This Christmas week I've done my best to keep from missing folks back home but have not been too successful. On Monday, Jenny, Spike, and I did the Cadbury's/Speight's tour double. The Dunedin Cadbury's factory occupies a city block just east of the Octagon and on weekdays delivers chocolatey aromas to homes and businesses nearby. The 45 minute tour was much less informative than I was expecting, but we did learn that chocolate was first eaten by the Aztecs in Mexico and that there are three varieties of chocolate: milk, dark, and white (which contains cocoa butter but no cocoa solids so isn't real chocolate). After the tour guide told us a little about the history and production of chocolate, she took us into a purple silo and up a circular staircase where a ton of liquid chocolate was dumped 10 meters or so and then pumped up to the top of the tower for the next tour group. I was very angry the tour guide did not tell us what was going to happen because I would have at least stuck out my nalgene into the chocolate waterfall. We didn't see any of the real factory whatsoever. At the gift shop I bought several chocolate bars including one called Energy Scroggin with nuts and fruits in it that is not sold outside New Zealand.
We next walked to the Speight's Brewery and while we waited for the tour to begin, filled our water bottles with spring water from a tap coming out the side of the building. This water used to make the beer is free to the public, and hundreds of people fill jugs of it to take home each day. On the tour we learned that beer is somewhat older than chocolate, being first brewed by the ancient Egyptians around 6000 B.C. We learned that beer's ingredients are water, hops, barley, sugar, and yeast and got to see the giant copper vats where the mashed barley is boiled. In contrast to chocolate-making, brewing beer apparently produces some disagreeable odors, and the Dunedin girls high school uphill from Speight's has repeatedly written to the brewery asking them to do something about the smells, but Speight's has always replied that they were there first so deal with it. After being forced to sit through a horribly cheesy infomercial for Speight's, we were offered unlimited samples of half a dozen types of beer. I prefered the traditional "Gold Medal Ale" and the dark Porter. Everyone laughed when Spike turned beet red after drinking a single cup of booze.
On Christmas Eve Jenny rented a bicycle and we rode out on the peninsula. We attempted to visit Larnach Castle, the only castle in New Zealand, but were turned away by the high admission fee. That night we had a traditional Asian hot pot meal, a dramatic contrast from the usual shrimp and rolls we have back home on Christmas Eve. We found a large electric wok in the kitchen cupboard, boiled some water, and inserted various ingredients that Jenny had purchased from the Asian market, including taro (dense vegetable like cassava or yam), tofu, spinach, rice cakes, udon noodles, eggs, and corn. When one desired, one reached in with chopsticks and picked out some item and dipped it in a thick sauce Jenny had prepared from sesame paste, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and chili. Soon enough we were joined by two curious surfer bums who have been staying in Carrington for over a week now. Orginally from England, they were living out of a van, traveling throughout New Zealand and Australia in search of the perfect wave but instead have happened across a girl they both fancy in the form of Kate. We also offer free showers, beds, and kitchen equipment, so it is unclear exactly how long they will stay.
Christmas Day I hiked up Mt. Cargill and took a side trip to the organ pipes, which are rather disappointing as rock formations but still feature a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside. I saw many other trampers, so hiking on Christmas must be quite popular with Kiwis. I managed a number of excellent bike rides this week as well, including one along the Pacific coast to the mouth of the Taieri River and another loop on the Taieri plain. I've done very little in the lab; part of me feels like this is okay since the whole department is dark and deserted, but my scholarly conscience has forced me nonetheless to print out and read several reviews on Alzheimer's.
Tomorrow I'm taking the bus to Queenstown where I'm meeting Peter Nunns, Williams '08. We'll be tramping the Rees and Dart track, which ordinarily takes five days, including a day trip to the Cascade Glacier. We may attempt to squeeze two days into one in order to be back in town for New Years festivities.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Of fire, mountains, and nirvana
After last weekend's protein purification marathon, this week has been less labwork but no less busy. First a few photos from last Saturday's trek up the Mt. Cargill track.
Holiday parties of various kinds have occupied a large amount of my time the past several days. On Wednesday we had drinks and snacks at Carrington where I met a number of new summer students. Logan and Henry in particular were very welcoming and insisted that I come camping with them on a deserted beach a few hundred kilometers to the south. I said I would be "keen." I got the impression these Otago students really like to have fun, with alcohol taking center stage perhaps moreso than it does at Williams. The next evening we all went to dinner at one of the four Thai restaurants in town with the exact same menu but different names: Thai Hanoi, Thai Kar Tom, Thai Land (ha), and Thai Over (this evening's choice). Santa Claus arrived and dished out some $5 presents to folks who had brought something to exchange, and then we headed to someone's apartment and watched a fire poi shoe by Logan, who runs a pyrotechnics business called "Highly Flammable." He explained to me how fire breathing and fire eating work. In fire breathing, one spews refined jet fuel out of their mouth, like someone spitting out wine in the movies, while holding a match to it. In fire eating, one positions one's throat completely vertical such that the heat from the flame rises out of the mouth. Wet mucus lining the throat and mouth protects against burning in the short term. And to extinguish the flame, one closes one's mouth and the flame goes out immediately due to lack of oxygen. A couple photos from the show:
I'm hoping to buy a pair of poi myself (the glow kind to begin). After the fire show, we danced until 3 am at two clubs playing non-disco music, which was quite fun.
Friday was the Biochemistry Department Christmas social. The highlight was playing a game called "Heads or Tails" to win Cadbury's chocolate. The department chair and an assistant flipped two coins, and everyone in the group of sixty or seventy placed their hands either both on their head, both on their "tail," or one on each. If you guessed the flips, then you remained in the game, and the last one standing won. Of course the best strategy is to always put one hand on your head and one hand on your tail, since that gives you a 50% chance of being correct (heads tails or tails heads) while the other options give you only a 25% chance each. So every flip I used this strategy, but after several games I didn't win a thing, leaving me quite annoyed.
Today is Saturday and I just returned from another tramp on the Pineapple Track, my second journey there this week. This time around I was hiking with two Chinese, Jenny and Spike, who I had a great time with. As Jenny is Buddhist, I learned her views on reincarnation and karma and how the ultimate goal is to reach nirvana, which is a state of mind rather than a place. Since she believes that every living thing has a spirit living within it, she is vegetarian and does her best to minimize harm to all creatures; she walks around grass, for example, to avoid crushing insects (grass is too small a plant to harbor spirits, but other larger plants do contain them). Buddhism is a very flexible philosophy (and not a religion, per se); the important thing is to find one's own way. So there are Buddhists who don't believe in reincarnation or are not vegetarian. I told her that I would be very interested to read some books on Buddhism and she recommended one by an Australian author who writes on adapting the philosophy to everyday life.
At the top of Flagstaff Mountain we stood on top of a geodesic marker and snapped photos with my new waterproof and shockproof camera (to be seen next post). On the way down we played the always entertaining "Pancakes or Waffles" in which one begins by choosing between the two breakfast items and eventually is forced with decisions such as "Being the first person on Mars" or "Curing cancer." When Jenny was asked "Have a healthy and happy family" or "Save 1,000 people from dying of malaria" she chose the latter option without hesitation. I found this fascinating because a few days before, while on that same track with a couple non-Buddhists, a firm consensus was reached that there was nothing more important than being in a happy family with a loving spouse and children. Jenny explained that the people she helped would all be part of her family. For Spike, being not religious, money was most important, except when offered with the prospect of a supermodel wife.
After coming off the mountain, we returned to town in a light rain, which must come at some point during a walk near Dunedin, and Spike showed us to his favorite Chinese restaurant where we feasted on mushroom and bean soup, tofu and vegetables, and whole fish with onion. There I learned more about Chinese culture and language and how Asians in general tend to be very reserved with emotion, such that hugging and saying things like "I love you," even in private, are generally not done. My education in chopstick usage was also continued, although my hands were somewhat frozen after the wet and chilly walk so I seemed to have made negative progress in that department. Jenny insisted that it is bad karma to leave grains of rice in one's bowl, so they had a good time of it as I made a fool of myself for a quarter of an hour.
Holiday parties of various kinds have occupied a large amount of my time the past several days. On Wednesday we had drinks and snacks at Carrington where I met a number of new summer students. Logan and Henry in particular were very welcoming and insisted that I come camping with them on a deserted beach a few hundred kilometers to the south. I said I would be "keen." I got the impression these Otago students really like to have fun, with alcohol taking center stage perhaps moreso than it does at Williams. The next evening we all went to dinner at one of the four Thai restaurants in town with the exact same menu but different names: Thai Hanoi, Thai Kar Tom, Thai Land (ha), and Thai Over (this evening's choice). Santa Claus arrived and dished out some $5 presents to folks who had brought something to exchange, and then we headed to someone's apartment and watched a fire poi shoe by Logan, who runs a pyrotechnics business called "Highly Flammable." He explained to me how fire breathing and fire eating work. In fire breathing, one spews refined jet fuel out of their mouth, like someone spitting out wine in the movies, while holding a match to it. In fire eating, one positions one's throat completely vertical such that the heat from the flame rises out of the mouth. Wet mucus lining the throat and mouth protects against burning in the short term. And to extinguish the flame, one closes one's mouth and the flame goes out immediately due to lack of oxygen. A couple photos from the show:
I'm hoping to buy a pair of poi myself (the glow kind to begin). After the fire show, we danced until 3 am at two clubs playing non-disco music, which was quite fun.Friday was the Biochemistry Department Christmas social. The highlight was playing a game called "Heads or Tails" to win Cadbury's chocolate. The department chair and an assistant flipped two coins, and everyone in the group of sixty or seventy placed their hands either both on their head, both on their "tail," or one on each. If you guessed the flips, then you remained in the game, and the last one standing won. Of course the best strategy is to always put one hand on your head and one hand on your tail, since that gives you a 50% chance of being correct (heads tails or tails heads) while the other options give you only a 25% chance each. So every flip I used this strategy, but after several games I didn't win a thing, leaving me quite annoyed.
Today is Saturday and I just returned from another tramp on the Pineapple Track, my second journey there this week. This time around I was hiking with two Chinese, Jenny and Spike, who I had a great time with. As Jenny is Buddhist, I learned her views on reincarnation and karma and how the ultimate goal is to reach nirvana, which is a state of mind rather than a place. Since she believes that every living thing has a spirit living within it, she is vegetarian and does her best to minimize harm to all creatures; she walks around grass, for example, to avoid crushing insects (grass is too small a plant to harbor spirits, but other larger plants do contain them). Buddhism is a very flexible philosophy (and not a religion, per se); the important thing is to find one's own way. So there are Buddhists who don't believe in reincarnation or are not vegetarian. I told her that I would be very interested to read some books on Buddhism and she recommended one by an Australian author who writes on adapting the philosophy to everyday life.
At the top of Flagstaff Mountain we stood on top of a geodesic marker and snapped photos with my new waterproof and shockproof camera (to be seen next post). On the way down we played the always entertaining "Pancakes or Waffles" in which one begins by choosing between the two breakfast items and eventually is forced with decisions such as "Being the first person on Mars" or "Curing cancer." When Jenny was asked "Have a healthy and happy family" or "Save 1,000 people from dying of malaria" she chose the latter option without hesitation. I found this fascinating because a few days before, while on that same track with a couple non-Buddhists, a firm consensus was reached that there was nothing more important than being in a happy family with a loving spouse and children. Jenny explained that the people she helped would all be part of her family. For Spike, being not religious, money was most important, except when offered with the prospect of a supermodel wife.
After coming off the mountain, we returned to town in a light rain, which must come at some point during a walk near Dunedin, and Spike showed us to his favorite Chinese restaurant where we feasted on mushroom and bean soup, tofu and vegetables, and whole fish with onion. There I learned more about Chinese culture and language and how Asians in general tend to be very reserved with emotion, such that hugging and saying things like "I love you," even in private, are generally not done. My education in chopstick usage was also continued, although my hands were somewhat frozen after the wet and chilly walk so I seemed to have made negative progress in that department. Jenny insisted that it is bad karma to leave grains of rice in one's bowl, so they had a good time of it as I made a fool of myself for a quarter of an hour.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Eat, sleep, breathe, run chromatography columns
I would rate the past 72 hours as the most intense (and at times stressful) yet rewarding in my lab experience thus far. It all began last week when I was preparing some DnaK mutant protein to ship to Sigurd, who is currently traveling all over the U.S.--from his hometown in Oregon to Princeton to Stanford, where he will be performing Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) experiments. On Tuesday I finished dialyzing the protein, which Sigurd and I had purified together several weeks ago, and per his instructions packed it in a styrofoam box with water ice and poured liquid nitrogen on top. I then sealed the box with tape and brought it to the administers upstairs, where a man from TNT picked up the thankfully no longer smoking box and sent it on its way to Palo Alto. Sigurd sent me a letter to attach to the package explaining that the recombinant protein was non-pathogenic and purified from the harmless lab bacterium E. coli.
Three days later, on Friday, I received a call in lab from the secretary saying they needed to see me immediately regarding the protein shipment to Stanford. I was sure that the package had exploded due to evaporation of the liquid nitrogen I poured on top and headed to the secretary expecting the worst. It turned out that the package had not exploded but was being held at U.S. customs because the description of the protein was not adequate. I called and emailed Sigurd, who soon sent me a longer letter to send to TNT customer service in the States. The letter explained the fragility of the protein, that it was sent only on water ice, and that it had to be kept cold. I forwarded the letter to TNT and apparently Sigurd has still not heard about the status of the package. We can only hope that it is being chilled while the paperwork is completed.
In the meantime, Sigurd requested that I purify a variant of the original protein to give to his wife Erika in a thermos. Erika is flying out to join Sigurd this Wednesday, and we arranged for her to pick up the protein Tuesday afternoon. She said in an email that she couldn't wait to tell airport security that she was carrying a thermos containing biological materials from a man she barely knew.
And so my mission, if I chose to accept, was to purify a DnaK mutant beginning only with a plasmid encoding the protein, and have it ready by Tuesday afternoon. This meant transforming E. coli with the plasmid, growing up "heaps" of bacteria, lysing the cells, and then running three chromatography columns plus several rounds of dialysis with various buffers. I had done all of these things once before under the watchful eye of Sigurd (he also did some parts without me there while I took care of administrative issues the first couple weeks) and in twice the amount of time that I currently had.
As I began the challenge, I already had a draft of the email to Sigurd in my mind explaining the horrible mistake I had made and how I lost all the protein in some massive waste beaker or something. I was really not expecting to be successful--there were too many complex steps that I had observed only once or not at all. There was bound to be a major error at some point. And when the transformation and cell lysis went smoothly, I thought to myself 'Things are going too well, I'm going to screw up the chromatography.'
On Saturday morning, I got up at 7 AM and arrived in lab at 8 to spin down cells for lysis. I had them chilling on ice by 9 and and ran back to Carrington to meet up with the other summer students to go hiking. I had promised that I would take everyone up the Mt. Cargill trail and we would go to Capers for a pancake brunch afterward. When I told them that we actually wouldn't be back until 2 or 3, they protested that brunch is strictly between breakfast and lunch. Haven't they heard of Greylock brunch night? If you're eating pancakes, no matter the time, you're having brunch. The others were non-hikers but good sports who did well on the 5 hour round-trip journey (pictures soon). We returned to town to find Capers closed, causing temporary despair until we decided on hamburgers at Velvet Burger. When we finished at 4 pm, I walked back to lab to lyse cells and begin the first column, a DEAE anion exchange column. The main problem I ran into was setting up the plumbing connecting the pump to the column. Fishing through multiple boxes of metric and U.S. adapters and tubing, I got pretty creative in setting up a system that seemed to work with no leaks. At 11 pm I went into town for a quick dinner and shower, then back to lab until 5:30 am, equilibrating the column, loading the sample, collecting the appropriate fractions, running gels to see which fractions had the DnaK, cleaning the column, and then setting up the dialysis for "overnight" (i.e. while I slept).
I woke up at 2 pm on Sunday and headed back to lab to run column #2, the ATP affinity column. DnaK has high affinity for ATP, so this is the primary column in the purification. The main challenge this time was that the column kept going over the pressure limit and had to be run at a miniscule flow rate, I imagine because the column was old and needed to be re-set, thus dramatically augmenting the time required. By early evening I set up a program to load the sample and elute in fractions with the appropriate buffer and took off for the University gym for some much-needed exercise. A couple hours later I returned, completely prepared for A) the column to have exploded, B) the fraction collector to have malfunctioned, leaving my sample in a pool on the benchtop, C) the program to have pumped in the incorrect buffer, D) something worse. Miraculously, everything seemed to be working well and a gel confirmed which fractions contained DnaK. I was in bed early at 3 AM.
I arrived today back in lab by noon and was happy to see that the program I had run while asleep to equilibrate column #3, gel filtration, had worked swimmingly. I injected the sample onto the gel filtration column and watched the computer as a beautiful UV absorbance peak emerged right where it was expected. I just finished running gels on fractions jam packed with DnaK.
All that is left is two more dialysis runs and some flash freezing and she'll be ready for Erika. The weekend taught me A) working in the lab alone to Young Gs by P. Diddy at 4 am is quite enjoyable, B) coffee actually tastes pretty good, C) don't doubt myself so much.
Three days later, on Friday, I received a call in lab from the secretary saying they needed to see me immediately regarding the protein shipment to Stanford. I was sure that the package had exploded due to evaporation of the liquid nitrogen I poured on top and headed to the secretary expecting the worst. It turned out that the package had not exploded but was being held at U.S. customs because the description of the protein was not adequate. I called and emailed Sigurd, who soon sent me a longer letter to send to TNT customer service in the States. The letter explained the fragility of the protein, that it was sent only on water ice, and that it had to be kept cold. I forwarded the letter to TNT and apparently Sigurd has still not heard about the status of the package. We can only hope that it is being chilled while the paperwork is completed.
In the meantime, Sigurd requested that I purify a variant of the original protein to give to his wife Erika in a thermos. Erika is flying out to join Sigurd this Wednesday, and we arranged for her to pick up the protein Tuesday afternoon. She said in an email that she couldn't wait to tell airport security that she was carrying a thermos containing biological materials from a man she barely knew.
And so my mission, if I chose to accept, was to purify a DnaK mutant beginning only with a plasmid encoding the protein, and have it ready by Tuesday afternoon. This meant transforming E. coli with the plasmid, growing up "heaps" of bacteria, lysing the cells, and then running three chromatography columns plus several rounds of dialysis with various buffers. I had done all of these things once before under the watchful eye of Sigurd (he also did some parts without me there while I took care of administrative issues the first couple weeks) and in twice the amount of time that I currently had.
As I began the challenge, I already had a draft of the email to Sigurd in my mind explaining the horrible mistake I had made and how I lost all the protein in some massive waste beaker or something. I was really not expecting to be successful--there were too many complex steps that I had observed only once or not at all. There was bound to be a major error at some point. And when the transformation and cell lysis went smoothly, I thought to myself 'Things are going too well, I'm going to screw up the chromatography.'
On Saturday morning, I got up at 7 AM and arrived in lab at 8 to spin down cells for lysis. I had them chilling on ice by 9 and and ran back to Carrington to meet up with the other summer students to go hiking. I had promised that I would take everyone up the Mt. Cargill trail and we would go to Capers for a pancake brunch afterward. When I told them that we actually wouldn't be back until 2 or 3, they protested that brunch is strictly between breakfast and lunch. Haven't they heard of Greylock brunch night? If you're eating pancakes, no matter the time, you're having brunch. The others were non-hikers but good sports who did well on the 5 hour round-trip journey (pictures soon). We returned to town to find Capers closed, causing temporary despair until we decided on hamburgers at Velvet Burger. When we finished at 4 pm, I walked back to lab to lyse cells and begin the first column, a DEAE anion exchange column. The main problem I ran into was setting up the plumbing connecting the pump to the column. Fishing through multiple boxes of metric and U.S. adapters and tubing, I got pretty creative in setting up a system that seemed to work with no leaks. At 11 pm I went into town for a quick dinner and shower, then back to lab until 5:30 am, equilibrating the column, loading the sample, collecting the appropriate fractions, running gels to see which fractions had the DnaK, cleaning the column, and then setting up the dialysis for "overnight" (i.e. while I slept).
I woke up at 2 pm on Sunday and headed back to lab to run column #2, the ATP affinity column. DnaK has high affinity for ATP, so this is the primary column in the purification. The main challenge this time was that the column kept going over the pressure limit and had to be run at a miniscule flow rate, I imagine because the column was old and needed to be re-set, thus dramatically augmenting the time required. By early evening I set up a program to load the sample and elute in fractions with the appropriate buffer and took off for the University gym for some much-needed exercise. A couple hours later I returned, completely prepared for A) the column to have exploded, B) the fraction collector to have malfunctioned, leaving my sample in a pool on the benchtop, C) the program to have pumped in the incorrect buffer, D) something worse. Miraculously, everything seemed to be working well and a gel confirmed which fractions contained DnaK. I was in bed early at 3 AM.
I arrived today back in lab by noon and was happy to see that the program I had run while asleep to equilibrate column #3, gel filtration, had worked swimmingly. I injected the sample onto the gel filtration column and watched the computer as a beautiful UV absorbance peak emerged right where it was expected. I just finished running gels on fractions jam packed with DnaK.
All that is left is two more dialysis runs and some flash freezing and she'll be ready for Erika. The weekend taught me A) working in the lab alone to Young Gs by P. Diddy at 4 am is quite enjoyable, B) coffee actually tastes pretty good, C) don't doubt myself so much.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Tramping in the Silver Peaks
Here are some random photos from Dunedin on a rainy day:
Yesterday I went on my first Otago Tramping Club tramp in the Silver Peaks, the mountain range immediately west of Dunedin. There were 12 people on the hike, including a woman from the Biochemistry Department I persuaded to come. All the folks were very friendly and fun to talk with except one spectacularly arrogant woman originally from the U.S. who cackled annoyingly after every sentence she said. It was a fairly epic day hike, about 9 hrs and 27 km long, featuring beautiful grassy hills, creek crossings, blustery peaks, a steep Devil's Staircase climb, and some "bushbashing" through the hardy vegetation.
Also this weekend I went for another bike ride along the coastline and cooked up a pretty tasty noodle dish for an Iron Chef potluck dinner we had at the college. Much to my disappointment, the vegetarians and Buddhist in the group insisted that "everybody's a winner," thus there was no voting for the best dish or crowning of the Iron Chef.
Yesterday I went on my first Otago Tramping Club tramp in the Silver Peaks, the mountain range immediately west of Dunedin. There were 12 people on the hike, including a woman from the Biochemistry Department I persuaded to come. All the folks were very friendly and fun to talk with except one spectacularly arrogant woman originally from the U.S. who cackled annoyingly after every sentence she said. It was a fairly epic day hike, about 9 hrs and 27 km long, featuring beautiful grassy hills, creek crossings, blustery peaks, a steep Devil's Staircase climb, and some "bushbashing" through the hardy vegetation.
Also this weekend I went for another bike ride along the coastline and cooked up a pretty tasty noodle dish for an Iron Chef potluck dinner we had at the college. Much to my disappointment, the vegetarians and Buddhist in the group insisted that "everybody's a winner," thus there was no voting for the best dish or crowning of the Iron Chef.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Back in the saddle again
Friday morning was awesome. Woke up, threw on my bike shorts, ran down to the main street and went to the first ATM I saw. "Cannot process transaction at this time." A minor hiccup. The next ATM churned out 40 crisp 20s and I was on my way. Gave the money to the guy at the shop (I was still 20 short, but will pay that today), he helped me get the bike set up to my specifications and body size on the indoor trainer, and I was off. It was the first seriously sunny day in a while, and the bay was gorgeous. I did an out-and-back on the peninsula low road. The wind was in the perfect direction so I was suffering on the way out and jamming back home. Here she is, that beaut:
In other news, I went to the Otago Tramping Club meeting on Thursday night. The club is very well organized and they have their own clubhouse with walls covered in topo maps and pictures. They run day hikes and weekend hikes every weekend, and I'm going on the hike tomorrow to Pulpit Rock.
Last night we saw High School Musical 3, which I thought was the best one yet. Smash hits included "The Boys are Back," "I Can't Choose," and "I Want it All." Seems like a long time ago when we returned to Westmont College to see Grant, Bill, and Corey passed out on the floor, stuffed to the gills with ice cream and donuts and raving about HSM 1.
In other news, I went to the Otago Tramping Club meeting on Thursday night. The club is very well organized and they have their own clubhouse with walls covered in topo maps and pictures. They run day hikes and weekend hikes every weekend, and I'm going on the hike tomorrow to Pulpit Rock.Last night we saw High School Musical 3, which I thought was the best one yet. Smash hits included "The Boys are Back," "I Can't Choose," and "I Want it All." Seems like a long time ago when we returned to Westmont College to see Grant, Bill, and Corey passed out on the floor, stuffed to the gills with ice cream and donuts and raving about HSM 1.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Searching for Christmas cheer in summer
Due to lack of bicycle, this past week I've continued to explore Dunedin and surroundings on foot. Most notably I hiked the Pineapple track, which winds up a steep hill north of town through dense, seemingly tropical forest and emerges on a ridge covered in yellow wildflowers. Although the Pineapple track was restricted to walking, it ended at a junction with several mountain bike trails. Earlier this week I headed to the ocean beach in the pouring rain in search of the Tunnel Beach walk, which is advertised online as a superb seaside hike. I didn't find the crucial tunnel to access the trail, but walked along the beach anyway. It was just me, the rain, a chilly wind, and the waves, until I discovered Dunedin's Lovers Lane, which was full of a dozen parked cars aimed at the beach.
I plan to go to the Otago Tramping Club weekly meeting tonight. A free supper is included for first time attendees. Their friendly website advertizes weekend day hikes and overnight trips. I'm also hoping they can recommend a good track for a Chirstmastime tramp I'm planning with Peter Nunns, Williams class of '08 who is currently in Wellington.
On Tuesday night I saw my first movie in New Zealand, Quantum of Solace. The movie theater seats are like La-Z-Boys, but otherwise the experience was equivalent to an American cinema, including the never-ending previews. After the movie we went to a bar with an open mike, where a middle-aged gentleman was wailing away and freestyling about how he went to the supermarket to buy some good karma.
Last night the wardens of Carrington College invited us for pre-dinner drinks in the college lounge. I'm learning that residential colleges here are more akin to fraternities than dormitories in the U.S. Students must apply to live in a college and a spot is not guaranteed to first-years. Although the colleges are affiliated with the university, they each have their own reputation and traditions. Some are for pre-med students, some for religious Christians, others for international students. The wardens showered us with gifts of kitchen equipment, including baking pans, a cheese grater, and a full set of knives.
I have picked out a new bicycle, significantly higher end than the one that was stolen, but will not be able to take it from the shop until tomorrow. Since my debit card fails to work here (it worked in Tanzania), I can only get money through the ATM, which has a daily limit of NZ$800. I put down some money today, the rest tomorrow.
In the lab I proposed an idea for a project to Sigurd related to Alzheimer's Disease, and he appeared interested. It will take a while to assemble all the components for the experiments, so for now I'll be working on the basics of the FRET method.
I plan to go to the Otago Tramping Club weekly meeting tonight. A free supper is included for first time attendees. Their friendly website advertizes weekend day hikes and overnight trips. I'm also hoping they can recommend a good track for a Chirstmastime tramp I'm planning with Peter Nunns, Williams class of '08 who is currently in Wellington.
On Tuesday night I saw my first movie in New Zealand, Quantum of Solace. The movie theater seats are like La-Z-Boys, but otherwise the experience was equivalent to an American cinema, including the never-ending previews. After the movie we went to a bar with an open mike, where a middle-aged gentleman was wailing away and freestyling about how he went to the supermarket to buy some good karma.
Last night the wardens of Carrington College invited us for pre-dinner drinks in the college lounge. I'm learning that residential colleges here are more akin to fraternities than dormitories in the U.S. Students must apply to live in a college and a spot is not guaranteed to first-years. Although the colleges are affiliated with the university, they each have their own reputation and traditions. Some are for pre-med students, some for religious Christians, others for international students. The wardens showered us with gifts of kitchen equipment, including baking pans, a cheese grater, and a full set of knives.
I have picked out a new bicycle, significantly higher end than the one that was stolen, but will not be able to take it from the shop until tomorrow. Since my debit card fails to work here (it worked in Tanzania), I can only get money through the ATM, which has a daily limit of NZ$800. I put down some money today, the rest tomorrow.
In the lab I proposed an idea for a project to Sigurd related to Alzheimer's Disease, and he appeared interested. It will take a while to assemble all the components for the experiments, so for now I'll be working on the basics of the FRET method.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
How we celebrate Thanksgiving in New Zealand
Apparently people don't actually celebrate Thanksgiving in New Zealand. Everyone follows American politics, kids wear NBA jerseys, radio stations play American bands, people watch American television, and Subway and McDonald's dominate downtown, but I guess the Americanization of New Zealand and the world stops short at imposing holidays. It's crazy Kiwis wouldn't adopt one of the best days in the American tradition.
So even though I won't be feasting on turkey this Thanksgiving, it still feels good to think about all those families sitting down to dinner in a few hours back in the US. Turkey is actually hard to come by here, so maybe I'll make myself a ham or chicken sandwich for dinner. I already had a good lunch, albeit non-turkey, at a Taiwanese restaurant near the campus. This was my first time eating in one of the many Asian establishments in town, which appear to offer the cheapest and tastiest grub. The meal was highlighed by my first ever glass of bubble tea, a chocolately cold drink with chewy balls in the bottom (made from tapioca, according to wikipedia) you suck up through a thick straw.
Our summer group is all in Dunedin now with the arrival of Jenny from Sydney on Monday. We are featured in an article in the Otago newspaper.
This week I've spent very long hours in lab as I purify the bacterial Hsp70 DnaK using three chromatography columns. I'm still learning the methods but am hoping to have some input on an independent project soon. Yesterday Sigurd showed me the X-ray crystallography machine, which I will probably not be using but was pretty cool to see. Today we also had our first lab meeting, and it seems like the lab I'm in is run very well and is quite organized, with weekly duties assigned to each member. There are also lab social events, beginning with dinner tomorrow night.
As promised, below are pictures from Dunedin and the hike up Mt. Cargill. I imagine some kid in Indonesia is enjoying my bicycle right now.
So even though I won't be feasting on turkey this Thanksgiving, it still feels good to think about all those families sitting down to dinner in a few hours back in the US. Turkey is actually hard to come by here, so maybe I'll make myself a ham or chicken sandwich for dinner. I already had a good lunch, albeit non-turkey, at a Taiwanese restaurant near the campus. This was my first time eating in one of the many Asian establishments in town, which appear to offer the cheapest and tastiest grub. The meal was highlighed by my first ever glass of bubble tea, a chocolately cold drink with chewy balls in the bottom (made from tapioca, according to wikipedia) you suck up through a thick straw.
Our summer group is all in Dunedin now with the arrival of Jenny from Sydney on Monday. We are featured in an article in the Otago newspaper.
This week I've spent very long hours in lab as I purify the bacterial Hsp70 DnaK using three chromatography columns. I'm still learning the methods but am hoping to have some input on an independent project soon. Yesterday Sigurd showed me the X-ray crystallography machine, which I will probably not be using but was pretty cool to see. Today we also had our first lab meeting, and it seems like the lab I'm in is run very well and is quite organized, with weekly duties assigned to each member. There are also lab social events, beginning with dinner tomorrow night.
As promised, below are pictures from Dunedin and the hike up Mt. Cargill. I imagine some kid in Indonesia is enjoying my bicycle right now.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A dark day
Today my bike was stolen. Welcome to New Zealand.
I rode about 7 km outside of town to a trail going up Mt. Cargill, the highest mountain in the vicinity of Dunedin. The hike was awesome and I have pictures, which I'll have to share once I stop fuming. When I arrived at the trailhead I found two options for locking my bike: either chain it to the playground or chain it to a tree. Since there were some kids playing, I didn't want to interfere with them so I chained it to a tree in a somewhat inconspicuous location. I felt safe doing this because
A) I chained my bike to trees all the time in the States and never had any problem.
B) Everyone around looked like outdoors types who would respect what I was doing.
C) Who carries a saw with them for a hike or mountain bike ride?
I did the hike, which took about 2 hrs, and upon returning found the tree sawed off and my bike no where to be seen. Feeling pretty nauseated, I inspected the parking lot, but there were no clues to be had. I stumbled back to town, found the police station, and reported the crime. It turned out there was a wait to report because a man I had seen on the hiking trail had had his car broken into. So we were victims of a professional criminal.
I can't help but feel the irony of this situation in regards to our time in Africa. In a place where people had told us we would be mugged, shot, and looted, we never had any problems. And within my first week in NZ, my bike is gone.
I had the bike for about 6 years. It was worth a fair amount, but it meant a lot more than that to me. In a strange land, my red Trek was my sole prized possession. I worked hard to keep it clean and in good repair. I suppose I'll buy a new one soon, once I scrounge up some cash and have had a bit of mourning.
I rode about 7 km outside of town to a trail going up Mt. Cargill, the highest mountain in the vicinity of Dunedin. The hike was awesome and I have pictures, which I'll have to share once I stop fuming. When I arrived at the trailhead I found two options for locking my bike: either chain it to the playground or chain it to a tree. Since there were some kids playing, I didn't want to interfere with them so I chained it to a tree in a somewhat inconspicuous location. I felt safe doing this because
A) I chained my bike to trees all the time in the States and never had any problem.
B) Everyone around looked like outdoors types who would respect what I was doing.
C) Who carries a saw with them for a hike or mountain bike ride?
I did the hike, which took about 2 hrs, and upon returning found the tree sawed off and my bike no where to be seen. Feeling pretty nauseated, I inspected the parking lot, but there were no clues to be had. I stumbled back to town, found the police station, and reported the crime. It turned out there was a wait to report because a man I had seen on the hiking trail had had his car broken into. So we were victims of a professional criminal.
I can't help but feel the irony of this situation in regards to our time in Africa. In a place where people had told us we would be mugged, shot, and looted, we never had any problems. And within my first week in NZ, my bike is gone.
I had the bike for about 6 years. It was worth a fair amount, but it meant a lot more than that to me. In a strange land, my red Trek was my sole prized possession. I worked hard to keep it clean and in good repair. I suppose I'll buy a new one soon, once I scrounge up some cash and have had a bit of mourning.
Friday, November 21, 2008
A week of firsts
Last night was the first night out in Dunedin. Kate from Australia and Jessica from Dunedin joined us, bringing the ranks of summer students to 7. We got things started with burgers and beer at a pub in the Octagon in the center of town. Speights is the local brew and quite excellent in my opinion. After dinner we took a "look-see" and discovered that this university town is decidely non-university during the summer. The bars were full of middle-aged folks sipping wine and listening to what appeared to be some form of jazz. I like jazz, but my mission for the night was to get the group dancing. Soon enough we found a 70s disco club, with clintele median age of 52, and I ran in, followed somewhat reluctantly by the rest. I did my best to make Matt Simonson proud, and after a couple drinks everyone was out on the dance floor. Mission accomplished. We next headed to a karaoke bar, where I learned that Paradise City by Guns and Roses is not a good karaoke song, and finally back to our living quarters for duty free gin and tonics.
I went for my first bike ride yesterday as well. I heard there was a flat valley south of Dunedin with little traffic and long straight roads that were ideal for cycling, so I headed in that direction. I set out from the lab in the late afternoon and immediately found myself on one of the intimidating 20% grade hills surrounding Dunedin and fighting heavy traffic. After 15 km or so of hills and attempting to follow a bike route that directed me onto highway exit ramps in the wrong direction, I coasted over a ridge and down into the cycling promised land. The valley was still very windy, but there was hardly any traffic and the riding was quite enjoyable. I observed a couple of farmers chasing down a runaway cow on the road, giant ostriches, deer-like animals, and of course sheep. So there seems to be good riding around, but you have to work to get to it. This afternoon I'm hoping to try out the peninsula, which stretches on the opposite side of the bay and is where Sigurd lives.
In other outdoor adventures, I discoverd Baldwin Street, which claims to be the world's steepest street. Apparently there is a "gut-buster" race up in February and they roll candies down it in July. There is at least one gift shop where you can get t-shirts and certificates acknowledging your ascent. I started up at the same time as a boy on stilts. Maybe the longer stride gives an advantage? I doubt it. I didn't see him at the top.
This morning I arrived late to the weekly Farmers Market by the train station. I bought some fresh bread, which I have not tried yet, and a Moroccan pastry (so-so), and walked past dozens of stalls selling honey, venison, tea, salad greens, cheese, and eggs. They say you have to get there early before they run out of a lot of things.
Besides Sigurd, there are two other students spending a significant amount of time in the lab right now. One is a student from Germany named Maria. The other is a masters student named Richard from Tonga, an island kingdom northeast of New Zealand with a total population of 110,000. Richard looks like he could wrestle a bull yet he claims to only enjoy watching rugby from the sidelines. Things in lab went so smoothly it was scary for the first week. I produced ultra-competent cells and transformed them with 4 different plasmids, with all the controls working. And I set up a DEAE anion exchange column and connected it up correctly, I think, to a rather complicated pump apparatus.
I'm slowly succumbing to the Kiwi lifestyle but attempting to pick and choose among the cultural items I adopt. I can enjoy drinking 4 cups of tea a day, but whatever I do I will not start saying cheers, mate, and bloke. I'm an American, darn it.
I went for my first bike ride yesterday as well. I heard there was a flat valley south of Dunedin with little traffic and long straight roads that were ideal for cycling, so I headed in that direction. I set out from the lab in the late afternoon and immediately found myself on one of the intimidating 20% grade hills surrounding Dunedin and fighting heavy traffic. After 15 km or so of hills and attempting to follow a bike route that directed me onto highway exit ramps in the wrong direction, I coasted over a ridge and down into the cycling promised land. The valley was still very windy, but there was hardly any traffic and the riding was quite enjoyable. I observed a couple of farmers chasing down a runaway cow on the road, giant ostriches, deer-like animals, and of course sheep. So there seems to be good riding around, but you have to work to get to it. This afternoon I'm hoping to try out the peninsula, which stretches on the opposite side of the bay and is where Sigurd lives.
In other outdoor adventures, I discoverd Baldwin Street, which claims to be the world's steepest street. Apparently there is a "gut-buster" race up in February and they roll candies down it in July. There is at least one gift shop where you can get t-shirts and certificates acknowledging your ascent. I started up at the same time as a boy on stilts. Maybe the longer stride gives an advantage? I doubt it. I didn't see him at the top.
This morning I arrived late to the weekly Farmers Market by the train station. I bought some fresh bread, which I have not tried yet, and a Moroccan pastry (so-so), and walked past dozens of stalls selling honey, venison, tea, salad greens, cheese, and eggs. They say you have to get there early before they run out of a lot of things.
Besides Sigurd, there are two other students spending a significant amount of time in the lab right now. One is a student from Germany named Maria. The other is a masters student named Richard from Tonga, an island kingdom northeast of New Zealand with a total population of 110,000. Richard looks like he could wrestle a bull yet he claims to only enjoy watching rugby from the sidelines. Things in lab went so smoothly it was scary for the first week. I produced ultra-competent cells and transformed them with 4 different plasmids, with all the controls working. And I set up a DEAE anion exchange column and connected it up correctly, I think, to a rather complicated pump apparatus.
I'm slowly succumbing to the Kiwi lifestyle but attempting to pick and choose among the cultural items I adopt. I can enjoy drinking 4 cups of tea a day, but whatever I do I will not start saying cheers, mate, and bloke. I'm an American, darn it.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rogo want bike
I'm getting cranky because my bike has yet to arrive. I've called Air New Zealand half a dozen times the last couple days but cannot get a hold of a real person. I have two missed calls from them tonight however, so that might be promising.
Sunday was a decent orientation day. I met 4 other students living with me in Carrington--Josh, Lori, Nicole, and Emily, all from Australia except the latter. We toured the town, walked through a mall that was dominated by Kmart, drooled at the Cadbury's factory and promised ourselves to take the tour at some point, and played frisbee golf in the bushes in front of an old rail station. In the morning I spent about two hours in the grocery store making sure I was familiar with that, and then in the afternoon we went back there, so no I'm a NZ shopping expert. A few terms are different (capsicum=bell pepper, manchester=linens), but they have all the same stuff. In the evening we had a "birthday party" and played pin the tail on the donkey.
This morning was rainy and chilly. A microbiology post-doc came to pick us up and take us to the labs. I met up with Sigurd, and we spent a while going over safety and I attempted but failed to get my ID card, but should be able to get it tomorrow. I ran to the bank to set up an account, got a mediocre lunch at a campus restaurant, and headed back to the lab where we talked about the plan for the next couple weeks. I got a tour of the lab and then started making some plates and streaking out bacteria. It felt suprisingly good to be back in the lab, even if I wasn't doing anything too exciting. Before I knew it, it was 7 o'clock and I had pulled a 10 hr day.
This evening I decided to walk over to the Dunedin Botanical Garden, which most closely resembles the Arb in Ann Arbor except a lot more flowers. I walked up one of the hills behind the gardens and got a fabulous view. I could see the ocean and the peninsula and finally figured out where the heck I am. At the top of the hill I also met my first NZ sheep.
It's funny, but part of me expected New Zealand to lie somewhere on a continuum between the U.S. and Tanzania/Malawi in terms of culture, economy, and such. From what I've experienced so far, I'd say that New Zealand is basically the same as the U.S. There's McDonald's, Subway, Dominoes, Pizza Hut. Cars everywhere, big middle class homes with manicured yards and gardens. I was sort of hoping to be "roughing it" in the lab, pipetting by mouth and streaking bacteria with my pinky, that sort of thing. But except for an autoclave from medieval times, all the lab equipment is modern and familiar. Everyone speaks English, and I haven't been too impressed with the NZ accent. And everyone looks like me! I yearn for the mama kubwas (big ladies) serving up hot rice and beans and chappati, the dala dala vans with people hanging out the door, people walking in disgusting muddy roads with spotless clothing, the hip hop blasting from the hair salon, the squat toilets, the 10 cent doughnuts, and even the kids screaming as we rode past. I miss being the white man superstar. I miss being Jesus's sidekick. The only similarity I can think of between Tanzania/Malawi and NZ as opposed to the US is that they drive on the left.
I've already seen a tiny piece of the landscape NZ has to offer, and there's obviously a lot more to see, but in terms of cultural enlightenment I don't think this experience will live up to what I was hoping for.
Sunday was a decent orientation day. I met 4 other students living with me in Carrington--Josh, Lori, Nicole, and Emily, all from Australia except the latter. We toured the town, walked through a mall that was dominated by Kmart, drooled at the Cadbury's factory and promised ourselves to take the tour at some point, and played frisbee golf in the bushes in front of an old rail station. In the morning I spent about two hours in the grocery store making sure I was familiar with that, and then in the afternoon we went back there, so no I'm a NZ shopping expert. A few terms are different (capsicum=bell pepper, manchester=linens), but they have all the same stuff. In the evening we had a "birthday party" and played pin the tail on the donkey.
This morning was rainy and chilly. A microbiology post-doc came to pick us up and take us to the labs. I met up with Sigurd, and we spent a while going over safety and I attempted but failed to get my ID card, but should be able to get it tomorrow. I ran to the bank to set up an account, got a mediocre lunch at a campus restaurant, and headed back to the lab where we talked about the plan for the next couple weeks. I got a tour of the lab and then started making some plates and streaking out bacteria. It felt suprisingly good to be back in the lab, even if I wasn't doing anything too exciting. Before I knew it, it was 7 o'clock and I had pulled a 10 hr day.
This evening I decided to walk over to the Dunedin Botanical Garden, which most closely resembles the Arb in Ann Arbor except a lot more flowers. I walked up one of the hills behind the gardens and got a fabulous view. I could see the ocean and the peninsula and finally figured out where the heck I am. At the top of the hill I also met my first NZ sheep.
It's funny, but part of me expected New Zealand to lie somewhere on a continuum between the U.S. and Tanzania/Malawi in terms of culture, economy, and such. From what I've experienced so far, I'd say that New Zealand is basically the same as the U.S. There's McDonald's, Subway, Dominoes, Pizza Hut. Cars everywhere, big middle class homes with manicured yards and gardens. I was sort of hoping to be "roughing it" in the lab, pipetting by mouth and streaking bacteria with my pinky, that sort of thing. But except for an autoclave from medieval times, all the lab equipment is modern and familiar. Everyone speaks English, and I haven't been too impressed with the NZ accent. And everyone looks like me! I yearn for the mama kubwas (big ladies) serving up hot rice and beans and chappati, the dala dala vans with people hanging out the door, people walking in disgusting muddy roads with spotless clothing, the hip hop blasting from the hair salon, the squat toilets, the 10 cent doughnuts, and even the kids screaming as we rode past. I miss being the white man superstar. I miss being Jesus's sidekick. The only similarity I can think of between Tanzania/Malawi and NZ as opposed to the US is that they drive on the left.
I've already seen a tiny piece of the landscape NZ has to offer, and there's obviously a lot more to see, but in terms of cultural enlightenment I don't think this experience will live up to what I was hoping for.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
I don't smoke
I'm writing from an Internet cafe in Dunedin, as web access in my room won't be available until Tuesday.
Except maybe for the wine, which flows quite freely, Air New Zealand has nothing on Emirates. Okay, let's see if I can stay awake to finish this post.
All in all, not too much disaster in terms of baggage. My bike in its cardboard box did not make the trans-Pacific flight, but I'm expecting that to be delivered to my dorm tomorrow, which will end up being more convenient than if I had to wedge it into the back of Sigurd's car. I lost a bottle of Citrus DeGreaser, which I found in Auckland had exploded all over my backpack due to the pressure difference. I removed the plastic bag carrying my bike tools to carry-on with me on the two NZ domestic flights, but then had the DeGreaser and a pedal wrench taken from me at Security. Incredibly, Sigurd brought a pedal wrench with him to the airport and has lent it to me to use when the bike arrives.
I got my first two comments on the Banta Lab t-shirt, which I sported throughout the travel marathon. The first was by a US TSA inspector, who saw the front and asked if I knew of any helpful bacteria she could put in her garden. I said I didn't know of any, that the bacteria we worked on were harmful to plants. Thirty seconds later I was kicking myself, remembering that any bacteria in the rhizobia family form symbiotic relationships with plants that are beneficial for both species. A couple flights later a woman saw my shirt and said it was "hilarious." I asked if she worked in microbiology and she said she worked in forensics, with DNA. Close enough. It felt pretty good to have the shirt noticed anyway.
The plane landed in Dunedin and when it got to the end of the runway, it promptly turned 180 degrees and taxied back to the terminal, which had two gates and one other plane. I used to think Albany was a small airport. Sigurd, my advisor, was waiting and we got my two bags and walked to the car. It was 30 Celsius outside, and I was told it would probably be the warmest day I would ever see here. My first impression of NZ from the car ride to the town--lots and lots of farmland. After a 30 minute drive, in which we discussed cycling, hiking, and NZ culture, we arrived at Carrington College, my dorm. This place shamed Williams dorms. Giant common room with fully stocked kitchen, massive flat screen TV, pool table. My room is relatively large and the bed has linens (!). Showers and toilets are sparkling.
The biochemistry building and lab is a 5 minute walk downhill from the dorm. Sigurd showed me the lab, which didn't look too intimidating, and we had a sandwich at a museum shop. Campus was beautiful, with spring in full bloom.
Sigurd dropped me back at the dorm and I took a much-needed nap, which only made me feel more out of it. This evening I walked around the town, only things open were restaurants, a fair number of them Asian. Tomorrow calls for more exploring and buying supplies.
Walking down the street two teenage girls approached me.
Girl 1: Hey I know you.
Girl 2: Yeah you smoke don't you?
Me: Half shake head, half ignore.
Girl 1: No no he doesn't smoke. He's clean.
Glad I already have a good reputation in town.
Now I'm headed back to the dorm, where hopefully I can meet the other dozen students in the summer program. And maybe wash my WOOLF jacket, which was splattered with seagull droppings right before I walked into this cafe. Life on an island I guess.
Long post for nothing really exciting.
Except maybe for the wine, which flows quite freely, Air New Zealand has nothing on Emirates. Okay, let's see if I can stay awake to finish this post.
All in all, not too much disaster in terms of baggage. My bike in its cardboard box did not make the trans-Pacific flight, but I'm expecting that to be delivered to my dorm tomorrow, which will end up being more convenient than if I had to wedge it into the back of Sigurd's car. I lost a bottle of Citrus DeGreaser, which I found in Auckland had exploded all over my backpack due to the pressure difference. I removed the plastic bag carrying my bike tools to carry-on with me on the two NZ domestic flights, but then had the DeGreaser and a pedal wrench taken from me at Security. Incredibly, Sigurd brought a pedal wrench with him to the airport and has lent it to me to use when the bike arrives.
I got my first two comments on the Banta Lab t-shirt, which I sported throughout the travel marathon. The first was by a US TSA inspector, who saw the front and asked if I knew of any helpful bacteria she could put in her garden. I said I didn't know of any, that the bacteria we worked on were harmful to plants. Thirty seconds later I was kicking myself, remembering that any bacteria in the rhizobia family form symbiotic relationships with plants that are beneficial for both species. A couple flights later a woman saw my shirt and said it was "hilarious." I asked if she worked in microbiology and she said she worked in forensics, with DNA. Close enough. It felt pretty good to have the shirt noticed anyway.
The plane landed in Dunedin and when it got to the end of the runway, it promptly turned 180 degrees and taxied back to the terminal, which had two gates and one other plane. I used to think Albany was a small airport. Sigurd, my advisor, was waiting and we got my two bags and walked to the car. It was 30 Celsius outside, and I was told it would probably be the warmest day I would ever see here. My first impression of NZ from the car ride to the town--lots and lots of farmland. After a 30 minute drive, in which we discussed cycling, hiking, and NZ culture, we arrived at Carrington College, my dorm. This place shamed Williams dorms. Giant common room with fully stocked kitchen, massive flat screen TV, pool table. My room is relatively large and the bed has linens (!). Showers and toilets are sparkling.
The biochemistry building and lab is a 5 minute walk downhill from the dorm. Sigurd showed me the lab, which didn't look too intimidating, and we had a sandwich at a museum shop. Campus was beautiful, with spring in full bloom.
Sigurd dropped me back at the dorm and I took a much-needed nap, which only made me feel more out of it. This evening I walked around the town, only things open were restaurants, a fair number of them Asian. Tomorrow calls for more exploring and buying supplies.
Walking down the street two teenage girls approached me.
Girl 1: Hey I know you.
Girl 2: Yeah you smoke don't you?
Me: Half shake head, half ignore.
Girl 1: No no he doesn't smoke. He's clean.
Glad I already have a good reputation in town.
Now I'm headed back to the dorm, where hopefully I can meet the other dozen students in the summer program. And maybe wash my WOOLF jacket, which was splattered with seagull droppings right before I walked into this cafe. Life on an island I guess.
Long post for nothing really exciting.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Night before departure
As I scramble to pack my bike in its cardboard box and stuff t-shirts into my backpack, I find that I'm mostly occupied with the flight details and not thinking too much about what work and life in NZ will actually be like. I'll be on 5 flights--Baltimore to Charlotte, NC to Los Angeles to Auckland to Christchurch to Dunedin. If the in-flight service and baggage handlers are at all similar to those offered by Emirates Airlines, I will be very happy indeed. Next post from halfway around the globe.
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