I am alive -- let this be proclaimed far and wide! There are a plethora of things that can be said about my time in Edmonton. Clearly, having not posted in a few weeks, I must still be alive! Yes, please indulge in this honest fact.
In this time, I have:
1) visited Ottawa (just this past weekend, and will get its own blog post coming soon)
2) come to at least one meeting of the groups Feminists of U Alberta, Students for Life Without Limits, and Toastmasters
3) Participated in Residence Life events
4) Somehow made my way through the U Alberta, a veritable maze
5) Become a member of my lab!
Item #1 will simply not be addressed here. My time in Ottawa, despite only being a weekend, was an incredible expanse of time that must be described on its own. But I can say that it was incredible, and an absolute highlight.
The groups Feminists of U Alberta (FUA) and Students for Life Without Limits (SLWL) are incredibly new to me. I attended my first meeting for both groups just this week. While the former fits the mission you would expect, the latter focuses on disability advocacy and support for persons with cerebral palsy (with connection to the Cerebral Palsy Association of Alberta). Through my time here, I hope to potentially connect these groups together to improve advocacy.
Simultaneously, I recognize that SLWL in particular has a great chance to cast insight into other movement disorders, especially the muscular dystrophies. Though biochemically distinct, the muscular dystrophies and cerebral palsy both often require similar forms of support, including mobility aids and physical therapy among other needs. I have built a relationship with Muscular Dystrophy Canada, who I hope to connect with some University of Alberta groups! (The Muscular Dystrophy Canada group provided an additional affiliation letter to support my Fulbright program.)
For those who know me, Toastmasters comes as no surprise at all. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I took on the role of meeting evaluator on my very first visit! Though it has been a short time, I find myself well integrated into this group and find them quite fun to work with. The club is comprised of newer members and.....that makes me one of the more senior Toastmasters. Wow.....this day has already come for me.
Certainly, I will have much more to describe once I have given a speech for them! But for now, feast your attention upon this fact: I participated in my very first speech contest while in Edmonton! This was the most packed Toastmasters meeting (event) I have seen in a long time; and the regular members of UA Toastmasters agreed on that point. To be clear, this was 'just' a 1-1.5 minute impromptu speech. But when the prompt is "Look at that sign!" it's hard. So I transformed the prompt into a philosophical talk about how we should be that sign, and a positive sign at that. It was my most energetic speech to date, despite being both short and for a contest. There were 9 contestants, so not placing did not entirely sting. In fact, some people afterwards told me they quite liked my speech! This event, which I had considered skipping, ended up playing a gigantic role in my development as a speaker.
Ah yes, Residence Life does dictate some aspects of my time here. There have been many events here....including yoga with puppies, and then a later event with those same puppies! Just today, there was a Bingo Night (and I did not win in any position). It's interesting how just living here has given me many chances to meet people and friends. So far, I've only made two Facebook friends, but hopefully that number will grow over time! (My time in Ottawa has contributed the most to my increase in Facebook friends, though!)
These events are all important-- but what about the fact that Edmonton is outright known for its brutal winters? This has been concerning my parents since long before I came here. Having lived in Montreal earlier in life, they understand the pains and fears of winter time in Canada. For now, I need not worry, as Edmonton is simply a bit rainy, a touch windy, and somewhat cool -- it's like an Oregon Fall in that regard. There's little to say about the winter until it actually arrives sometime in November.
**But** that has not stopped me from immersing myself and getting lost in the various connections between buildings here on campus. To get to my lab, I can use at least two above ground routes, which will surely be necessary come snowfall. To my surprise, the pedestrian ways are actually from the second floor of buildings, rather than below the city. (Perhaps this is an element specific to Montreal that my parents generalized.) There's a rich connection of buildings on this campus that both is highly synergistic and utterly confusing. Perhaps it will all come clear once that infamous winter finally comes.
Even more incredible is how my lab, the main purpose of my visit, has not even come up yet! Rest asssured, this does NOT mean that I gave up on it. Rather, I am becoming increasingly busy in training in all manner of tools, especially pipetting. One such task over this week has been serial dilutions using dye. My supervisor, the graduate student I work under, has me working with a blue dye so that I can always use color to track my progress. Unexpectedly very effective! This even carries over for a task like loading gels -- here a mistake means that blue will literally just float away. This cuts down on explaining all of my problems! Though seemingly simple, my progess in pipetting has been tremendous, and far above my work in previous research experiences. Clearly, this is the best hands-on training I have faced so far.
But in the end -- I am alive remains the easiest summation of everything I have faced. Henceforth, especially as the winter approaches, I shall offer the more complex summations available. Expect to hear much more from me over time!
Until next time, see you!
😲
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