Sydney Life

I always thought Halloween was a great idea for a public holiday - I'm now sure of it. As for Obama, let's hope I'm right there too!

While Halloween probably passed unnoticed (again) in Australia, it was celebrated with great enthusiasm in this corner of the world. Pumpkin carving, house decorations, costume parties and more fun-filled events occupied much of last week. Even lecturers got in on the action with at least one of my professors showing us her "favourite biochemical molecule" costume. Ok, a little lame, but the enthusiasm was nice.

It is definitely an event that I encourage anybody who comes to the US to get involved in. It doesn't matter how old you are, everybody from children to adults dresses up here. Below are a few pictures from various Halloween parties. Yes.. I felt like I was in an American movie.

In perhaps less trivial news, Obama won. Being in the US for the election (particularly in democrat-populated NY state) has been fantastic, and I've followed the action closely. I was very interested to note the enthusiasm with which Americans pursued their right to vote. While I had been under the impression that very few Americans actually voted, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that ~70% of the population voted this year. I tend to wonder what percentage of Australia would vote if it were non-compulsory.

At any rate, the attitude is very positive here. Most people believe that he can really make a difference to the way the country is run, and to the perception of America by the international community. Here's to hoping!

University work is going smoothly, and I suppose I should take this opportunity to at least make a comment about one of my courses in particular. If there are any future biochemistry/medicine exchange students reading this who will be at Cornell during a Fall semester, be sure to check out Professor Kraus' course, "The Molecular Basis of Human Disease". I cannot recommend this course enough: it is by far the most interesting one I have taken in my entire university career so far. The course focuses on the broad categories of human disease (genetic, epigenetic, environmental, etc), using great examples to illustrate the material. If you're interested in learning any more about this course be sure to get in contact with me, I'm happy to discuss it!

Well that's all for now. Hope you found some part of my ramblings interesting!