This was just about the only German phrase I used regularly while in Cologne, Germany for my BRAVO! three month research stay. Originally I planned to take in as much of the German language and culture as possible, however I rarely got the opportunity to do so. Once the people of Cologne found out I was American, they only wanted to use English and learn as much as they could about American culture and lifestyle. “Cool! An American.” and “Do you support Bush?” or “Do you guys really drink from those big red plastic cups at parties like in the movies?” are just a few of the phrases likely to start off a conversation with a German I had just met. I must admit, this overly enthusiastic reaction to my being American was a relief and quite unexpected, as political tension between the two countries seemed to be getting stronger by the minute.
Near the end of February, friends and family were calling and emailing with inquiries about anti-Americanism in Germany. “What’s it like?” and “Do you want to come home?” they asked. Thank goodness I could assure everyone that there was nothing going on in Cologne resembling the reaction seen in U.S. news casts. I could also assure them that I was going to stay! (I’d even stay longer than my allotted three months if they would let me.) To be honest, I was a little embarrassed by the behavior I heard tales of back home: rocks being thrown through windows donning anti-war mantras, the boycotting of French and German products and finally the whole “freedom fries” thing. “Is that a joke?” I’d ask about the renaming of a product that is actually originally Belgian and not French. Sadly enough, it wasn’t a joke. Never once during my stay did I encounter the term “ugly American” nor was I ever forced to endure bad service and ill treatment on the basis of my nationality. In Germany, you can get bad service in a German restaurant no matter what nationality you are. I’m kidding, of course, and not all German restaurants are the same, but let’s face it, when the tip is already included in the check, why can’t the customer wait an extra five minutes for their carbonated mineral wasser? In fact, the only time I encountered a snippy German in Cologne was when I tried to order das wasser ohne Kohlensaure (water without carbonation). Never question them when they tell you they don’t have normal water, even if they really do, it’s not for you. All in all, it was good to be an American in Cologne.
Yes, Cologne afforded the perfect setting to work on “the functional analysis of ligand-receptor interactions in the olfactory sensory neurons of zebrafish.” Before I get to the details of the project here’s a bit of background. It seems that there is one “big” question that drives a neurobiologist to do what he/she’s going to do: how does the brain work? Fortunately for them (and me), there is no one easy answer to the big question. As a result, hundreds of these brain biologists can find employment in universities worldwide fiddling with genetic, electrophysiological and other techniques all in an attempt to provide little bits of new knowledge that may one day (though not in our employed lifetimes) answer the big question.
Dr. Sigrun Korsching, my faculty advisor at the Universitat fur Genetik in Cologne is one such neurobiologist. She has contributed to the field by providing some insight into odor dependent neuronal activity in the olfactory bulb of mice and zebrafish. Her lab has contributed to other areas as well, but my work was most related to odor dependent activity in the primary sensory neurons located in the olfactory epithelium (a lining of cells in the nose responsible for the initial detection of an odor) in zebrafish. Basically, I was trying to develop a technique that would allow neurobiologists to stimulate a specific cell type located within the olfactory epithelium and then see the downstream effects of said stimulation all within a real live fish. More formally this meant that I set out to determine which specific molecule or class of molecules would cause a ZOR9 protein expressing olfactory sensory neuron to fire.
One month and a half into the project, about halfway through my time, I was struck with a rather unsettling realization; there was no way I could complete the project goal within the next month and a half! How can a project proposal look so beautiful, simple and reasonable in a double spaced, 10 point font written form, yet be complicated, messy and impractical once it gets to the lab bench? Well it can and does happen, but no worries…it is also a survivable predicament. I simply had to redefine my project goals, sharpen my trouble shooting skills, and learn how to better estimate a time frame for completing some basic molecular lab techniques. These are skills that simply have to be learned in the lab, so why not a German lab?
Unfortunately, these things took a little time to learn and I only had a little time in Germany. Three months may be a long time when you’re praying for the day when your differential equations class finally ends, but it is but a fraction of a second when it comes to an opportunity like BRAVO! My experience would lead me to recommend that one should take advantage of this program if they can. Also, they should try for at least a five month stay and only settle for 10 weeks if they absolutely must. I learned how to think, not what to think, and I also developed a passion for science once again because of my research stay. I know that without this, I would have lost any desire to pursue a higher degree in science, and I would have forgotten why I even became a science major in the first place. It was truly the wake up call I needed. Thanks to Dr. Korschingand the usual suspects: Carol Bender, Dr. Gail Burd, Genevieve Kenney, the BRAVO! committee and the BRAVO! program itself (if you can thank a program).
Jennifer Hoy, UBRPer in Dr. Gail Burd’s lab, Molecular and Cellular Biology
This was just about the only German phrase I used regularly while in Cologne, Germany for my BRAVO! three month research stay. Originally I planned to take in as much of the German language and culture as possible, however I rarely got the opportunity to do so. Once the people of Cologne found out I was American, they only wanted to use English and learn as much as they could about American culture and lifestyle. “Cool! An American.” and “Do you support Bush?” or “Do you guys really drink from those big red plastic cups at parties like in the movies?” are just a few of the phrases likely to start off a conversation with a German I had just met. I must admit, this overly enthusiastic reaction to my being American was a relief and quite unexpected, as political tension between the two countries seemed to be getting stronger by the minute.
Near the end of February, friends and family were calling and emailing with inquiries about anti-Americanism in Germany. “What’s it like?” and “Do you want to come home?” they asked. Thank goodness I could assure everyone that there was nothing going on in Cologne resembling the reaction seen in U.S. news casts. I could also assure them that I was going to stay! (I’d even stay longer than my allotted three months if they would let me.) To be honest, I was a little embarrassed by the behavior I heard tales of back home: rocks being thrown through windows donning anti-war mantras, the boycotting of French and German products and finally the whole “freedom fries” thing. “Is that a joke?” I’d ask about the renaming of a product that is actually originally Belgian and not French. Sadly enough, it wasn’t a joke. Never once during my stay did I encounter the term “ugly American” nor was I ever forced to endure bad service and ill treatment on the basis of my nationality. In Germany, you can get bad service in a German restaurant no matter what nationality you are. I’m kidding, of course, and not all German restaurants are the same, but let’s face it, when the tip is already included in the check, why can’t the customer wait an extra five minutes for their carbonated mineral wasser? In fact, the only time I encountered a snippy German in Cologne was when I tried to order das wasser ohne Kohlensaure (water without carbonation). Never question them when they tell you they don’t have normal water, even if they really do, it’s not for you. All in all, it was good to be an American in Cologne. 
Yes, Cologne afforded the perfect setting to work on “the functional analysis of ligand-receptor interactions in the olfactory sensory neurons of zebrafish.” Before I get to the details of the project here’s a bit of background. It seems that there is one “big” question that drives a neurobiologist to do what he/she’s going to do: how does the brain work? Fortunately for them (and me), there is no one easy answer to the big question. As a result, hundreds of these brain biologists can find employment in universities worldwide fiddling with genetic, electrophysiological and other techniques all in an attempt to provide little bits of new knowledge that may one day (though not in our employed lifetimes) answer the big question. 
bulb of mice and zebrafish. Her lab has contributed to other areas as well, but my work was most related to odor dependent activity in the primary sensory neurons located in the olfactory epithelium (a lining of cells in the nose responsible for the initial detection of an odor) in zebrafish. Basically, I was trying to develop a technique that would allow neurobiologists to stimulate a specific cell type located within the olfactory epithelium and then see the downstream effects of said stimulation all within a real live fish. More formally this meant that I set out to determine which specific molecule or class of molecules would cause a ZOR9 protein expressing olfactory sensory neuron to fire.
