DAY 649

June 12

1) Today was another exciting day for me, as I helped out in the labs. Prof. Long has not returned yet, so I do not have my own research topic to focus on. As such, I'm helping out as best as I can with the others' experiments, while simultaneously learning the ropes. I'm very lucky to have undertaken a similar chemistry-based subject last year, so the concepts and ideas behind a lot of the things they do in the lab is not something new to me. Handy when everything down to the chemicals is written in Chinese :)

2) I've received my own log book, which is used to record all experiments. I've started my first experiment, which is to synthesise a compound which Chris needs for his experiments. It's a really long process, and a bit like watching paint dry, which means most of the time I'm just waiting for it to finish. Which gives me a lot of opportunity to chat with the others in the lab, and to find out what they are doing. Turns out many of them are doing their PhDs or Masters, and that they find it boring after doing the same experiments over and over again haha. At least 2 months for me will not be enough to dissuade me from liking the research that I'm undertaking.

3) In the afternoon, my friend Nina and I went for lunch together. I had asked her if she could help me with fixing my laptop, as for some strange reason the screen was flickering on and off. After lunch we went to the hardware shop, where the guy had a look at my laptop and couldn't find anything strange with it. He shut down the computer and after 5 minutes, they laptop was back to it's old self. He then asked me to bring it back should the problem arise again. Touchwood it's been three days now and no problem yet...

4) During one of our conversations, Chris had recommended for me to try out something called 烤鸭泡饭(roast duck with rice), which is one of his favourite dishes in the campus. So I went to Cafeteria No. 5, which sells this dish, to try it out for myself. The taste is really quite unique - it's roasted duck on a bed of rice, with three choices of vegetables, and all drenched in a rich soup broth. I absolutely love it! Took a slow stroll back to the apartment, and here I am, whiling away time till the next blog update. Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a lovely weekend ahead. Cheers! :D

Having lunch with Nina in Cafeteria No. 6 :)

My very own log book

(just like old times ^^)

The lounge room (for the researchers)

Curry chicken chop rice, with two choices of vegetables

(cauliflower and beansprouts)

Mixed fruits

(You pick as much or as little as you want, and pay up :)

Good enough for a food advert?

I definitely think so XD

(Roast duck with rice)

DAY 648

June 11

1) Today marks the first day of our work in the labs. We were told to wait for someone to pick us up at 8.00am at our apartment, and sure enough, Dr. Wang introduced himself to us and gave us a lift to the college campus. We were taken into the pharmaceutical building and given a tour of all five floors. I was informed that Prof. Long (who is my Principal Investigator for this research project) was not in and would not be back until around next week. Niamh's lab would be on the third floor, while mine would be on the fifth.

2) I was shown around the labs and introduced to all the lab members who were mostly PhD students and post-doc researchers. A PhD student, Chris, would be supervising my project and helping me settle in to the new environment. The first thing to get used to was all the chemical names were in Mandarin! Imagine re-learning the Periodic Table in Chinese. Thankfully, most of the bottles had an English translation as well, presumably for people like me haha.

3) Chris showed me around the labs and where all the equipment and apparatus were kept. He also showed me the chemical techniques that they used in the lab, and helped me understand these techniques better. Finally, he gave me some published articles regarding my project (which coincidentally, is also his thesis) to read and digest. Predictably, the papers were above my understanding, but it provided that bit of context needed to understand my research project better.

4) I found out that lunch is quite long here in the labs, and early too! (from 11.30am - 1.30pm). According to my lab mates, this is the time to have a nice meal and a quick nap, before resuming work till late at night! Yes, these poor researchers work till around 10.30pm each day. They most definitely deserved a long lunch to compensate. Anyway, for lunch, Dr. Hu and some research students went with me to the teacher's cafeteria, as I did not have a student card to eat at the school cafeteria.

5) For lunch (in the teacher's cafeteria at least), you get to choose a number of side dishes, which is served with steamed rice and a bowl of soup. You can also add beverages like soft drinks and yogurt. The rest of the day consisted of me observing Chris carry out his reactions (as I didn't have any of my own yet) and experiments. In the evening, Niamh and I went with another one of our Soochow friends, Ming Mei, who brought us to collect our student cards. Niamh then went home to have dinner while I had dinner with Mei. Then she helped me buy a SIM card for my phone, so I would have access to Wi-Fi in my room.

6) That is the gist of my day today, and hopefully you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always for visiting, and have a great day. Cheers! :)

Group photo with everyone :)

Introduction to Soochow University, in the meeting room

Having lunch with Dr. Hu and other lab mates

Finally got my student card! ^^

铁板饭 (hot plate rice with sausage and poached egg)

Dinner with Ming Mei

There's a StarBucks right here, just beside my accommodation