Paris!

Highlights

Louvre: Sharon was busy one evening, so I decided to go to the Louvre by myself. I can't say that was the best decision. Since many of the displays were in French, I didn't exactly know what I was looking at. However, I did make my own scavenger hunt game where I picked a famous piece of artwork and tried to find it in the huge maze of Louvre masterpieces. The Mona Lisa was the easiest to find because they had a lot of signs pointing out the way. I also found the Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, and The Raft of the Medusa. I have to admit I like the Deutsches Museum better than the Louvre.

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur: It takes some effort to Sacré-Cœur because it's on a hill. The Metro lets you off at the base of the hill, and you get to enjoy a climb to what I think is the highest point of the city of Paris. Once we were at the basilica, we had a beautiful view of the city. Also nearby was a collection of artists displaying their works and drawing portraits of paying tourists. It was fun to see the different displays of Paris in a wide variety of artistic media.

Notre Dame: Our legs got yet another work out when we visited Notre Dame. We climbed the stairwell to the top of one of the towers. Once at the top, we hung out with the gargoyles that surround the building and pretended we were in the novel/movie Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was our opportunity to be a little silly.

Eiffel Tower: This was my highlight of the Paris trip. Even though it was raining when we ascended the tower, I learned a lot about the mechanics and architecture of the Tower. We walked up the stairs to the first and second levels. When we reached the second level, the clouds started to let loose. We had to wait in the souvenir shop for 20 min before we were able to take the elevator to the third level. The advantage of not-so-great weather was that there was no line. The downside was that it was so cold outside that we just ran out to the deck, snapped a few pictures, and ran back inside. Of course it just so happened that as we were walking away from the Eiffel Tower, the skies cleared and the sun started to come out. At least we can look back on good memories of an Eiffel Tower experience in the rain!

München!

Highlights

Schloss Nymphenburg: Remember how I said I wanted to live in a schloss after I saw Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin? Seeing another schloss increased my desire to have my wish come true. The palace was huge with, of course, a beautiful backyard. Interestingly enough, an artificial ruin Magdalenenklause was built in the backyard. We saw a bit of the inside that looked like the interior of a cave. I guess the interior designer had a unique taste.

Schloss Neuschwanstein: I cannot begin to describe the “interesting” and “memorable” experience we had going to this castle in the mountains. Let’s just say we had a few issues with the German public transportation system and we were thankful that our only casualty was a lost umbrella. The Neuschwanstein is famous for being the inspiration for the Disney castle, and I can only imagine what it looks like under the scaffolding that was present for the current renovation. I’m not yet sure if the castle visit was worth the time and money, but I’ll definitely remember it for a long time. Please ask me to share about it if you would like to hear more.

Residenz Museum: This mansion was a lot bigger than I thought. We did the audio tour and had to start skipping sections towards the end because the museum was closing. I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself because it seemed as if each person had 2 antechambers, a display/ “fake” bedroom, a real bedroom, and a private room. I think 90 of 130 rooms are currently open and that was more than enough for our time there.

Google Munich: We visited my Stanford friend Will at Google where he is completing a summer internship. He showed us around a bit and we were even able to grab some German candies. Yum!

Deutsches Museum: By far, my favorite place in München. This museum has it all: Aeronautics, Optics, Pharmacology, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Mining, Electrical Power, Materials Testing… I could go on and on. I really felt like a kid in a candy shop. (I actually think that saying should be changed to a “kid in an interactive museum”.) Even Sharon found something she liked, so we ended up splitting up so we could both cover more ground and focus on the areas that we liked best. I think teachers would benefit a lot from this museum because they present a lot of information in an engaging way. If only Stanford professors taught Chemistry like at the Deutsches Museum, I can only imagine how lecture attendance would soar.

Barcelona!

Highlights!

Warm weather: Did I type “warm”? I think I meant to type “HOT”. Whenever we walked outdoors, all I could think about was the next air-conditioned destination.

Gaudí: I actually did not know who Antoni Gaudí was before I went to Barcelona, but I really began to like him when I was in Barcelona. I was not initially attracted to the Modernista style. However, when I read about the subtle, and sometimes hidden, symbolism and significance in the architecture, I began to see the genius behind the work. Now I have a greater appreciation for all things Gaudí.

Casa Milà (La Pedrera): This was an apartment complex designed by Gaudí and opened as a kind of museum. The exhibits have great explanations for Gaudí’s design rationale. The rolling terrace is a fun place to run around in the morning when the weather isn’t scorching hot yet.

Parc Güell: I think I would have enjoyed this park a lot more if it were about 10 °C cooler. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a small picnic in the lower court where we were surrounded by magestic Doric columns and shaded by creative mosaics on the ceiling.

Sagrada Família: This is a huge church that has been under construction since 1882. The expected completion year is 2030. I was very impressed with the enormous scale of the project. I’m a little disappointed that many of Gaudí’s plans were lost over the years, but I think the Sagrada Família is meant to be the product of many great minds, not just one. Surprisingly, my favorite thing in the Sagrada Família was not from Gaudi but the magic square designed by Josep Subirachs. Can you see why it’s so “magical”?

Picasso Museum: When I think Picasso, I think Blue Period and Cubism. I was surprised to see relatively little art of these two periods. Since the museum covers his whole life, I enjoyed seeing the development of his artwork. As a teenager, Picasso used his family members in his work. One of my favorite Picasso paintings was one that actually won honorable mention at an art competition when Picasso was 16. Titled Ciència I caritat (Science and Charity), the painting includes a technique of perspective that makes the bed lengthen and shorten as you move around the painting. The painting reminded me that regardless of first place, honorable mention, or no recognition at all, if you love what you do, that passion will make itself apparent.

Run! We're on a Donor Run!

One-Sentence Summary: I went to Berlin with surgeons on Friday morning to retrieve lungs from a transplant donor.

On Thursday evening, I received another call from a transplant surgeon at the UKE. He asked if I was interested in going on a donor run that would leave at 1:10 AM on Friday morning. Without hesitation, I responded, “Yes!” In ten hours, I received the call, rode in 4 ambulances, flew in a private jet, went to Berlin, and watched surgeons harvest the heart and lungs. It was definitely an exciting Friday morning.

The surgeons and I left the UKE in an ambulance heading to the Hamburg airport. We took a 45-min flight in a small private plane to the Berlin airport and from there, took an ambulance to the hospital. Although we were in a hurry to get to the hospital, the driver did not use the siren because the streets were relatively empty at that hour of the night. Once we arrived, the Berlin surgeons started the surgery. The heart was the first organ to be harvested, but in this case, the heart was not used for transplantation. Next, our surgeons got started on cutting out the lungs. Once the heart is out of the body, everyone has to work very quickly and as a team. I was pleasantly surprised to see both teams of surgeons working together to keep the organs in the best condition possible. Who says surgeons have big egos?

Even before the lungs were cut out, the body was constantly being filled with ice-cold saline, to prevent too much tissue death in the organs that were being used for transplantation. I’m not sure how many organs were being used from this donor, but I know that the lungs and liver at least. I saw the right and left lungs being packed in two different bags filled with liquid saline and frozen saline. The bags were then packed in separate polystyrene boxes. As soon as the boxes were packed, our surgeons were out of there. I got to see a few minutes of the liver harvesting before I rushed out of the operating room to change out of my scrubs. When they say “donor run” they really mean run because it’s a race against the clock.

Our team left the hospital around 6 AM in an ambulance. This time we used the ambulance lights and siren because we had a transplant organ that needed to get to the recipient ASAP. Since I’ve never ridden in an ambulance before, I loved my first experience. I just watched as the cars parted like the Red Sea during rush hour traffic. At that point, I wished my car had an ambulance siren. There were a few cars that did not move out of the way for us, and our driver did not hide his frustration with these drivers. My suggestion to other drivers is to move to the right of the street as soon as you hear sirens or see the emergency lights. It can really make a difference in someone’s life.

We were able to relax a bit once we were on the plane back to Hamburg. The transplant organization treats the surgeons (and those with them) very well, providing food and snacks to sustain them during the travel time. When we sat down in the plane, the surgeons looked around for our food bags and we were each provided with two sandwiches. There was also a candy bowl full of goodies. Since I had to sit backwards on a small plane, I didn’t eat too much. This was fortunate for my three male travel companions who were more than happy to help me not waste my second sandwich.

Once we arrived at the UKE, I scrubbed in again and delivered the left lung to the operating room. Both lungs were being transplanted, so another person brought in the right lung. I was able to watch about 10 min of the recipient operation before I had to go prepare for the morning lab meeting. Although I had only gotten 1.5 hours of sleep that night, I was wide-awake and was able to work the whole day in the lab until 5 PM. I was tempted to go back to the operating room to continue watching the transplant surgery, but my boss reminded me that I needed sleep. The transplant surgery was longer than expected and there were some anticipated challenges, but the doctors expect the patient to recover. Please pray that the patient will show signs of improvement and for much-needed rest for the whole team of surgeons.

I have had many exciting experiences here in Hamburg, even if I haven’t been able to post about all of them. It’s a struggle to document everything while also trying to take in everything fully. Please ask me to share if you would like to hear more. As always, I would love to hear from you too!

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

Happy Birthday Sharon!

Happy birthday to the best...

partner-in-crime,
roommate,
nickname giver,
scrapbooker,
slapjack player,
clothes lender,
confidante,
friend,
and sister!

I love you and I can't wait to see you!

Beloved: I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
Lover: Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the maidens.
Song of Solomon 2:1-2

Happy Birthday David!

Happy Birthday to the best brother ever!!

I'm sorry I won't get to celebrate with you at home, but I'm sending lots of love from Germany. I hope you have a great day! I love you!

So Jesse sent for his son [David] and had him brought in. His skin was tanned. He had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, "Get up and anoint him. He is the one."
1 Samuel 16:12

Hamburger DOM

One-Sentence Summary: Last week, labmates and I made a spontaneous after-work visit to the Sommerdom, Hamburg’s large summer festival.

When I got into the lab last Tuesday morning, I thought it would be a fairly routine day of running experiments at work followed by a quiet evening in my room. Little did I know that Christiane, one of my labmates, was planning an adventure to the Hamburger DOM. In the morning, she announced that we were going to the Dom festival. I had heard of this festival before because it’s big news in the city. This festival/carnival is held three times during the year: Frülingsfest (spring), Sommerdom (summer), and Winterdom (winter) and boasts the largest transportable Ferris wheel. I agreed with her that we needed to go to the Dom festival. Later in the day, she mentioned that we were going to the Dom festival that day. Thinking she was joking, I readily agreed. At about 5 PM, she turned to me while I was working and asked, “Are you ready to go to the Dom?” And that’s when those of us still in the lab stopped our work and left for my first visit to the Hamburger Dom, in my work clothes and heels.

Main Entrance to the DOM (through the car window)

Rides, including the biggest transportable Ferris wheel

I am so thankful for Christiane’s spontaneous invitation. The Dom festival was so much fun! I felt like I was a child at Disneyland, just without all the Disney theme. Although I didn’t ride the huge Ferris wheel, Christiane and I rode a spinning ride called Viva Mexico (video of ride). The cars and the platform spin much faster than in the video (or at least it feels like it!), but the video is just an example since I was a little preoccupied to take pictures. The ride was a lot longer than I expected but I enjoyed it. Right after the spinning ride, we all got in individual cars for a time of bumper cars. I can’t even remember the last time I did bumper cars! Now I can say that I’ve been on the “road” with other German drivers. Our group of four also rode the Atlantis Rafting water ride just before some rain started to fall around 9PM (at 1:20 on video). We played one of the carnival games and my friends surprised me by winning a small stuffed animal keychain for me. All my lab mates were such great hosts in showing me the best parts of the Hamburger Dom. It was so much fun, and I hope I can go again before it ends on 23 August 2009.

Bumper cars!

Atlantis Rafting!

In addition to having rides and carnival games, the DOM also has portion called “World of Seventies.” There’s a mini-man-made beach where we took a breather from all the fair activities. I learned that the “Dom” means “cathedral,” and the Hamburger Dom got its name from 11^th Century history or so. There used to be dealers and craftsmen in Hamburg’s Mary’s Cathedral until 1804 when the building was demolished. The festival and its followers did not a have a permanent site until 1893 when the city assigned them to the open space where the Dom/Cathedral previously stood. Now, Hamburg has this great Dom festival three times a year for Hamburg citizens to enjoy. Most people think the Sommerdom is the best one, so I’m glad my first Dom experience was Sommerdom.

World of Seventies stage

By the time I got home in the evening, I felt like it was a Friday. I was a little disappointed when I realized it was a Tuesday evening and I still had to work the rest of the week. It’s a good thing I enjoy my work, or else it would have been very challenging for me to get out of bed in the morning.

I am staying healthy for the most part, but please pray that I would not get any bug bites. I think I inherited sweet blood from my mom because she and I are both prone to insect bites. Since it’s August, the mosquitoes are starting to get more active and I’ve already gotten more bites than I would like to admit. In addition to praying that I wouldn’t get bug bites, please pray that I do not excessively scratch the existing ones.

Can you believe it’s already August? Only 35 more days in Hamburg!

You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Psalm 4:7