Last Friday was Portuguese dinner night! :D All nine (yes, we're nine!!) new Portuguese got together and had dinner at one of our houses. It was a nice get together, specially because there were two new arrivals that most of us hadn't met yet. Following this was another Friday party at Calslaan... It still amazes me how people can just offer their house to be invaded by 100 people or more :S Cleaning must be a blast!
Portugal plays Poland tonight at 8:45PM (local time) so once again we're getting together to watch the game... (Maybe we can even convince some Polish folks to join us). Specially since most of us won't be here to watch SLBenfica vs FCPorto on Friday. I'm actually kind of glad or else I'd probably have a heart attack or something. You might be wondering if I'm really that big a fan, but the fact is that the teams are tied for 1st place after SLBenfica practically gave away points in the last few games.
Oh! I'm leaving for Berlin on Friday (which is the reason I won't be watching the game)! A group (those that don't have classes) already left for Hamburg today and the rest will catch up with them in Berlin for the weekend. I've been to Berlin but now I'm going with a different perspective, company and weather :P
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Prince Friso
So, apparently the second son of Queen Beatrix from the Netherlands was trapped in a snow avalanche this past weekend while skiing in Austria. He's in critical condition especially because he was under the snow for about 15 minutes without access to oxygen. More info is in the article in Dutch News.
What my contribution to this topic is that the Professor responsible for the research group I'm working in will appear on TV (NED2) to discuss oxygen deficiency in the brain. I found out about this in an attempt to have a meeting with him today, along with my supervisor... We were unsuccessful because he was receiving some important calls regarding his appearance.
Meanwhile, I hope it all turns out well for Prince Friso.
On another note, my flight to Portugal in May is definitely booked! One week of 'vacation' where I'll be able to see everyone and attend my 'Benção das Pastas' (which is a traditional Portuguese ceremony when you finish you university studies). Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for me to enjoy the pool and the beach :)
What my contribution to this topic is that the Professor responsible for the research group I'm working in will appear on TV (NED2) to discuss oxygen deficiency in the brain. I found out about this in an attempt to have a meeting with him today, along with my supervisor... We were unsuccessful because he was receiving some important calls regarding his appearance.
Meanwhile, I hope it all turns out well for Prince Friso.
On another note, my flight to Portugal in May is definitely booked! One week of 'vacation' where I'll be able to see everyone and attend my 'Benção das Pastas' (which is a traditional Portuguese ceremony when you finish you university studies). Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for me to enjoy the pool and the beach :)
Monday, February 20, 2012
What is it I'm doing?
So it's been 2 weeks... Who knew time could go by so fast?
I've recently came to the realization that I need to come up with an easier way to explain to people what exactly I will be working on in Master thesis. Apparently not everyone is familiar with terms such as EEG, TMS, epilepsy, etc... I'm used to speaking in the Biomedical world and on topics that everyone usually understands, but now that my work is more specific, I guess I need to come up with easier words, accessible to everyone, including those in my area.
Lots of Portuguese students choose the Netherlands and U. Twente to study, specifically Biomedical Engineering. It's an interesting aspect to analyze because I wasn't expecting this...maybe there is some logic behind it? Although, why would we leave a perfectly well adjusted climate to live in a country (even if just for 6 months) that can have rain, snow and sun multiple times in the same day? :P The university is definitely at the forefront when it comes to biomedical technology and other areas of engineering as well... I think we will continue to hear about U. Twente in many years to come.
On Friday I had the opportunity to assist in a experimental measurement with TMS-EEG. Even though it's routine for my advisor (who is a PhD student), I found it kind of fascinating. I got to see how a 64 channel EEG works, part of my job was even to insert gel into some of the electrodes and bring down the resistance to under 5kOhm. This might sound boring but I enjoyed myself. I already knew how the robot and everything related to it works (after the 'dry run' on Thursday)... An extra part was giving the TMS pulses :P After a while you kind of get tired of counting to 3 or 4 seconds and the fact that you have to be standing...but oh well.
Oh and yeah, today I cycled all the way to the city!! Hadn't done that yet. It's actually pretty close and can be done from where I live in 20 minutes, which is not so bad. On the way there, this morning, I took these pictures:
Before arriving at my second workplace, I stopped to open a bank account. I will be expecting my card very soon, which will make my payments in this country soooooo much easier :) Can't wait! Below it the Stationsplein:
One of the fun parts about today was the opportunity to observe the acquisition of several clinical EEGs. I saw one being done on a baby, in order to determine existence of epilepsy, and another for a woman who is undergoing surgery tomorrow near the carotid and they needed to know if everything was working within expected. I have to say, the baby broke my heart when the technician was applying the cap and the gel, he did not know what was going on and what someone was doing to his head... Something else I saw, which I found extremely interesting was the use of ultrasounds to see the arteries and veins in the neck... I was literally with my mouth hanging open when I saw what they could do and see with it.
I've recently came to the realization that I need to come up with an easier way to explain to people what exactly I will be working on in Master thesis. Apparently not everyone is familiar with terms such as EEG, TMS, epilepsy, etc... I'm used to speaking in the Biomedical world and on topics that everyone usually understands, but now that my work is more specific, I guess I need to come up with easier words, accessible to everyone, including those in my area.
Lots of Portuguese students choose the Netherlands and U. Twente to study, specifically Biomedical Engineering. It's an interesting aspect to analyze because I wasn't expecting this...maybe there is some logic behind it? Although, why would we leave a perfectly well adjusted climate to live in a country (even if just for 6 months) that can have rain, snow and sun multiple times in the same day? :P The university is definitely at the forefront when it comes to biomedical technology and other areas of engineering as well... I think we will continue to hear about U. Twente in many years to come.
On Friday I had the opportunity to assist in a experimental measurement with TMS-EEG. Even though it's routine for my advisor (who is a PhD student), I found it kind of fascinating. I got to see how a 64 channel EEG works, part of my job was even to insert gel into some of the electrodes and bring down the resistance to under 5kOhm. This might sound boring but I enjoyed myself. I already knew how the robot and everything related to it works (after the 'dry run' on Thursday)... An extra part was giving the TMS pulses :P After a while you kind of get tired of counting to 3 or 4 seconds and the fact that you have to be standing...but oh well.
Oh and yeah, today I cycled all the way to the city!! Hadn't done that yet. It's actually pretty close and can be done from where I live in 20 minutes, which is not so bad. On the way there, this morning, I took these pictures:
Before arriving at my second workplace, I stopped to open a bank account. I will be expecting my card very soon, which will make my payments in this country soooooo much easier :) Can't wait! Below it the Stationsplein:
One of the fun parts about today was the opportunity to observe the acquisition of several clinical EEGs. I saw one being done on a baby, in order to determine existence of epilepsy, and another for a woman who is undergoing surgery tomorrow near the carotid and they needed to know if everything was working within expected. I have to say, the baby broke my heart when the technician was applying the cap and the gel, he did not know what was going on and what someone was doing to his head... Something else I saw, which I found extremely interesting was the use of ultrasounds to see the arteries and veins in the neck... I was literally with my mouth hanging open when I saw what they could do and see with it.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Snow
On Saturday it was Enschede Market Day. Actually it's every Tuesday and Saturday, but it was the first time I went :) They sell almost everything there, from food to clothes and accessories. I was joined by three of my fellow 'country people' (I didn't want to say countrymen because one was a girl).
Like good tourists that we are, we walked around, looking at everything... It was an afternoon well spent :) The only thing I was quite surprised about was the price of the coffee! 2€ for a small cup!! I'm glad I get free coffee at my workplace :D
Last night I was able to take this picture when snow was falling. It was only a small amount, but it made my day. Especially because I spent the day indoors doing absolutely nothing. It felt nice but I'm not the kind of person that's used to it, so it kind of bores me a little...
This morning I woke up to the sight in the picture below :) Apparently more snow fell during the night which was nice. People here are so efficient that the all the pathways, people or bike are cleared when I cycled to work in the morning.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Elfstedentocht
It's been so cold the past few weeks that the Dutch saw an opportunity to hold the Elfstedentocht (in English it is referred to as the Eleven Cities Tour). It was supposed to be yesterday but because the ice didn't stay at least 15cm thick throughout the 200km of the tour. The last time the ice was thick enough to hold about 12000 amateur skaters was in 1997. This year they were all excited but apparently it was for a short time.
However, this does not mean there is no opportunity to have fun on the ice.
This is what I saw yesterday afternoon :)
The research group I'm working with is divided between the Experimental Centre for Technical Medicine on campus and the Medisch Spectrum Twente in Enschede.
Today, I visited the latter. I saw a lot of the rooms where they conduct EEG, EMG and other sorts of neurophysiological tests. The hospital has two buildings and because the Dutch are extremely clever, there is a 'bridge' connecting the two. Since it's such a long distance, guess what they have?
Today, I visited the latter. I saw a lot of the rooms where they conduct EEG, EMG and other sorts of neurophysiological tests. The hospital has two buildings and because the Dutch are extremely clever, there is a 'bridge' connecting the two. Since it's such a long distance, guess what they have?
Oh yeah! Bikes!
Totally awesome by the way :) I've always wanted to ride a bike in a building. There are lots of mirrors to help you out because the turns are kind of abrupt and you need to be careful not to run anyone over...
Temperatures are slowly rising. They are expecting snow on Sunday and rain on Monday but I'm not sure that will happen.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Arrival & Bowling
I made it!
It's my 4th day on Dutch soil and it is very, very cold (but I think it's the warmest day so far). It was actually snowing yesterday, just a couple of snowflakes. The lakes are frozen so you can skate on the ice, like I've seen many people do or you can play ice hockey.
Due to the extreme weather, trains were chaotic during the weekend. Apparently everything freezes and all hell breaks loose. We (a group o ESN students, another exchange student, me and my dad) took a longer route to get to Enschede and after 4 hours (instead of the usual 2). But we did make it! It was really interesting to hear something announced on the intercom at the train station while waiting for the next delayed train in our route and suddenly everyone on the platform would start running. This was because at the last minute they would change the number of the platform. I'll tell you, it is not an easy thing to do when you have 2 heavy bags to move and a couple of other little things.
I've met loads of people - I think I wont be able to remember all the names. There are a handful of Portuguese students and many biomedical engineering students. Apparently they all like to come here. We've done some group things and last night there was bowling. I hadn't played in a real long time, especially the real one (Wii does not count!). Started off with a strike but it was all downhill from there...
The sun sets really early which makes it cold very early in the afternoon. If you don't have gloves, scarf, and something similar to ear muffs you'll freeze your face off.
I am also the proud owner of a bicycle :) It rides really well and reminds me of the bike I rode for 10 days last year in Leuven, Belgium. It's got to be a good prognosis...
I've been taking care of lots of paperwork during lunch times, go there, do this, sign this, pay that...Ah! I can't even sit down to have a proper lunch. On the plus side, I'm settling into the Clinical Neurophysiology research group which is nice. The people are all really friendly and I get free coffee!!! It's not like Portuguese coffee but it'll do.
I'm all settled in at my new room. It's small but it's good for the time I'll be spending there. Everytime some asks me where I live, I either say 'the pyramids' or 'the place that starts with a 'W'. It's Witbreuksweg (I wrote it down correctly without checking if I was spelling it right!!!). I have my own bathroom and I share the room & kitchen with 8 other people. It's nice, we're all international students and 4 of us are new arrivals. I'm having a blast cooking my own food :)
It's my 4th day on Dutch soil and it is very, very cold (but I think it's the warmest day so far). It was actually snowing yesterday, just a couple of snowflakes. The lakes are frozen so you can skate on the ice, like I've seen many people do or you can play ice hockey.
I've met loads of people - I think I wont be able to remember all the names. There are a handful of Portuguese students and many biomedical engineering students. Apparently they all like to come here. We've done some group things and last night there was bowling. I hadn't played in a real long time, especially the real one (Wii does not count!). Started off with a strike but it was all downhill from there...
I am also the proud owner of a bicycle :) It rides really well and reminds me of the bike I rode for 10 days last year in Leuven, Belgium. It's got to be a good prognosis...
I've been taking care of lots of paperwork during lunch times, go there, do this, sign this, pay that...Ah! I can't even sit down to have a proper lunch. On the plus side, I'm settling into the Clinical Neurophysiology research group which is nice. The people are all really friendly and I get free coffee!!! It's not like Portuguese coffee but it'll do.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Go!
Exams done :D Some good, others not so much... But what is done is done and there is nothing more to it!
About 36 hours left on Portuguese soil... I'm dreading the cold. Temperatures have been below zero and I haven't prepared myself mentally for it.
Bags are almost packed, amazingly everything fit (after I removed a couple of things). I have to remember I'm going for 7 months so I have to take a lot of clothes or else I'll be washing and ironing all the time...
Had a dinner last Saturday with a couple of friends and family. We weren't a big group but it was nice to just hang out and talk. Totally recommend The Great American Disaster if your looking for a good meal inspired by the 50's at an accessible price.
Last day tomorrow will be spent getting a few last minute things... (always happens)
Can't wait to get there and start the next stage of my life. I'm looking forward to being on my own!
Next post will probably start living up to the name of this blog since it'll come from the Netherlands.
About 36 hours left on Portuguese soil... I'm dreading the cold. Temperatures have been below zero and I haven't prepared myself mentally for it.
Bags are almost packed, amazingly everything fit (after I removed a couple of things). I have to remember I'm going for 7 months so I have to take a lot of clothes or else I'll be washing and ironing all the time...
Had a dinner last Saturday with a couple of friends and family. We weren't a big group but it was nice to just hang out and talk. Totally recommend The Great American Disaster if your looking for a good meal inspired by the 50's at an accessible price.
Last day tomorrow will be spent getting a few last minute things... (always happens)
Can't wait to get there and start the next stage of my life. I'm looking forward to being on my own!
Next post will probably start living up to the name of this blog since it'll come from the Netherlands.
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