Officially a North Carolinian!

Hello Friends and Family!

My gosh it has been forever since I have sent you an update! This year has flown by and I am well overdue. Believe me, if I had updated this every time I thought about it there would be 15 more entries than there are now. Well, I will attempt to hit the high points of the last 10 months without writing a novel for you all to read.

First thing is first, I survived my first year! Spring semester was insanely busy and this summer has been a nice break. I started back into classes this past week, much to my dismay. I don't mind the learning part, it is the time that it takes away from my lab work that is most annoying. I am taking three classes - a pathology lab, an experimental physiology course, and a presentation/professional development class. The physiology class has reminded me how much I like the topic of physiology and how much I loved my exercise physiology course at UP. After this year I will be more or less done with classes and work full time on research.

My research, that is another high-light from the spring. In May I officially joined a lab and a department. I am now a proud member of the Cell and Molecular Physiology Department. For my project I am studying colon cancer and stem cells - how stem cells may play a role in colon cancer. I really enjoy having a project that I can take ownership of and I love the fact that I will stay in this lab for awhile and not have to leave in a couple months like I did in my rotations. It is nice to feel settled somewhere.

In January I began to teach science workshops to homeschooled students from the surrounding area. I started planning for these workshops last November, so it was nice to see them come together. They were a big hit with the families and the graduate student volunteers who assisted me. Everyone enjoyed them so much that I decided to continue them again this year. It gives me a more creative outlet and I love sharing my passion for science with the students and watching them learn.

In February I had another teaching/science outreach experience. I went to Puerto Rico with a group from UNC to teach a molecular biology workshop to a small group of undergraduates. Some of them came to UNC this summer to do research and I hosted one. This year I am heading up the trip to Puerto Rico. I love the opportunity to use my Spanish. We teach in English, but once I told the students that I spoke some Spanish they liked to try to get me to speak it with them. I also spent one night with a family (one of the graduate students is from PR), so stayed with her family the last night. Her grandmother didn't speak any English, so I really got to practice my Spanish then. One really cool tidbit I picked up from the trip happened when we landed in San Juan. Everyone claps - all the natives at least. They are rejoicing that we made it safely and they are home - pretty cool!

Another exciting tidbit from this past year was adopting a dog from the local humane society. His name is Ebony and he is a Border Collie/Flat-Coated Retriever mix. He was about 8 months old when I adopted him. He is a great companion and super smart. He has learned numerous tricks and picks up on things super fast. Unfortunately his intelligence also means that he gets bored just as easily. He has eaten or destoryed more dog toys than I care to count and also done a number one various household items that do not belong to him. Most recently he finished off a blanket. I bought it for him in January and since then he has been gnawing on it. Last night I saw him swallow the last piece... :-) I am planning to start agility classes with him next month. I am hoping this will give him an outlet for his energy and a way to exercise his brain!!

Well, I think that's enough for now! I'd love to hear from you, so drop me a line when you get a chance. I try to be better about responding to personal notes than I am about blogging - promise!!

Peace!

Sarah

P.S. After living here for over a year, I am now officially a resident of NC - hence the title!