So what can one do during their third week in Bratislava

....in short...not much....I've seen all the touristy sites and its too hot to hike (its too hot to do anything but roast actually). Plus, I'm afraid to go outside because I'll get eaten by killer mosquitos (they chase me in my office as well, I already have 20 bites). Tonight is actually quite nice. A rain storm came by this afternoon so the wind picked up and the town cooled down a bit. I actually got to wear jeans this evening! I haven't worn jeans since the Matterhorn!

Anyways...so I've been trying to find things to do to keep myself busy during the evenings. However, this week proved to be easier than most. Andy visited for four days last weekend and we took the time to explore more castle ruins, the entire old town of Bratislava, and even took a day trip to Vienna. Andy was able to experience the cheap and hearty food from the mensa and even got to see the mean dogs when we returned late from Vienna. (a really funny story here about how one late tram can lead to a pile of crazy happenings, to be told when I get around to labeling pictures from that weekend).

So back on track...this week I got to spend some more time with my labmates. I should explain a bit about my labmates, they are a family. I mean that literally, not figuratively. Nearly everyone in the group is related to each other some how. My advisor, Olga Malkina, is married to Vladmir Malkin. Together they have produced many wonderful articles and two human offspring. Like their parents both daughters, Elina and Elena, study physics and mathematics. Elina currently resides in Zurich with her husband (also a scientist) while Elena lives at home with her parents. Elena is engaged to Stano, who is a graduate student with her father Vladmir. Elena officially works for another professor in the university but she spends most of her time in the same lab as her parents. Then there is another student, Michal. Michal is the only non-related person in the group. But it doesn't matter because he practically lives at the Malkin house (they have a couch just for him). Then are some extraneous people like Peter (engaged to an organic chemist down the hall) and Stefan (my office mate whose connection to the group I still haven't figured out yet). I don't think this intermarrying thing is common in Europe (anybody else see this type of activity in their group?).

While I gently tease the group about this closeness, its actually really neat to watch them work.
Research is much more collaborative, in fact, its like 5 people thinking in the exact same way, like some sort of organic research mind blob that moves in several directions at once....okay...maybe I'm not describing it properly.....its really hard to explain. One member of the group looks at the other and the other person nods and says "Yes I agree" even though no words were spoken. I feel like an outsider...Of course some of that may be due to the fact that the group conversation switches between Slovak, English, German, French, and then English, Slovak, etc, etc. Its hard to keep up.

I say that I feel like an outsider, but the group is actually very warm and welcoming. Vladmir and Olga treat me like their own daughter and tell me to call them if I have any problems. In fact, they told me to call them if anything happens while in Prague...they will come pick me up if necessary.

So I mention the group because this week has been a time of celebrations. On Wednesday, we celebrated Elena's birthday. We all went to a pizza place in the suburb where everybody but me lives. I took the time to snap this quick picture of the group.

From left to right you see Michal, Vladmir, Olga, Stano, and Elena (on the phone). Peter and his fiance decided not to come.



Today (Thursday) we took the afternoon off to celebrate Peter's upcoming nuptials. The group bought him a bowl made of fine china (famous in Slovakia) and he responded by bringing in bottles of Slovak wine. The entire group sat in the computer lab and drank wine for two hours. Then everybody left to go home. On Friday, the celebrations continue (without me because I'm going to Prague) with a "Sports Day" for the entire Slovak Academy of Sciences. The entire academy visits a park across the street (actually a small mountain). For most of the day they will play sports like volleyball and tennis or hike through the park. Around noon, they settle for a soup with drinks. Then, since its Friday, they probably all go home. (I however will be en route to Prague so I will miss out on the festivities).

Despite all the celebrations, work is still be accomplished. I started some calculations today...they all died. Not surprising. But I started calculations anyways...I'm always relearning linear algebra. More to add later. Well, its time to head home before the dogs are released. I'll post more later.