How do I even begin to wrap up my days in this beautiful, hyggeligt place? Yes, it’s the first of May, and I have officially less than two weeks left in Denmark. I can feel my heart sinking in my throat upon just typing that sentence. Being here has taught me so much. Living in Denmark has brought a degree…
Tag: science
Castles in the Sky
Hello again! Lots has happened since I last wrote, but not a lot that I can tell you officially right now. Let’s just say that I’ve been interviewing for research positions where I can do my senior thesis this summer and the upcoming academic year. One of the benefits of being abroad this semester was that I actually had a…
Looking forwards
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…
A Very Nerdy Holiday
I got back to Copenhagen late Friday night. Right before we left London, our entire class sat down to high tea. I had never been to high tea before, and I was more than a little confused about what exactly it entailed. My American ways consider it a deluxe tea experience if I heat the water in a kettle rather…
A (Pharmaceutical) Tour of Denmark
Well, I didn’t update you all last week, but in my defense I was in Western Denmark. This is a clever term for Americans who know nothing of Denmark’s geography; the Danes would never call it “Western Denmark”. No, I visited Aarhus and Odense, Denmark’s second and third biggest cities respectively. Essentially, we were on a weeklong field trip, “we”…
How this semester has changed my thinking
How this semester has changed my thinking Every time I sit down with a cup of tea, I can’t help but think about the conceptual metaphor AFFECTION IS WARMTH and, suddenly the gently steaming hot liquid feels like a hug and exactly what I need at that moment. When you are eating a piece of bread, you are eating wheat,…
Thoughts from a pond
Yesterday, dazed and confused after thinking about yeast in the back of my mind for five consecutive days, I took a nap on the bench by Paramecium pond. It was divine. The geese are nesting, for starters, which means fluffy babies in the next few weeks. (Between the geese and the new raven chicks, I am unusually invested in bird…
Concerts and Cell Bio
Another Friday almost done! If it seems like my blog posts are getting later than later, it’s because for the past month or so, as part of my final project for my ethnomusicology I’ve been going into Boston to volunteer and observe an El Sistema music education program at a local charter school. Because this is a public platform, and…
Science and the Symphony
There is a robin singing very intently outside my dorm room. Unusually loud and unusually long, the song slips up and down a major third. The carillon bells are also playing in the background, and I can’t help but think the bird is singing along its own accompaniment. It’s a nice, peaceful ending to an otherwise jam-packed week. Since my…
Boston and Beta Galactosidase
It’s been a particularly eventful Friday at the end of a long week. I just got back from Boston, volunteering with an El Sistema program as part the final project for my Ethnomusicology class. As I mentioned the other week, El Sistema is a Venezuelan-born music education movement that aims to use power of playing in an orchestra to shape…