for hours in days.

for hours in days he waited,
for months in years he yearned,
for hours in days he let it
become his heart in hers.

one day he whispered to her,
the secrets of his heart
they formed like scents of kings' myrrh
they touched her drop by drop.

and as he waited, she fell,
deeply.
as he waited, she fell
unknowingly.

lovers' hope, lovers scare
so beautiful, so magically rare
jumping in moonlight blankets
tangled legs, ruby red kisses

and as he waited, she fell,
deeply.
as he waited, she fell
unknowingly.

Christmas Country.

It has finally snowed in Germany and it reminds me so much of Canada. It's not as cold as Montreal for example, but it's just as beautiful. I love the fresh, crisp white carpet of snow on the ground and the fluffy delicate snowflakes that fall, especially at night. There's just something magical about the winter and snow...

But what I love the most so far, are the Christmas Markets or 'Weihnnachtsmarkt' in Germany. Christmas is such a wonderful part of the German culture filled with festivities, traditional food and drinks all in good company. I absolutely love their hot sweet wine called 'Glühwein' that warms you up from the inside when you're standing in the cold waiting for your mini warm fluffy pancake-like pastries with butter and powdered sugar called "Poffertjes' which are just heavenly. One cannot forget the fresh sweet or salty crepes, german sausauges 'Bratwurst' and potatoes covered in your favorite sauce. And although I'm not a fan of mushrooms, I have to admit, smelling them sauteed in garlic sauce makes my mouth water! I pass by all of the food kiosks and have to selectively decide which kiosk to visit because there's only so much that I can eat!!!

But I think that the best thing about Weihnnachtsmarkt is the spirit, energy, and company that people share with friends and family. The religious aspect of Christmas is also still very much alive with choirs and bible story skits in the local churches that also reminds us of what Christmas is all about. I wish that I could be in Canada to spend this time with my family and friends, or that you could all be here with me, but I'm very thankful that I have met really great people already here in Göttingen. There is always so much to do at work during the week that I sometimes forget that I'm also here to enjoy my time, live and learn about the culture.
Last year, after my trip in Europe, my wish was to experience Christmas in Germany. My wish will be able to come true, and not only will I be in Germany during this time, but will also spend the holidays with a German family! After that, I'll be able to finally visit Paris and spend New Years Eve there, although I heard that Paris isn't a very eventful during that time. But it really doesn't matter to me, as long as I can explore the city before going back to work in the new year.
I miss everybody back home and hope that you are all doing well! Happy holidays! With love, erin.

Mice and dating.

You will all have to forgive me for writing so rarely, but my blog entries now depend on how much time and energy I have after work. Yes! I officially have a work schedule!

At the moment, I am busy with the training, and working on a memory experiment for mice. It’s quite tedious because you need to repetitively observe them, take note, and run numerous trials every day, but it really is quite fascinating. The baby mice for my future drug experiments arrived today and I’m super excited to get started. Because there are so few in this generation, I will only be able to observe them, but it should be really interesting! Anyways, experiments, and tons of reading have been occupying my time. Things are slowly starting to pile up. Luckily, the people here really help each other out and nobody is left hanging.

On a completely different note, I wanted to share a few thoughts I had the past few weeks as I have been able to travel back and forth between Germany and Switzerland via trains. Firstly, the atmosphere here is different. Unless you are in a huge hub like Frankfurt, people in general are pretty laid back and mellow. Not only in their personality, but also with their views on life, like relationships. Maybe it’s because European countries are so small but relationships here are taken so seriously. And I mean that in a good way. Casual dating exists here too, but it’s rare, in my opinion. People that I know in relationships are really in love. And people really care about relationships. It’s an important part of their lives here. Personally, I felt that back in Canada, work, school and family/friends were top priority, in general. But I’ve noticed that most of my German friends here feel that their boyfriend/girlfriend are just AS important. And friends ask their friends how their relationships are going because it’s important for them that they are going well too. If it isn’t, they talk to each other to figure out a way to fix it, just like you would for university course selections, a deadline for a presentation, etc.

Just this past Sunday, I was on the train and I am going to unofficially say that Sunday night in Germany is a sad night for all the people in long distance relationships. At every stop, there were couples hugging and kissing each other goodbye for the week. I have never seen so many long distance couples part from each other in a group at the same time! It was so interesting to see and I truly felt like I could relate. And maybe I’m just being a romantic, but it made me really happy to see these people caring and loving someone so much at the train station. I should have been sad because they were leaving each other for the week, but it didn’t! Just picture a whole platform of men and women waving goodbye to their significant others, anticipating the next week until they can see each other. And until then, technology has to suffice.

Of course long distance is not ideal, but that is the situation for them. And this is how they are working through it. I admire that. It gives me strength and hope.

If any of you are struggling, I only hope that you do whatever makes you happy. Life’s too short.

Love you all,

Erin.

A Fest in Oktober. And Göttingen.

I have finally experienced Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany and it is DEFINITELY an experience. I wish I could have spent more time there but I was only able to drop by in Munich for a few days to visit some friends on my way to Göttingen.

Firstly, I'd like to say that it is crowded. And it is huge! There are 7 million people who attend Oktoberfest in exactly 16 days. Luckily we went at night and it was raining so it was a lot less crowded. But Oktoberfest starts at 9am until 11pm. It's a full day of beer, pretzels, sausages, potatoes, not to mention amazing carnival rides and beer halls. I swear, I don't think I blinked once. I'm not even a huge beer fan but once you're there, it's all you can see.

And now, I'd like to also share a bit of the news on my status in Göttingen. I arrived about two weeks ago and I've been doing an internship trial session until now at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, Germany. It was a time for me to get to know the people who work here, as well as become familiar with some of the experiments and tasks that would be involved in my project if I were to stay here. It was a lot to get used to, especially with the mice. The lab is cool because they cross molecular biology with clinical research and behavioural studies in mice. I've never seen such an integration in a lab before! Just last week, I learned how to surgically remove the brain from a mouse, and remove some of the sections for mRNA analysis! I thought it was super cool... although I won't be doing too much of the surgical work. Instead, I would be doing more behavioural experiments, which brings me to my main point: I have accepted the internship position here until the end of May! I have been assigned a project which involves studying mice behaviour, focusing on a drug tolerance and addiction. It's going to be a lot of work. I can see that in the solid group of the MPI team here, but I am motivated and eager to learn. But to be honest, it still hasn't hit me properly and it will probably take some time. I will most likely not be able to make it home for Christmas but would love to stay in contact with you all!

Thank you all for being so supportive throughout this whole process, especially this summer. It was a lot of work and preparation but in the end, it all worked out, even when it was really out of my hands. I have faith...

I hope that this update finds you all well, and keep checking back for more posts! :)

erin.

Zurich City: a glamourous one.

Hello everybody,

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I just caught a nasty cold and it has been too hectic around here! I am actually not in Zurich at the moment, but just wanted to take a few lines to share my thoughts about this wonderful but expensive city!

Yes, it's a pricey one. Switzerland in general is quite pricey, however the residents here to earn a lot more money than the foreigners. Thank goodness I have someone to mooch off of...
Consumption and goods are what cost the most. I would say they are just a little over double the price, so your money runs out fast! I.e. Burger King combo is about 15-17 Francs. Services, on the other hand are reasonable i.e. Boat tours, swimming docks, transportation, etc.

Since my swiss host here is quite busy with his work, I was able to take the time off to explore the city myself. I visited a very famous café called Le Péclard which won first prize for best café in Switzerland last year, and they are well known for their hot chocolate. But their cakes and macaroons are also divine. I interviewed them for a blogsite that I'm writing for (www.thepaperwhale.com/blog) and they actually gave me an Apfelstrdel on the house and it was delicious! Plus, the café itself is eye candy because of their antique and modern design. Check it out if you have time to drop by in Zurich!


I also took a lovely boat tour on Lake Zurich (only 4 Francs with a transit all day pass) which I was looking forward to since I was planning my trip in Canada and it was just glorious! I ended up stopping in a cute little town called Küsnacht and went for a spontaneous dip in the lake. I had no bathing suit and no towel, and totally had to depend on the sun and the warm grass to dry me up. When I got back into the city, I noticed such an elegance to it with their shimmering night lights, warm sunsets, not to mention that the border along the fresh water lake Zurich at Bellevue is packed with people to enjoy the last few summer nights! It's actually quite romantic...The water is so clean and fresh too! All over the city, you can find fountains to drink from... great way to stop by for some water.


On some of my last days, I did some window shopping and went for a quick dip in the public bath/swimming area too. It was about 21 degrees celsius and the water was about 11, so it was pretty cold, but summer is over which encouraged me to go swimming in the lake anyway. Europeans also love sun bathing, especially sunbathing topless for the women. That was also an interesting experience, and it really didn't feel weird. I think the environment was right for the situation...

Anyways, my cold is calling me to bed. I have arrived safely in Göttingen and will let you know what the city is like and my work situation as well!

Bis bald,
erin.

Heidiland!

I have to admit that I sort of wished that I was called Heidi, running around in an alpine skirt with cattle, goats and sheep, making my own cheese in the swiss alps... I didn't do any of these things but I came a little close to it. At least I think so! We went on a hike on 'Haldenberg' which is about an hour from Zurich. It was a delightful and magnificent day trip. The train ride was absolutely breathtaking. The pictures I took does not do justice, but I tried to capture a crystal green lake surrounded by sky-scraping mountains and farms.

The hike on Haldenberg was approximately 1000 metres high, and lasted about 5 hours. If it wasn't for my knee and ankles acting up, we probably could have done it faster. The weather was simply radiant and I saw so much including 'Alm', which is a mountain farm/pasture with cattles and their bells ringing, goats, sheep, hidden waterfalls, fresh mountain spring water, and of course, a remarkable view from the top of the swiss alps.

I think what I loved about this trip was that, everything that we did and enjoyed was from nature. I loved what I saw, heard, smelled and even tasted, like the fresh spring water! It costed nothing (with a Eurail pass) to get to the nearby city for the hike, we packed some bread, cheese and meat to eat with water and an apple for desert, sat in the sun when we were cold, depended on the shade for some coolness... all of this just from hiking in the mountains with our feet!

That's what I call a fun day! It's sad to think how much money we use in our spare time when we live in the city: I myself am guilty of that often, so these days, I am really enjoying God's beauty in nature around me! I just can't get enough of it...

I hope you have a little idea of what I experienced on this day trip! If any of you are heading to Switzerland anytime soon, hit up a hike in the alps, and you'll never forget it! Next stop... Zurich city!

erin.

erin.

swiss post.

I arrived into Frankfurt yesterday afternoon, then took a train to Mannheim, then a train to Basel, then a final train to Zurich. I forgot how friendly europeans are. At the Deutsche Bahn train station in the Frankfurt Airport, so many people were offering to help with my baggage onto the train, stairs, escalators, etc They were just as nice as last year when I came to Germany to study in Kassel...

So, this is my first time in Switzerland, and even though I haven't seen much yet, I can tell that I'm really going to like this country. Even the train ride itself was a beauty. Maybe it's just me, but I got bored with the german countryside. Besides the canola fields, it really looks like a small version of Canada. Going into Switzerland was beautiful. Tall mountains, trees, fields ON mountains, etc. Pictures will be posted soon...

So far, since I've arrived into Zurich, I have been introduced to a swiss tram and swiss food. Apparently the food quality is really great, and I can say that I agree, at least with their organic raspberry yogurt. I can't wait to taste the rest after we go do our groceries later on today... After that, we'll go for a walk in Zurich and go exploring. It is a Friday night after all! Really looking forward to this week in Zurich... I'll let you all know how it goes!

erin.