Life in Berlin

I bought a used bike for a good price and I have been using that to get back and forth to work. The Robert-Koch Institute is about 8,5km from my apartment and it's a nice, flat ride along the river for about 30 minutes. Almost everyone here goes to and from with the bike or with public transportation and this is so much nicer that what I am used to in the States!

In the evenings I usually walk around and explore Kreuzberg (there is always some music festival going on here!) or settle at one of the many beautiful parks and read or write. Another girl has moved into the apartment as well and she is from Tel Aviv. She lived in Germany before, so she knows some cool sites to visit. This weekend there is a Karnival here and we'll go to that and then to Pfaueninsel, where peacocks roam free and there are lots of castles!

Work in the lab is going well. I have been training with some of the lab techs and today the PI will watch my work and (hopefully) give me the okay to begin screening my own samples. Right now I am looking for Plasmodium (the parasite that causes malaria), as it has been found in a few of these gorillas before, but my sample size is much larger so we can get a better idea of the prevalence. I really like the lab where I work. Not only is it nice building with lots of natural light, but the people are really fun and encouraging. They invited me to come to happy hour with them after work today, so I am excited to see the non-lab side of them :) This weekend is a long weekend because Monday is a religious holiday so I am planning on exploring Berlin some more, maybe go to some of the wonderful museums and historic sites! This is a truly an awesome city.