A passing thought

During a talk given by a neuroscience researcher this afternoon (with tea and cakes, of course), a thought passed through my mind: Here at Cambridge, I feel like I'm at a Society for Neuroscience conference— every single day.

All neuro, all the time. It's great.

I wish essays weren't such a pain to write, though.

Projects!

This is going to be a boring update, but I just want to jot down a few things for my own satisfaction.

I've submitted my choices for the research project I wish to work on during Lent Term. I didn't end up arranging my own project because the projects they offered on the list were quite good, and I am just so damn busy. Here are the projects I have chosen, in order of preference:

1. Matthias Landgraf - Title: Cellular interactions and synapse development in a locomotor network
2. Peter McNaughton - Title unknown (probably a topic on TRPA1 channels and/or pain)
3. Amy L. Milton, Barry J. Everitt -  Title: What is the role of dopamine in CS-fear memory reconsolidation?
3. Zara Bergstrom - Title: EEG correlates of strategic processes in episodic memory retrieval

Landgraf's project is a strong first choice for me, since I really want to work in a wet lab that isn't just cell cultures. He does experiments on Drosophila—yes, I know fruit flies are not the most exciting or cuddly animal model—but it's with optogenetics! For those of you who don't know what that means, it basically means: shine a light on the animal, activate specific nerve cells, and watch the animal freeze/walk in circles/walk normally/spasm/etc. So damn cool. Optogenetics is a relatively new technique, so loads of new experiments are just waiting to be thought of! Dr. Landgraf seems like a pretty cool guy and his lab cohorts are great too.

Plus, his lab is across the street from Pembroke College. That means if I need to do any late-night or early-morning work, I don't need to make a 10-minute commute. I can just roll out of bed.

Cornish pasty

So there's a little shop called West Cornwall Pasty Co. near the open market in Cambridge, and I decided to try one of their Cornish pasties. I just ordered the smallest one they were offering.

It was filled with seasoned beans and potatoes. Quite delicious. My only other experience with pasties was at the Ratty back at Brown, and those were okay.

Anyways, I went to a formal dinner with my college "family" tonight to celebrate my "mum's" birthday. This formal dinner was a lot more sober than the last one I went to (during which I got pennied three times), but it was still great fun. If there was one thing I wish Brown had that Cambridge has, it would definitely be formal dinners. Not only are you served fantastic food by candlelight, it's a great way to celebrate something with friends or socialize with a society. Plus, you get to dress up and put on a wizard robe formal gown.

Well, back to reading papers. I'm like a bajillion papers behind. Ugh.

My charmingly old bike

Since somebody was itchin' to see my bike, here it is!

Not the prettiest of bikes, but it does its job... with a sort of janky old-style Cambridge flair. At some point, I need to get someone to remove the old shelf-thing from the front wheel (it's kind of useless). Also, the gears and chain need to be wiped down because they are grotty as hell.

A Cambridge education

I'm sort of forcing myself to take time time off from reading papers to write this post. Back at Brown, I designated Friday evenings as no-work evenings, so I really ought to continue that habit here.

The thing is, Cambridge's education system is really quite horrible for a shameless workaholic like me. There are no real examinations until the end of the entire academic year (that means June), and it is up to you to decide how much work you want to do. For Part II Neuroscience, there are no clearly defined reading assignments—none of that "Read p. 134-165" bullshit. Each lecture is accompanied by a reading list spanning ten to twenty papers, but they are merely suggestions. Which papers you actually decide to read is entirely your choice. Plus, no specific textbooks are assigned to a course. You can purchase or borrow any textbook on your subject. Whatever pleases you, madam!

So naturally, I checked out three-fourths of the neuroscience textbook collection from the Pembroke Library. Not because I'm hell-bent on getting first marks on the exams (though that would be nice), but because I honestly want to learn as much about the brain as possible! If I had the mental stamina, I would read every single paper on every reading list. It's this sort of mentality that has me reading papers until my eyes bleed (but I enjoy it, I promise!).

One thing that struck me about the Cambridge education is how utterly bookish it is—at least for the sciences. Many Part II Neuroscience students and medics, who are all third-years, have never read a single research paper from a scientific journal until now. Even fewer have worked in a research lab. They have spent the last two years building and solidifying their knowledge base, mostly by attending lectures, reading material from handouts and textbooks, writing short essays, and attending supervisions. It seems that Cambridge doesn't really emphasize the application of science—specifically, research skills—until the third year, when you can attend laboratory techniques workshops, present papers at journal clubs, work in a research lab, and write up a research report.

They really want you to KNOW your science before you DO science. It's quite a different philosophy, compared to that of most American universities.

Anyways, here's a little something I made in response to what some people have been telling me:

Okay, I might pay a little less attention to molecular neuro

Cultural bonus thing

So Brown offers a "cultural bonus" of £150 if you're studying in the UK for a year. It can used for pretty much almost anything except paying your college bills, which is pretty awesome. I can use the cultural bonus to buy a railcard, which can shave off a third of any rail ticket price (the bonus will also reimburse the costs of rail tickets). I can pay membership fees for university societies. I can also be reimbursed for the costs of staying in student hostels, buying museum tickets, concert tickets, eating haggis, etc.

Unfortunately, two things are conspiring against my lusty travels around the UK right now: the dismal autumn/winter weather, and being loaded with schoolwork. I'm pretty sure most of my escapades will occur during the obscenely long Easter break we have (it's 5 weeks long).

On another note: I will put up a photo of my bike as soon as the sun returns to England. It's been avoiding us the entire week.

More snippets of my day

While biking to my molecular neuroscience lecture this morning, I got bike chain grease on both of my pants legs. Ughhh.

At lunch, Pembroke's cafeteria (affectionately known as the "trough") served caramelized figs in flaky pastry crust, topped with burnt orange syrup and whipped cream. It was so delicious I helped myself to a second serving at dinner. Such decadent desserts are served on a daily basis because they're leftovers from formal hall dinner. They're also cheap—only 87p!

I also stayed awake during stats lecture. Woooo!

What else... I read some papers on neural transplants for Parkinson's patients, plus some chapters from Neuroscience to Neurology, at a coffee shop across the street from Pembroke College. It's called Trockel Ulmann & Freunde, and it's a cozy and colorful little nook that's not overrun by tourists. I think I'll be studying there often. Too bad they close at 5 p.m. though.

Lots of things close at 5 p.m. here.

This evening, I biked farther away from the center of Cambridge then I ever did before—to Fitzwilliam College, where CU Taekwondo was holding their first practice session. 1) I'm glad I didn't end up at Fitzwilliam because it's goddamn far and the architecture is depressingly modern, and 2) I'm surprised that I didn't feel any surprise at all upon witnessing people who were yelling and kicking each other in the face.

Snippets of my day

Principles of Neural Science came in the mail today, and I kissed its shiny covers. In front of the porters.

My bike's gear shifters got fixed and its chain lubed up. Now it rides like a new bike, even though it was made in the 1960s (like the rest of Cambridge, it's goddamn charmingly old).

I drank sparkling elderflower cordial for the first time at Cafe Pembroke. It smells and tastes like lychees. Highly recommended.

I fell asleep during my stats lecture for the first time. I feel really guilty because I'm sure the professor was watching me as I repeatedly woke up and nodded off again. I hope he understands that 2PM is never a good lecture hour for me.

I found a new friend at Gonville and Caius College. She's a 2nd-year medic and she'll let me know when Stephen Hawking will be eating at their hall.

I might be going to the AAAS conference in Washington D.C. this February with Cambridge's TTH chapter!

Caramel wafer biscuit

I spotted these chocolate bars at Cafe Pembroke, and I was intrigued by the red-white-and-yellow tinfoil wrapper, so I bought one. The wrapper says these are made in Scotland.

I was expecting something like stroopwafels (which are damn delicious), but it turned out to be more like a giant Kit-Kat bar with chewy caramel in between the wafers. Not bad, but not remarkably good either. I'm glad I tried it though.

Societies I may join

I went to the Freshers' Fair this morning (followed by a trip to some charity shops on Burleigh Street), and signed up for a handful of societies. Here are the ones I settled on:

• Cambridge Taiwanese Society
• Cambridge Triple Helix
• CU Tea Society
• CU Mycological Society (to go on mushroom hunting trips!)
• CU Fencing Club
• CU Photographic Society

Matriculation week schedule

Yyyyyyep.

Settling in

I arrived at Pembroke College on Saturday, fabulously sleep-deprived. After getting my keys from the porters (who were extremely helpful and chipper) and fetching my mail from my "pigeonhole," I hauled my luggage up a narrow spiral staircase to my room. At the base of the staircase, there was a sign hand-painted with our names and room numbers.

D staircase inhabitants

You get a scholar's room if you made first marks on last year's exams (or if, like me, you happen to be a Roger Williams Scholar). The scholar's rooms are full of Asians. I'm not even kidding. Check the names next to rooms 11-16.

My room turned out to be quite spacious! It's the size of two large Brown dorm singles stuck together, with a door in between. One part of my room serves as the study room and living room; the other part is a bedroom with a sink. I can see where they boarded up an old fireplace. What's awesome is that this room is the best university accommodation I've lived in so far, and yet it's cheaper than Brown dorms (about $4000 for the entire academic year, after converting from pounds to dollars). I didn't take any photos of the room interior yet, since it looks like... well, like I just moved in. I'll put up photos soon.

Here are the views from my two windows:

Old Court buildings

Looking over the Old Court green

I've never had the problem of having too much furniture at Brown, since the rooms I've had always tended to skimp on things like bookcases. My Pembroke room, on the other hand, has more furniture than I know what to do with. There's a huge bookcase built into the side of one wall, and it partially extends around another side of the room. The bedroom closet was large enough to store all of my clothing, and then some. One entire dresser is completely empty because I didn't need it. The room also came with three tables: a large desk, a medium desk, and a small coffee-table. I also have three chairs.

Of course there are downsides to my room. First, I have to travel another staircase's bathroom to use their shower. The bathroom for my staircase has only a bathtub sans shower. Second, I have to walk outside over to another court to use their laundry facilities. My building is so goddamn old (built in 1347) that there's no way to install a laundry room. The communal kitchen leaves something to be desired. They also turn off the heat at 10:30 PM, presumably to be kind to the environment. It doesn't get that cold at night though.

So far, I've met a few other study-abroaders at Pembroke. There's one guy from CalTech (who also happens to be in Part II Neuro) and two people from the University of Michigan.

I've been insanely busy these last few days, so I don't have much time for lengthy blog posts. However, I will do my best to touch upon these topics in future posts:

• Pembroke food (absolutely FANTASTIC by the way)
• Matriculation
• Differences in teaching
• The drinking culture (I've had more alcohol in the last 3 days than I usually have in 2 months)
• More photos, I promise

Pembroke College seal