I've been living in Dresden, Germany for a little over two weeks now, for an internship at the Technsiche Universitaet Dresden. I'm working under a Ph.D. student, Judith Reichert, on a project that deals with titanium-based implants. The goal of the project is to modify the surfaces of these implants, attaching antibiotics and growth factors, so that the implants have a better success rate in patients with compromised immune systems, like smokers or diabetics, for instance. It's really interesting to me, and I feel so lucky that I get to work on something cool like this...in Germany...the whole summer! As an undergrad, I don't really have a say in what kind of experiments I get to do, but it's been great so far, even just learning about the project and getting used to the environment of a German research lab.

I live in Altstadt, a section of the city that has a lot of the really old buildings with a lot of history. My building is really modern-looking, though, and HUGE (I'm on the 13th floor out of 17). I have my own room that's basically the size of a dorm, and then I share a tiny kitchen and tiny bathroom with another dorm room. I'm supposed to have a roommate, but no one has shown up yet.

My advisor is letting me use her old bike for the summer, so I can bike anywhere I need to go on a regular basis. Once I decide to go a little further out and see other parts of Dresden, I'll have to use the tram or something, but they have a great public transportation system, so I'm not worried. I've been hearing lots of good things about Saxon Switzerland, an area of Saxony, the German state that Dresden is in. I'm hoping to check that out soon; it's a little way from Dresden, and I guess it's the most mountainous region of Saxony, so it should be good for a hike.

That's it for now! It's a beautiful evening, and I'm going for a run!