Quick Update: Conclusion of my Research Abroad

Iliana's first night here and we stumbled onto a wine festival!

So I blinked, and now all of the sudden I'm on my last week in Lübeck... Where did the time go? Well, most of it has been spent double- and triple-checking all the equipment is working for our study. Because we are doing simultaneous EEG and fMRI, there are a lot of moving parts that could derail the study. Thankfully, I think we're finally worked out the last of the issues! This week, my last week in Germany, marks the beginning of data collection. Our first participant is this Wednesday, with hopefully more to be scheduled soon after. And although I'm leaving, my lab mate Iliana is taking over for the next 3 weeks.

So while I won't be here for the majority of the data collection, I'll still be helping from afar to make sure this project continues smoothly. Anyways, for family & friends who want to know what my last few weeks have been like, I've added some pictures below of my recent adventures!

While Daniel, my boyfriend, visited we put him to work as a pilot subject!

A visit to the CHOCOLATE MUSEUM in Hamburg = heaven

Urban beehives at the world-famous restaurant "Noma" in Copenhagen

Meals are reservation only and run about $400... Obviously we didn't go

Photo courtesy of Daniel- Copenhagen wanderings

Being ridiculous at Tivoli (amusement park in Copenhagen)

Copenhagen's iconic Little Mermaid statue in honor of Hans Christian Anderson

Daniel and Ariel ;)

A bamboo bicycle at the Danish Museum of Design

I would have had more pictures from recent adventures in Copenhagen and Hamburg (where I got to give a small guest lecture!), but my phone's camera has been non-operational for the last few weeks. So I'm looking forward to returning home not only to resume data collection for my master's project, but also so I can get this phone problem resolved! Chicago, Il- Here I come!

Pesky Programming, Massive Magnets, & Exciting Exploration

It's my second week in Lübeck, and I feel like I'm finally starting to settle in properly. Although moving slow, the project I'm working on is really progressing. My first week was almost all about making experiment design decisions while this past week has been all about implementing them. Well, that and testing out the equipment. It took me longer to figure out some programming quirks for an aspect of our task to run properly on the scanner computer.

The entrance to the MRI control room

Also, I'm sad to report that it seems I won't get to see what my brain looks like after all. My copper IUD is only rated as "MR safe" for up to 1.5 Tesla magnets (that's a measure of strength of the magnetic field) and we use a 3 Tesla magnet here. So although there's basically no evidence that I could be harmed by the electromagnetic field, once again I'm stuck in the control room and not able to get pretty images of my brain.

Anyways, beyond my personal disappointment, everything has been going really well.  I think with our current time line we shouldn't have too much trouble collecting enough participants in the time allotted. It helps that within the next week, Iliana (a fellow NU grad student) will arrive in Hamburg so we can really get running. In the mean time, it's pre-piloting, correcting, and more piloting for me! Oh! And I'm giving a short talk/presentation at an MRI colloquia as the official proposal to start running subjects. I'm more than a little anxious, but I think that it should go fine.

While my weekdays have been completely consumed with research, my weekends are reserved for exploration and fun! Last weekend, I spent Saturday exploring the city of Lübeck and getting my bearings. I also went to a fascinating museum about the Hanseatic League.

The famous Holstentor- or Holsten Gate- of Lübeck

Downtown Lübeck

On Sunday, I took a 30km (10 mile) ride on my trusty bicycle to the beach town of Travemünde. The ride itself was mostly through woods or around farms so it was a beautiful way to see the countryside. It was misty when I got to the beach, but I enjoyed wandering around and having lunch before cycling back home.

Travemunde

Travemunde

Sign reads "We live here"

This past weekend, I went a bit further afield. On Saturday, I journeyed into Hamburg- Germany's second largest city after Berlin. I can't say I got to see all of it, or even a good portion. I mainly spent time in the Planten un Blomen and Miniatur Wunderland.  The first is a huge park in the city that is absolutely lovely and peaceful, the second is my dream come true. A museum totally composed of miniature worlds and running trains. I can't even begin to describe how delightful it was! There were models of Switzerland, Hamburg, and the US, plus all kinds of fictional places.  I spent hours there and didn't even see all of the details. Did I mention the model builders also clearly have a sense of humor?

The creators have weird senses of humor- peeping monks watching a scantily clad woman try to fix her car 

I love the cyclist race with the kids trailing behind 

Just to give you an idea of the size of the displays- Swiss mountains

Anyways, yesterday I went to Schwerin for a quieter adventure than the big city. It's a town south east of Lübeck and famous for it's castle surrounded by lakes. It honestly looks like something out of a fairytale. Once again, I was drawn to some quiet park space to relax after seeing the castle. So overall, I must say my weekend adventures have been really lovely!

Schwerin, Germany

The fairytale castle- Schwerin

My best childhood friend, Courtney

And as a last note, last week I had the pleasure of my childhood best friend once again meeting me in Europe! Courtney stopped by for a few days in Lübeck before continuing her travels before her big graduation ceremony at Cambridge. So congrats to Courtney for finishing her post-bacc degree! I'm so happy for you!

Cheers to you Courtney!