Dear Science,

I am back where I started about three months ago: restless at night in Tucson. I was anxiously awaiting a new beginning of the adventure that you would take me on. Now I'm here, you've taken me on the adventure but I know that it's a never-ending one. Right now, I'm in a semicolon on the journey but this long, complicated sentence will go on.

During the past 3 months, I have been exposed to ES cell culture, primary cardiomyocyte culture, and microscopy/imaging. I have increased my technical repertoire but more important I have learned to be versatile, practical, and persistent (in the face of equipment failure and the like).

It was my fortune and joy to witness science in action halfway around the world. There was passion, there was frustration. There were similarities (basic concepts) and of course, differences (for example, the way the lab ran with subgroups working together on big projects versus working on individual ones).

So, I'm going to stop here and try to go back to bed, but one more thing: I'm forever indebted to you.

LILY

Dear Berlin,

A friend of mine once said "deje un trocito de mi corazon alli" (I left a little piece of my heart there) when describing a place that affected her a lot, but I must say the opposite for you. I'm going to take it all, everything you've given me: the beautiful, the unexpected, the disgusting, the disappointments and the elations. I'm leaving no part of me behind. I will take this experience and everything I've learned and carry it with me-- everything I've learned about the people, the science, the places.

With that said, I will, of course, fondly recall the day when I first landed and easily slid into your embrace. Never have I woken up in Berlin asking where am I? The answer was always natural: I'm in Berlin doing research. When I went to France and Italy, Berlin was home base. When people asked me where I was from, Berlin was always my instinctive answer. Although 3 months is no where long enough to know what it is truly like to live here, I have felt more comfortable here in such a short time period than in any other place.

I'd like to think that it's because you are so eclectic. You have something to offer everyone. You provide a mirror for your visitors. If they fail to find anything interesting, then it says something about who they are because when someone uncovers the city, they will find your vibrance and how you pulsate to the hip beats of modernity and futuristic visions.

A week ago, I was ready to go home. I felt that you were letting go of me and Tucson was welcoming me with my friends and family all waiting. Two days ago, when I looked down at you from the TV tower, I was moved by your diversity-- sprawling forests to tall skyscrapers and all the little crevices in between just waiting for people to claim as their place of peace. Yesterday, when I sailed down the Spree, I saw those quiet spots where people were picnicking with the family out on a nice piece of the river bank by the green waters reflecting the wind-whipped branches of the willow trees; I saw the impressive modern structures of the city center; I saw the graffiti smeared walls with small piles of trash strewn across the paths.



I saw. And I will miss it. All. And take it. All with me.

LILY

Goodbye Tour

This past weekend was my last weekend in Berlin. I have to say that I was not very exciting. I worked on this morning's presentation for almost the entire weekend. I knew I wouldn't be able to properly visit or see anything if I hadn't put in a good effort for the presentation. It was difficult for me to make all the figures and tables given that I had no experience with programs like Illustrator or Photoshop (I know, I know, this is unacceptable, I should really learn how to photoshop people's heads onto celebritys' bodies and the like). After the struggling, I managed to do a decent job. This morning I presented and it went well.

Now for my goodbye to Berlin, there are a few things I would like to do:

1. Go up on the TV tower
2. Take a boatride down the Spree
3. Eat a West Berlin currywurst at Konnopke's
4. Eat one last doner
5. Have a Berliner Weisse and a Hefeweisse

And then it'll be tschiiis, Berlin, vielen dank :)

LILY

Berlin Berggruen

This is what's great about being in a big city. There's just too much to do. Today, my PI encouraged me to go to free museum Thursday at Berggruen. This is a museum created by one man who donated his private (mainly) cubism collection to the public. In return, he gets a room upstairs in the museum, so he can be with his art (awwwww, sentimental and slightly maniacal). Anyways, the collection is small enough for a runaround zoom tour and big enough to savor. The major artists included Picasso (lots and lots of him), Matisse and Klee. I entered the museum forty minutes before closing time (this was emphasized by the guard who glowered at me and pointed at this watching and said: fünfzig minuten!). I nodded 'yes sir', and ran around the museum in 15 minutes. Then I realized that I had plenty of time and went back through the museum and savored each piece: I walk up to the painting, let the first gut instinct hit me, analyze the initial emotions, turn the painting ninety degrees in my head, look again and decide if it's photo-worthy.

My PI also suggested that I get a poster... I think he meant of a Picasso painting. However, my favorite Picasso in the collection is of a lady, but if you know Picasso, you would know it's not just a lady. It's a grotesque-looking lady. I decided that I would not be able to fall asleep knowing that she's glowering at me in my room, so I went with a nice impressionist painting by Cezanne (one that was actually already sold from the collection so I didn't see it in person).

I like impressionism. It's fuzzy.

LILY

Presentation Numero Uno = Done

Okay, I just finished presenting about RNA binding proteins. My PI gave me the choice of picking something I know about or picking a topic that I will learn about that will help me in the future. I decided against taking the easy way out and picked a topic that is becoming more and more relevant in molecular biology: RBPs! I'm not sure how well I understand everything about the topic but I definitely have more insight on it than before. I hope to expand my knowledge on the topic in the near future (this is very relevant to my work in the Tucson lab). I'm still chugging away on that other presentation for Monday's lab meeting.

I hope it all comes together.

LILY

I'd Like to Dip You In Cheese Please

Work was full today. In fact I'm still at work... gotta finish up one more thing to prepare for tomorrow's experiments. However, I also got a nice dinner break with Carol, Mitch and the rest of the lab. We went to a fondue restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg. Boy, can we eat. We had 2 cheese fondues and 5 meat ones plus 2 chocolate fondues. Yummy! Oh, Europe, you have some tasty treats!

LILY

PS: Carol asked me what I missed from Tucson in terms of food, so here is what's on my list: MEXICAN food (can I get a taco and a quesadilla or something??? No more fake Berlin Tex Mex), In n Out, cheesecake (the heavy American ones that make you feel like you're going to die of a blood clot right afterwards), Miss Saigon, real Chinese food!, Eegee's and the junk food I can stuff my face with! But the food in Berlin is not bad, I'm not complaining!

X 2

This weekend was interesting. It started out with my BFF bailing on me. My cells were ready and healthy but the incubator on the microscope refused to function so I could not set up my experiments (I need to increase my n!). That was a huge disappointment.

Then, on Saturday morning I woke up really early to try and troubleshoot the microscope error and also to finish up experiments before meeting Carol at the airport. However, to our surprise, she was not on the flight, oooooops! So we had a practice run and then my German PI took us out to breakfast anyway. The next day, we repeated the procedure, this time with Carol and her family. We did a little bit of sightseeing afterwards!

Today, it was back to work but still no luck with the microscope. The microscope staff did not know how to fix it so we are going to have to wait for the Zeiss service guy. Oh, technology, I love you but you are a pain sometimes!

LILY