Hiiiii,
I know I’m behind in blogging (surprise surprise), but my
internet has been AWFUL the past few days (as in, I don’t have it) so I will do
my best to catch up.
Monday was the start of my third week here. The last two
weeks, I had been working with Peter and Katya on their synaptosome project,
but this week (and next week), I am going to be working with a girl named
Nastiya. Nastiya is probably the youngest one here, since she received her PhD
just last year. She is very short and smiley and always has painted nails.
Obviously, I liked her already.
Anyways, she told me to come in for 11am, and on that day,
we did a lot. Since it’s now almost Thursday night, I don’t remember exactly
what we did, but in these four days, we’ve done 3 PCR, 2 rtPCR, 3 gel
electrophoreses, 2 DNAase preparation, 2 reverse transcription, and I watched a
cell culturing thing. It’s been a lot, but I’m learning so much with Nastiya.
She describes everything a very well and isn’t afraid to repeat herself or
elaborate (which I appreciate). Of course I’ve done a PCR and I’ve read about
it…. But did I REALLY know what it was? No. I feel like I’m learning about
nuance and about what “good” versus “bad” results look like, etc. I’ve been
here almost 10 hours every day and it’s definitely paying off.
Nastiya also speaks to me almost entirely in English (when
we’re working on something scientific). This has pros and cons. Since I know fewer
scientific words in Russian than I had originally thought (they’re not all
cognates), it’s VERY helpful for my understanding to get an explanation in
English. When I go back to doing science in America, no one is going to care
that I can speak in Russian scientific terms, but they ARE going to care that I
know how to do this technique, that technique etc. I know I’m supposed to be
conducting myself in Russian, but if I really want to learn science, then I’m
going to need English too. I almost always reply
to her in Russian, so at least I’m still getting practice in speaking. Overall,
I think it’s good and of course people here want to speak to me in English
since they haven’t had many interactions with native speakers. It’s a win-win.
Speaking of which, Katya actually found my blog and sent me
a nice message. It made me very happy to hear that she enjoyed my impressions
of Moscow and the lab. She also said I was brave for coming here alone… which I
guess I am. When I was younger, I never would have thought I’d do something
like this… ever. Hehe.
Oh! One more thing about science in Russia: apparently
students at university have science classes in Russian and different science
classes in English. Americans do NOT
have that obviously…. So already I’m at a disadvantage. But it’s all good. My
job here is to speak as much Russian as possible, absorb as much of Russia and
as much culture as possible, and to learn science things (paper is bonus).
That’s basically it. And I’m doing that, therefore all is good.
One funny thing about labs here is that the culture has
seeped into the science (as I’m sure it does in America too). For example,
shoes. Russians are obsessed with shoes and having nice, clean shoes, and
having different shoes for the street, and different shoes for inside a
building or home. I knew that everyone wears тапочки at home (slippers), but I
had no idea this mindset would transfer to work. Everyone has a bajillion pairs
of shoes, and even MORE exaggerated, if you go into the sterile room, you have
to either wear a 3rd pair of shoes, or just socks. Socks in a lab!
Can you imagine? That made my day when I
realized that.
On that day, actually, (sorry this post is very random), I
shadowed Sergey (another boss-man), who showed me what he does in the
culture/sterile room under the hood. Last summer I did A LOT under the hood
(almost everything), so I was pretty familiar with what he was doing. He said
he was working on proteins and cells in viruses, specifically HIV. That was
cool to hear since HIV research has gotten a lot of press the past few months.
Today students from different universities came to the lab
to hear lectures and take tours of the institute. It was funny seeing them
around since many were younger than me. At one point, I saw them looking at me
from the hall into the room I was in (I was doing stuff alone), and I realized
that they probably thought I was Russian. It’s weird how easy it is to blend in
with the right clothes. Some lab people had to talk to them (including Nastya),
and they were all chuckling about it.
Also today, Balaban made me borcht for lunch! He brought it
in in a plastic container, and I just heated it up, and voo-ah-la. This version
had beans in it – so delicious.
Another interesting thing that happened today occurred when
Nastya and I called over Sergey to analyze some results we had gotten. He was
not happy that the results weren’t what we wanted (yet again), and hm, I don’t
know how to explain it, but their interactions at the moment were very
interesting. I don’t think Sergey wanted me to be able to understand or hear
what he was saying, but I could understand a lot…. More than people think.
Also today I was talking with Nastya and another person
(whose name I forget) and we were talking about books and movies, and I asked
Nastya why she didn’t like current Russian films. (Katya had said that also).
She answered that back in the 80s and 90s, directors were given a lot of money
to make really good films, and now, film isn’t as valued and all directors want
to do is make a fast paycheck and move on. No one wants to create masterpieces.
She asked if this was true in America as well, and I said that it was…. But it’s
more pronounced in the music industry.
Unfortunately because the government gave directors money back in the 80s and 90s, they were
able to have a say in what was made.
My impression is that a lot of current Russian films are sad/slow in response
to the fall of the Soviet Union and in response to the lifting of the “necessity
of happiness.” Many Soviet films are pieces of propaganda meant to show how
happy, healthy, and beautiful the country was. There was a lot of pressure on
directors to be positive. Now, that pressure has lifted, and directors have
more options when it comes to plot. I think people are nostalgic for the
comedic/adventure plot lines of late Soviet film. Current Russian film is
different, but is it really “worse”? Isn’t all information good so long as
you’re learning something from it? So what if the subject matter or opinion
doesn’t align with your own?
This kind of connects to the other thing I wanted to say
quickly about news sources and information in general. I mentioned an article I
had read in the Moscow Times (in English) to someone about the need for
Russophiles in the West, and he responded that that news source is typically
Russia-phobic. This made me think about how people watch the news sources that
they agree with. No one wants to challenge their own opinions – people stick
with BBC, or Fox, or CNN and that’s it. But I don’t understand. Why listen to
opinions that you already have? Is it simply for self-reassurance? Or to feel
like you belong to some larger group who thinks a certain way?
This connects to ANOTHER article I read about how spreading
unpopular opinions or opinions not of the norm, is incredibly dangerous now for
professors since they can potentially lose student favorability/their job if
not tenured. And THISSSSS connects back to the whole idea that no one wants to
rock the boat. People are comfortable in their opinions and in their
mini-bubble of a life, and they don’t seek new information, new opinions,
different people, or unconventional experiences.
WHY?????
A month or so ago I was talking with an old friend who I
don’t speak with much anymore, and he said that he didn’t want to leave college
since it was “comfortable.” Maybe comfortable is good. But I think comfortable
can be dangerous.
Blah sorry, rant over. ANYWAYS, ok there is more to say, but
I think I will save it for next time, since I am sleepy and want to watch
movies.
PLEASE check out the two articles I mentioned. They are very
interesting, particularly the one about professors/limiting points of view
(Vox).
Have a lovely Thursday everyone!
Steph
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