After having such an interesting and unusual vacation, re-entering the real world has been... well... a little boring. Switzerland no longer seems like such an adventure after Iraq, let's be honest. That's not to say that I'm not enjoying being back, but I have had a harder time than usual coming up with blog topics.
So... here are some highlights from the past two weeks.
Upon returning to Switzerland, I became massively ill with a sinus infection and had my first Swiss doctor experience. Based on my experience, it seems that the doctor's offices are much smaller here than in the US, with only one to three doctors per office. There were no nurses to check me out before I saw the doctor. And the doctor had his desk in the same room as the examining table. It was a new experience, but I was feeling so terribly that I don't remember much.
Thankfully, I recovered for the talk that I gave for the Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics PhD Congress. The PhD Congress entailed a day full of talks given by PhD students from the different groups. The institute is very diverse, with physics, biology and chemistry represented, but the major research focus of all of these groups is the environment. I really enjoyed learning about all of the different varieties of science and the interesting questions that are being investigated. After the day of talks, there was a dinner and party at a nearby bar, and I was able to meet lots of people who I have seen around my building but had never met. I even made some new coffee friends!
The weather has been lovely- 70s and sunny almost every day- so I have enjoyed running before work. I have a route that takes me up into the forest, and I run along a ridge in the woods that has a great view towards the Alps!
Speaking of running, I ran the first leg of the SOLA relay race this weekend for my team, which was comprised of people from my research group. The SOLA race is organized by ASVZ, which is the student athletics organization here. The race is an all-day, 120 km relay around Zürich. There are 15 different segments of the race- mine was the first, and started at 7.30 am, while the last segment was not done until 6.00 pm! It was a fun atmosphere, with a mass start of over 400 people. I bumped into several people I knew and even made some new friends. (I may have been wearing my softball t-shirt from last year. Since our team was called "The Experimental Sausages," I think I met many people who wanted to understand my shirt...) After the race, my friend Sarah hosted a big post-race barbecue at her flat, which was super fun! I think at one point we had about 30 people on her roof-top balcony (which was large, but not 30-people large).
To finish off with balconies, on Friday night my roommates and I grilled on our balcony to celebrate Max's birthday. On Saturday, I planted a herb garden on my balcony, which entailed hauling carrying massive bags of dirt around Zürich. And on Sunday, my roommates and I had a 3-hour-long Sunday brunch on the balcony. I heart balconies!
So... here are some highlights from the past two weeks.
Upon returning to Switzerland, I became massively ill with a sinus infection and had my first Swiss doctor experience. Based on my experience, it seems that the doctor's offices are much smaller here than in the US, with only one to three doctors per office. There were no nurses to check me out before I saw the doctor. And the doctor had his desk in the same room as the examining table. It was a new experience, but I was feeling so terribly that I don't remember much.
Thankfully, I recovered for the talk that I gave for the Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics PhD Congress. The PhD Congress entailed a day full of talks given by PhD students from the different groups. The institute is very diverse, with physics, biology and chemistry represented, but the major research focus of all of these groups is the environment. I really enjoyed learning about all of the different varieties of science and the interesting questions that are being investigated. After the day of talks, there was a dinner and party at a nearby bar, and I was able to meet lots of people who I have seen around my building but had never met. I even made some new coffee friends!
The weather has been lovely- 70s and sunny almost every day- so I have enjoyed running before work. I have a route that takes me up into the forest, and I run along a ridge in the woods that has a great view towards the Alps!
Speaking of running, I ran the first leg of the SOLA relay race this weekend for my team, which was comprised of people from my research group. The SOLA race is organized by ASVZ, which is the student athletics organization here. The race is an all-day, 120 km relay around Zürich. There are 15 different segments of the race- mine was the first, and started at 7.30 am, while the last segment was not done until 6.00 pm! It was a fun atmosphere, with a mass start of over 400 people. I bumped into several people I knew and even made some new friends. (I may have been wearing my softball t-shirt from last year. Since our team was called "The Experimental Sausages," I think I met many people who wanted to understand my shirt...) After the race, my friend Sarah hosted a big post-race barbecue at her flat, which was super fun! I think at one point we had about 30 people on her roof-top balcony (which was large, but not 30-people large).
To finish off with balconies, on Friday night my roommates and I grilled on our balcony to celebrate Max's birthday. On Saturday, I planted a herb garden on my balcony, which entailed hauling carrying massive bags of dirt around Zürich. And on Sunday, my roommates and I had a 3-hour-long Sunday brunch on the balcony. I heart balconies!
