New territories

So, it's been a little while since I've updated.  I never did get around to posting about Stratford Upon Avon (aka Shakespeare town) or Warwick.  Overall, that trip was fun, but perhaps a little too rushed.  The trip was organized by the Leeds University Union (LUU), and I did not have enough time to see everything I wanted to see.  Warwick Castle was a little touristy, but it was special because it was my first castle.  A lot of little kids were there, so I guess it was their first castle too.  People got to the bus late, which meant that we had even less time in Stratford Upon Avon, so our group had to literally run to see everything.  I did end up seeing Shakespeare's grave, his birthplace, Nash's house, as well as the Stratford Butterfly Garden.  I actually got in to see the butterflies for free, which was great.  We got there at 4:15pm, and the last group was allowed in at 4pm.  My friend and I did the pathetic, "But we're American... and we can't come again."  The woman eventually just let us in. 

I just spent this past week in London, which was AMAZING.  It was actually supposed to be a trip to London, Cambridge, and Oxford, but I'm glad it turned out to be just London.  I got to see more of the city, and I just had a great time.  I saw Twelfth Night performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, I saw the Chinese New Year celebrations (a week late), walked down Abbey Road and took the touristy Beatles picture, and rode on the Underground. I even visited Platform 9 3/4, which was hilariously not between platforms 9 and 10 because engineering work was being done on those platforms, so King's Cross moved Platform 9 3/4 to a more accessible area for tourists until the construction was done.  I also went on a walking tour of London, and saw all the great landmarks that way and learned some history.

I definitely want to go back to London.

:(  I've been officially dropped from Cancer Biology, and now have a "normal" schedule.  Although it won't be on my transcript, I'll still go to the lectures I can make.  It just sounds too interesting to pass up.  I like my classes here though.  It's putting a lot of things into perspective for me, which is great.  I LOVE my drug design class, and it's making me wonder if I want to do biology or chemistry when I graduate.  Also, the past few lectures in genetics talked about bacterial genetics, which is what my own research relates to, so it was really nice to have those formal lectures. 

I could go on and on about the possibilities of what to do after I graduate, but I'm sure not everyone who reads this wants to hear about the gory details of science that I might plunge into.  This past weekend was great for helping me think on this though.  I spent Friday evening with a friend who was a bioengineering major at Illinois and now studies/does research at Cambridge.  Over dinner, he asked me about what I was going to do after graduating, and the resulting discussion ended up being a very helpful conversation for me, and actually -- as cheesy as it might sound -- re-inspired me.  I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but I feel more comfortable. 

Right now studying abroad and taking classes here is shaping up to be exactly what I wanted.  I am getting the chance to see other areas of what I could study, and I'm gaining a more thorough knowledge of the medical science field in the process.

I love science.  And London.