息… …它是不会出现在Google地图，因为它是真的真的小街道上像4家...至少我发现它。由于复杂的地铁系统....我想我可能会调用的CAB明天提出我的东西有....

今天上午，美国驻西班牙使馆向我们介绍了安全问题在西班牙。我不知道，当西班牙人到美国，不管他们是否会得到类似的安全简报.......无论如何....在他的鼓励下，我注册了自己与美国国务院和会尽我最难不要失去我的护照。叹...即使我觉得可能是马德里比武汉更安全，当我对地铁，我注意到，正在亚洲人绝对引人注目！啊， … …现在我知道如何外国人觉得当他们去中国。但也许是几天之后，我会使用到stares ，并期待… …但叹息… …我不认为我可以真的共混英寸..除非也许我染料，我的头发和磨损巨型太阳眼镜。 ..我将可能永远不会做....晕倒...........

我当时的规划，开设银行帐户，但随后银行，其实收在下午2时30分....所以，我觉得我会打开一个明天。我也买了一本国家报对我的方式回来，成本1时10欧元= $ 1.60美分， HMM的...种一样，次纽约时报...虽然纽约时报曾经是1.00元，但随后，增加了价格美元至1.25 ...晕倒..........

我也发现了超市周围的地方，我会生活，后环顾在的话，我来可悲的实现，它也许长期很久之前，我都不能有任何中国食品… …或者该种美国食物，我喜欢....微弱...............

啊...我只是实现了我写的博客充分的投诉… …但有一定somethings发生的今天，我感到非常高兴，就像人谁是愿意去的额外英里照顾了街对我来说，房子是我看到美丽的，它是一个很小的两层楼高的房子充分的植物和花卉的周围，居委会似乎有好...似乎有一种，很多人在科学领域的走动，这居委会... i dunno ，它只是很多人有携带包可能包含笔记型电脑在他们...种提醒我的人走动麻省理工学院。

我很高兴我最后会议业主(landlord)明天...我希望他们会像(like)月饼。

Chinese version of my post on day 1

今天上午早餐 今天上午10时30分，我们有一个休息，所以我到大学的咖啡馆，并下令网吧情况leche 。 bascially ，这是一杆的快报与平等volumne牛奶添加到它。它尝到了惊人的....我觉得这里的咖啡是更caffeinnated ...是因为我感觉有点紧张喝酒后，这… …这解释了为什么我成了厌倦今午… … 。 现在，而且几乎是晚上11点，但我不是很困，因为我采取了行动方案后，立即定位，收于6 。 i睡了两个小时，但梦想有这么多的东西....中国，今年夏天和实验室… … 。微弱......一些梦想愉快的一些人不...他们大多是不.. … …我可以感觉到自己要离开，并不能移动....我猜想，这是事实，在REM sleep，我们可以不再使用我们的肌肉。 另一种微小的细节，我并没有期望的是被蚊子叮咬....我很少得到咬伤的蚊子在支那，但在这里，至少有两个蚊子位...我晕倒....也许他们的可能性的血型不同，从该蚊在中国。 我仍然无法找到街，我的房子在地图上，即使我的房东告诉我，我可以清楚地看到，在Google Earth上... HMM的.........需要下载Google地球....晕倒...... 方向，

第1天 我的经验教训和思想.... 今天我听到讲座，由双方总的富布赖特委员会在西班牙大学校长residencia Universitaria的奥古斯丁-内布里哈。即使因为房间是真的很热，或因为我没有星期六在讲座几个月来，我感到不耐烦，在几次的时刻。但也有点在演讲表示，一定引起我的注意。主任， seniora玛丽亚耶稣巴勃罗斯告诉我们，也许今年是去年我们去“享受生活” ，因为当时我们其实是有工作，做一些严重的研究， 追求一个稳定的生活和etcs 。即使我懂了她的意思，我不同意。为什么它在我们的社会告诉我们，青年是当生活的乐趣和愉快的，如果是成人，是当生活的要求和充分的责任。我希望总有一天，我们的教育或抚养我们的结构是一个方式，告诉我们从很年轻的年龄，我们是要找到一个目标，在生活中，真的很难的目标，使我们永远不会厌倦的生活（或总是有所期待） 。 ： ） ） ） 大学校长，Andes教授，他给了一个非常坦诚的谈论的现状，西班牙，其问题与移民和教育。这是安静的眼睛开放。他以坦率，即使他的女儿是在最好的大学在西班牙，他们避免讲座becaues他们发现，班太沉闷。然后，在暑假期间，他们会去其他学校在世界各地一样，在London School of Economics ，工作真的很难。Andes教授告诉我们，他是终生时，他是29 ，这不是不寻常的在西班牙。鉴于纾缓获得终生在西班牙的大学，有没有强烈的动机，以改善教育体系。他似乎也矛盾有关入境在西班牙。几年前，入境者的欢迎和他们收到同样的福利，作为人民在西班牙-免费医疗，免费教育和e tcs。然而，当养老金的资金开始减少，政府已开始限制移民。Anden教授一致认为，移民，谁可能会留在西班牙和有子女（他说，之前，这是以前的人认为他们会有工作了几年，赚足够的钱，然后返回他们的国家的土人。但是，这一思想是基于假设大部分工作由入境者临时建造业职位，这是不真实的。大多数移民有工作在服务部门作为护理照料或女服务员，这些可以去年长得多） 。在另一方面，Anden教授说，大多数西班牙人不会采取就业移民，并在为了使经济增长在西班牙继续进行，西班牙需要得到更多的年轻人进入劳动市场。实在是令人不解的是，即使西班牙是其中一个最天主教国家，在世界上，它最低的国家之一的出生率。因此，西班牙的需要immigration，以提高其劳动人口的… …在年底，Anden教授结束了真正的解决办法在于改变税收和社会福利结构，这是非常controverisal。他还介绍了严峻的预测，西班牙的经济可能会进入衰退，在最近几个月… …但在我的时间在西班牙，我将证人的失业率上升，增加了价格commondities ，晕倒… … 。一件事我要提醒自己要做的是阅读新闻，每天的文件....国家报，美国广播公司，世界报....签署........ 其余的我的生活 注册....这是晚上九时，现在，我坐在这里写我的博客，而是去吃饭，因为我终于了在吃晚餐，晚上八时。是一件好事，我带来的东西从美国...悬崖酒吧.... ，他们其实是不错的...还有： （但我认为这是有那么难吃午饭，在2和晚餐，然后在9 ... 。微弱....也许明天我会终于能够这样做。 我的房东电子邮箱我对我的房间，这将有互联网和一个阳台！是啊！ ，我会动议在上周五。

Chinese translation of my previous post

hehe...I found this tool on google that allow me to translate my posts into Chinese....so I translated it, moved some words around for the translation is not perfect, and now my grandparents and my dad can read them, yeah !:)

今天上午早餐一声叹息… … 。唯一的东西，我喜欢被橙汁和咖啡...一切：奶油蛋糕，河豚鱼奶油，面包，奶酪和火腿....真的，没有我喜欢有早餐。 ..晕倒..................我想我真的需要找到一个中国超市，并获得馒头或一些......希望新的地方，我会在下榻的有微波...叹息… …但今天的早餐是免费的...所以我实在不应该抱怨.....................

finally found the place live

After asking many people at several bars near the station Avda de la Paz....someone with a GPS on his cell phone finally directed me to the street santolinos....sigh...it is not on google map because it is a really really small streets with only four houses...but at least I found it. Given the complexity of the metro system....I think I will probably call a cab tomorrow for moving my luggages there....

This morning, an agent from the U.S. embassy briefed us on the safety issues in Spain. I wonder when Spaniards go to U.S., whether or not they would receive a similar safety briefing....... Anyway....under his encouragement, I registered myself with the U.S. state department and will try my hardest not to lose my passport. Sigh...even though I think Madrid is probably equally safe or even safer than Wuhan, when I was on the metro, I noticed that being Asian definitely attracts attention! Ah.....now I know how foreigners feel when they go to China. But probably after a few days, I will get use to the stares and looks...but sigh...I don't think I can ever really blend in...unless maybe I dye my hair and wear giant sun glasses...which I will probably never do....faint...........

I was planning on opening a bank account, but then the bank actually closes at 2:30PM....so I think I will open one tomorrow then. I also bought a copy of El Pais on my way back, it costs 1:10 euros=$1.60 cents, hmm...kind of like th NY Times...though NY Times used to be $1.00, but then it increased the price to $1.25...faint..........

I also found a supermarket around the place where I will be living, and after looking around in it, I came to sad realization that it maybe a long long long time before I can ever have any Chinese food...or the kind of U.S. food I like....faint...............

Ah...I just realized I wrote a blog full of complaints...but there were definitely good things that happened today, like the person who was willing to go the extra mile of looking up the street for me, the house I saw was beautiful, it is a small two-story house full of plants and flowers around it, the neighborhood there seemed nice...there seemed to be a lot of people in the science field walking around this neighborhood...I dunno, it just many people there were carrying bags that could contain laptops in them...kind of remind me of people walking around MIT. Right next to the neighborhood is a big Krafts company...no wonder I can see cereals around here.

Right now, I just woke up from a nap..the dinner is in an hour...I just had another cafe con leche and a pastry that has cheese and ham in the inside....when I asked them about the pastry..she only mentioned queso but not jamon....but it's okay, I still liked it :) Another thing I found unusual is that we actually leave our plates on the table as oppose to bring them to the counter..and we can pay for them whenver....

I am excited about finally meeting my landlords tomorrow...hopefully they will like the mooncakes.

breakfast this morning and permit card

ethical dilemma:

Sigh...today I faced another ethical dilemma. For our permit card application, we need to make copies of our passport, visa, stamp with the date of entry and application (4 pages total, but for me, it is three pages, because the official at Amesterdam stamped my date of entry onto my visa....). I went to the front desk of the university where I was staying and asked Pilar, a woman at the front desk where I can make copies (in broken Spanish of course...). She asked me how many pages I need, I told her three. So she said "vale, voy a hacerlo por ti" (she offered to make copies for me). I was really surprised and happy. Since she was still eating breakfast at the time, she told me to come back ten minutes later. So I spent the next several minutes staring at a big map near her station to look for the street where my landlord is living on (I still cannot find that street.....). Then another person from the program asked Pilar the same question, but this time, Pilar directed her to a place outside...I think across the street for making copies. As I saw that person...another young woman my age....walked out of the university...I felt extremely guilty but did not know what to do. Now I think I understand..that Pilar was not supposed to make copies for us...maybe because I asked first, maybe because I was the only Asian-looking person in this university, maybe because my Spanish was obvioulsy not fluent, that Pilar decided to break this rule for me. I thought about following the young woman to the place for making copies...but she was already out of the door. I thought about going to Pilar and told her that it is okay, that she does not have to do it, but I don't really know how to say that in Spanish, I thought about just not returning to her station...but then that means I am breaking a promise....she will spend time wondering why I did not come back...and I don't really know how to explain this dilemma to her, it is really hard to accuse someone of being unethical/unfair when that person is extending the favor to me (ah....as I am writng this sentence ,I realized the severity of my mistake)....so......what I did.....is that I gave the documents to Pilar and while she was making copies, I offered to help her return her plates to the cafeteria downstairs, which she happily accepted. When she was making copies, I realized that the copier she was using was extremely slow...takes about....almost a minute for one page to come out....this makes me feel even more guilty.....sign.......
Anyway....after this dilemma was over, I went to have the documents stamped and sent to the police department. .....ah................

breakfast this morning

Sigh.....the only things I liked were the orange juice and the coffee...everything else: butter cake, puffer cream, bread with cheese and ham were not....really something I like to have for breakfast...faint..................I think I really need to find a Chinese supermarket and get mantou or something......hopefully the new place where I will be staying have microwave...sigh...but today's breakfast is free...so I really should not complain.....................

I cannot believe that I forgot to comment on this....

This morning at 10:30, we had a coffee break, so I went to the university coffee shop and ordered a cafe con leche. Bascially, it is one shot of expresso with an equal volumne of milk add to it. It tasted amazing....I think the coffee here is more caffeinnated...because I was feeling a little jittery after drinking it...which explained why I became tired this afternoon.....
Now, it is almost 11PM, but I am not very sleepy because I took a nap immediately after orientation ended at 6. I slept for two hours but dreamed about so many things....China, this summer and lab.....faint......some dreams were pleasant some were not...most of them were not.....I could feel myself wanting to walk away and cannot move....I guess it is true during REM that we can no longer use our muscle.
Another tiny detail that I did not expect is mosquito bites....I rarely got bitten by mosquitos in Cina, yet here, at least two mosquitos bit me...faint....maybe their likeliness of bloodtype is different from that of the mosquitos in China.
I still cannot find the street of my house on the map, even though my landlord told me that I could see clearly on google earth...hmm.........need to download google earth....faint......

orientation day 1

What I learned and thought....

Today I heard lectures by both the director of the Fulbright commission in Spain and the president of the university Residencia Universitaria Augustinus-Nebrija. Even though because the room was really hot, or because I have not sat in lectures for months, that I was feeling impatient during several moments. But there were points during the lecture that definitely caught my attention. The director, seniora Maria Jesus Pablos, told us that perhaps this year is the last year where we get to "enjoy life", because then we actually have to work, do some serious studies, puruse a stable living and etcs. Even though I understood what she meant, I have to disagree. I want the last year of my life to be the last year where I get to "enjoy life." Why is it in our society that we are told youth is when life is fun and enjoyable, where is adult is when life is demanding and full of responsibilities. I do hope that someday our education or our upbringing is structured is a way that we told from the very young age that we are to find a goal in life, a really difficult goal so that we will never get bored with life (or always have something to look forward to). :)))

The president of the university, senor Fernando Fernandez Mendez de Andes, he gave a very frank talk about the current state of Spain, its problems with immigration and education. It was quiet eye-opening. He spoke frankly about even though his daughters are in the best university in Spain, they avoid lectures becaues they found the classes to be too boring. Then, during the summer, they would go to other schools around the world like the London School of Economics, and work really hard there. Profesor Andes told us that he was tenured when he was 29, which is not unusual in Spain. Given the ease of getting tenured at Spanish universities, there is not a strong incentive to improve the educational system. He also seemed ambivalent about the immigration in Spain. A few years ago, immigrants were welcomed and they received the same benefits as the people in Spain--free healthcare, free education and etcs. However, when the funding for pension begins to decrease, the government has begun to limit immigration. Profesor Anden agreed that immigrants, who likely to stay in Spain and have children (he said before it was previously thought that they would work for a few years, earn enough money and then return to their natives countries. However, this thought is based on the assumption that most jobs by the immigrants are temporary construction jobs, which is untrue. Most immigrants have jobs in the service sector as care caretaking or waitress, these can last much longer). On the other hand, senor Anden said that most Spaniards would not take the jobs immigrants have, and in order for the economical growth in Spain to continue, Spain needs to be more young people entering the workforce. It is really puzzling that even though Spain is one of the most catholic nations in the world, it has one of the lowest birthrates. Therefore, Spain needs immigraiton to boost its workforce.....In the end, senor Anden concluded the real solution lies in changing the tax and social benefit structures, which is extremely conterverisal and politically suicidal. He also gave a grim prediction that Spain's economy will likely go into recession in the recent months...but during my time in Spain, I will witness increase in unemployment, increase in price of commondities, faint..... One thing I have to remind myself to do is to read news paper everyday....el pais, abc, el mundo....sign........


the rest of my life
Sign....it is 9PM now, I am sitting here writing my blog instead of going to dinner because I finally gave in and ate dinner at 8PM. Good thing that I brought stuff from U.S....cliff bars....they are actually pretty good...still :(. But I think that it is so difficult to eat lunch at 2 and then dinner at 9....faint....maybe tomorrow I will finally be able to do it.

My landlord e-mailed me about my room, which will have internet and a balcony! yeah!, I will move in on Friday.

I have trying to get some work done, but been feeling unusually tired....

Things to do tomorrow
*open a bank account
*laundry?
*take a trip to the place I am moving in tomorrow...so I can decide for Friday, whether or not to take the T or use a taxicab