The two weeks in between London and Barcelona have been decidedly down to business. For starters, given that there are only two classroom weeks in March, this means that I have a test in every class. In the case of my medical biotechnology class, I have a test accompanied by two papers, a reflection, a presentation, and an interview with figureheads in a prominent Danish biotech firm about their research. Now, this is nothing compared to the Wellesley workload- to put things in perspective, tests here are 40 minutes compared to Wellesley’s 80 minute ringers, and papers are 4 page group papers compared to Wellesley’s 10 page individual ones.
Spring is finally starting to reach Copenhagen- well, it’s still cold but there’s crocuses
I also, however, happen to be in the middle of the process of finding a diabetes lab in Boston to do my undergraduate thesis in this summer and the upcoming academic year, which makes things quite a bit squishier. Last summer at the Berrie Center, I got to meet the genuine and lovely kids whose everyday lives benefit from advances in diabetes research. I also have a bit of a personal stake in it as I have family members living with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. So as much as I’m grateful for all the research opportunities at Wellesley, I want to do my thesis project in an area I’m really passionate in, and that means turning towards the greater Boston area.
I actually FaceTimed my academic advisor back at Wellesley from Copenhagen, and we had a long and helpful conversation about how to most effectively go about entering a diabetes lab. I have a list of labs that really interest me, and I’m currently reading their literature (a process which sometimes makes me squeal with excitement and sometimes makes me re-read figure 8’s caption for the third time in a row) and coming up with some questions that interest me. My goal is to have reached out to all the labs I’m interested in by the end of March. I know I’m not really going to feel like reading papers and drafting emails on vacation with my parents in Barcelona, so I’m pushing to get as much done before I leave as I can. I’m determined to make this happen.
Trying to do what I need to do for next year while soaking up my time here in this beautiful city
Going along with the whole “planning for next year” theme, housing selection for next year is due in just 3 days. I’ve been talking with my friends back on campus to try and coordinate living together. It’s senior year, and everyone has a lot of strong opinions about where they want to live- especially with the East side vs. West side camps. So we’ve basically come to the decision that everyone should try and live where they want to live, and if we have to visit each other across campus…so be it. My first choice is Stone Davis, where I lived last year. Even though I was initially a little hesitant, it was always a pleasure to come home to Stone D and I think living there really encouraged me to relax and take a step back from the library.
Here is the gorgeous church I found last Friday, where I swooned over that organ’s sound quality
When I write next, I’ll be in Barcelona! Looking forward to sharing it with you.
Ever lovely yours,
Eleanor