Paris! Where to start? I guess by saying that I undoubtedly stick out. No, not because I'm American, not because I have troubles communicating with people, but because I am a cripple. So, this is not necessarily a bad thing. People are much nicer to you when you have obvious signs of an injury.
Advantages:
1) people scurry to move out of your way
2) cars stop more often for cripples
3)you get to skip long security lines in airports (and take the rest of the group with you)
4) people give you their seat on the metro
5) people have patience when you ask them for directions (can't let the cripple crutch around aimlessly)
6)great conversation starter ("Ça? Je me suis cassé la jambe..." Yeah, I did have to practice that phrase.)
7) you are an attraction
Disadvantages:
1)stairs (pretty much the only access to the metro)
2)you can't crutch and look at your map at the same time when you get lost
3)you can't eat ice cream and crutch (ok, so you can't really do anything with your hands while you crutch)
4) you are an attraction
(Oh, also: apparently my crutches (aka bequilles) are an attraction in their own right. Here my model of crutches is ANCIENT. Everyone on crutches looks like they're from the future (see picture)
Although I am slightly less ambulatory than most, I do keep up and have managed to do some sight-seeing and un peu de shopping aussi!
I've also been having a great time at the Curie Institute. Our lab unit's focus is on Notch Signaling and how it affects tumorigenesis in the intestine of specific genetically engineered mice. (Don't worry, I have yet to completely understand everything either.) Right now, we are focused on creating and maintaining organoids (or mini organs), especially crypts, which are essentially a small and very specific section of the small intestine. These crypts are grown ex vivo (or in culture, outside of a whole organism) in small culture plates. I have been doing some techniques that I learned of (and some that I even practiced) in Biology class. I got to do PCR, which is a technique that amplifies the amount of DNA you have available, as well as gel electrophoresis, which is a process used to separate DNA by size. I've gotten to see how research is done, the problems that may arise, and the kind of ingenuity, skill, and patience it takes to solve them.
Also, FOOD! I've ventured outside of my comfort zone and have tried things like, steak du thon or tuna steak (which I figured out later is only mildly cooked...), ratatouille (not like the movie but like the food the movie is named after; I also learned that), quiche, creme brûlée (SO good), tiramisu (possibly even better), and last but not least...les ESCARGOTS (which are surprisingly really not that bad).
Looking forward to more sight-seeing, shopping, experiments, and new foods,
-Heydi Malavé
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