6-24-09

So, things have pretty much settled down now. We’ve all been doing research now for about a week and a half – which means no more touristy stuff in Beijing (although I am going to Qing Dao with some people this weekend!)

However, research has been an interesting experience so far, in itself. I have gotten to know some of my lab mates and had some meals with them. My lab mates eat lunch ridiculously fast. I’ve come to the conclusion that it must be an unspoken competition of some kind: we all pile in the main cafeteria (万人 - “Thousand People”) on Tsinghua’s campus, get our food, plop down, and from then on, it’s about 6 or 7 minutes of frenzied eating, interspersed with few words, until the person who finishes first gets to bask in the glory in having triumphed over the others in our speed eating competition. He or she then sits for an additional 3 minutes, while waiting for the rest of us to finish, and then gets to say 走吧，走吧 – “Let’s go” as additional proof of their victory. Hahahahah.

As far as the actual science of the lab goes, I was pleasantly surprised at our working conditions. I felt that many of their safety standards were comparable to the labs that I have worked in in the U.S. And as far as a typical day goes in the lab: I usually arrive around 8:30, have lunch around noon, and leave anywhere in between 5-8 PM.

In other news, life in China is unrealistic, in a certain sense. I mean, when you can walk down an alleyway and buy a 包子 “Bao Zi” (a delicious Chinese pastry) for 70 毛, the equivalent of about 10 cents, it’s just kind of unbelievable. More on this later…

I have also experienced my first case of food poisoning in China. Haha. Well, I guess a trip to China just wouldn’t be complete without getting sick. The interesting thing is, I didn’t get sick from eating food from the street vendors – it was from a restaurant! (Note to future visitors: DO buy food from the street vendors, unless it looks bad, because I’m almost certain – the sketchier the food, the MORE delicious it is!)