Summer in the Land of Mary

Here I am in Baltimore, the Land of Mary aka Maryland! Having to spend the weekend with Ray, Val, and Arya was a great summer break- though it was very short.



Now I am back to 'normal' life. What I mean by normal is a student geeky life. By God's grace I got a research in University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMB). I am in Dr. Svetlana Chapoval's lab at the moment, working with a Post-doc student from Cameroon (who is extremly kind :). The Microbiology and Immunology lab I am working in is very interesting (tho' it's a bit intimidating coz it's so big and full with post-doc students and MD-PhD Profs.). To keep the story short, our lab focuses on sema 4D proteins and its relation to asthma and lung cancer. Having to experienced the harshness of asthma couple of years ago, the excitement to be part of this lab is all over me!

I am trully blessed. Not only that I got a spot for summer research in such a big university, which dental school is the BEST in the US, but also God helped me through this SUPER kind lady who welcomed me to stay at her house during my 2-months research. I call her Marjorie. She is the assistant vice president of research in UMB and lives 10-mins away from where I work. Not only that I do not have to spend money on housing, but also she offers me a ride! I told ya', she's a super kind lady! :)
She gives me a ride every Tues and Thurs morning, on Mon Wed and Fri I catch the train because she leaves the house at 6am on those days (too early for a non-morning person like me). Going home is much easier. I get out of the lab at around 5.30pm and she is finished with work at 6pm. Half an hour waiting is really not a big of a deal. Her house is so big that I got scared at night when she is already on bed. Yea I am a chicken I know. The thing about her house is, it's not only big but it's an old (yet elegant) wooden house. Now you cannot make fun of me! Doger is her lovely 13-years old black labrador- a spoiled plumpy dog who loves getting a belly rub ;D

So here goes my summer story. It's going to be a Mon-to-Fri lab from 9am-5.30pm, studying for DAT test in the evenings, church on Sunday, and some experiments on new recipies maybe? It's going to be a busy yet fun and productive summer. I hope this excitement lasts until the 7th of August!

Thank you God for taking a good care of me.

~angel