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.