Or in the original German: “Ich hab mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren.” A 1925 song composed by Fred Raymond, and now the theme song of the city of Heidelberg. The title is entirely justified, in my opinion.
This could be your backyard view! (note: if you live in the castle)
For the last few days, I was in Heidelberg for part of my summer program. This year is the 10th anniversary of the DAAD-RISE program, and all of the program participants gathered in Heidelberg for travel, free food, and the exciting experience of finally hearing native English in a foreign country (there was an agenda as well, but where's the fun in that?). From all over Germany, we flocked to hear university representatives try to persuade us to go to Germany for a PhD program, while after the scheduled events the DAAD people fed us amazing food and let us go on tours and the like. One of the nights, we all gathered to watch the Germany vs. France game on a giant projector screen - that was absolutely insane.
The city of Heidelberg itself is very picturesque. The University of Heidelberg, one of the main features of the city, takes the prize as being the oldest college in Germany, established in the 1300s or so. There's also a ruined castle (ruination courtesy of the French) and a bustling city square. The whole place isn't very large, and is completely walkable. Camera in hand, I played the part of a tourist to a tee - and with a city as beautiful as Heidelberg, I didn't feel guilty at all!
Ironically, I visited Heidelberg before I even got to visit Munich proper, due to my late start in the program.
One of the highlights of the trip was walking around on a Sunday morning (and by the way, almost everything in Germany is closed on Sunday, so everywhere feels like a ghost town) and hearing church bells ringing around the city. I'd never heard real, massive bells ringing from a centuries-old church before, so the entire experience was glorious.
My view from the train.
I also took the Deutsche Bahn on my way back to Munich, although as tired as I was, the return trip was markedly less exciting. After that, it's back to work for another week, until the next adventure...
This summer I had the incredible opportunity to do a 10-week internship at Gilead Sciences in Foster City, CA. For those unfamiliar, Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative medicines.
With 45 Nobel Laureates on its Faculty Roster, it’s not surprising that research is an integral part of the Caltech undergraduate experience. One of the programs that promotes such research is the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). There is no minimum knowledge or experience required to participate in a Caltech SURF. In fact, students can participate in a SURF as soon as the summer after their freshman year. It is not difficult to get a SURF. All you need to do is find a mentor who is working in an area of research that interests you and willing to mentor you through a research project. The mentor can work in a Caltech lab, at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), or at another participating institution. Once you find a mentor, you work together to write a project proposal that you later send to the SURF office for review and approval. About 98% of the SURF proposals get approved. This fellowship is a great way to explore various fields of research and obtain real, hands-on experience where you get to apply the theoretical knowledge you’ve learned in class. Not only do you get to work and learn alongside your mentor, but you also get compensated for your time. The length of the SURF is ten weeks, and it starts at the beginning of the summer. However, it is not uncommon for many students at Caltech to continue their research project throughout the academic school year.
Like many students at Caltech, I suffer from a slight boba addiction, where side effects may include over caffeination, minor sugar highs, and of course, a large toll on one’s wallet. This addiction is not helped by the fact that there are at least three boba shops within walking distance of campus. So, after an entire term’s worth of boba runs, I came back from winter break with a new year’s epiphany: it was time to get a job. Rather than try to curb my addiction, I decided to find a way to subsidize it.
