acatfrommars

thanks

Haha I'm not a huge ice cream fan, but the gelato in Italy was seriously amazing. Oh man, all the food there was incredible--even as a vegetarian, the food was still top-notch. Ugh, US farmers markets. Yeah. American consumerism at its finest right there, less quality more quantity.

For sure, while you are in fact doing life-changing work in Africa, your own health should come first. Personally, I'm probably too much of a coward to go into the seriously underdeveloped areas and work against stuff like ebola, but I'm totally down for helping out where I can that doesn't put my own life at risk. Which is why I really admire people that do actually go into those areas that need it the most. Can't believe that people who care that much that they're willing to put their own health at risk to help out these people actually exist. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

Oh yeah, everything over there was super expensive xD I'd probably be super broke if I lived there (who am I kidding, I'm super broke now haha). It was super chill though, I loved the people and I got to go to one of their local farmers markets which really gave me a positive sense of the community there. It was packed & everything there looked amazing, far better than the stuff at farmers markets in the US. Plus the chocolate there (and all the food in Switzerland/Italy, really...) is so delicious!

You should definitely seriously consider going to Africa if you can! It seems like such a life-changing experience and you'd really be making a difference. Dr. Brantly and all the doctors over there are such inspirations and it's so cool that you got to hear him speak. Though it can get pretty dangerous at times for the most part you probably won't be going into the super-underdeveloped areas. I have friends going to Kenya and Uganda this summer and they said their programs take them to the more developed areas because although the other areas need help too, these areas are more accessible and less dangerous.

That's pretty cool--I'd love to see parts of South America someday. Haha I did some tourist-y stuff in Italy and Switzerland a few years ago and that was so amazing. Really wish I could've spent more time in Switzerland; I absolutely loved the ambiance. Other than that, I haven't been outside of the US. I have some family in Australia that I would love to visit but it's such a big trip that it probably won't be happening for a few more years. Going to Madagascar would be like a dream though haha, it's supposed to be gorgeous with tons of Madagascar-exclusive species (most well known are the lemurs :D). I'd be working with their native people though, helping to construct a rainwater catchment system , which is still amazing and something I'd really love to be working on. The lemurs and other animals are just a bonus :)

Ahhhhh I wish I was close to the beaches! I'm still around two hours away from them. But better than nothing--I'm sure I'll end up going there with some friends for Spring break. :) Your schedule isn't too bad! Mine's pretty similar--three 8 AMs, a 12 PM on Tuesdays and a 10 AM on Fridays. The only problem is that I have to catch a bus to get to my 8 AM classes so I'll have to get up fairly early (or just stay up super super late ;) )

Well, the physics that they have the engineers take is a little more engineering-related than regular physics--normally, people take physics 131 for mechanics and 132 for e&m; engineers take 141 for mech and 142 for e&m. But that's our only physics requirement for BME and ECE, which is really nice. I'm not a fan of physics either haha. Those classes were the bane of my existence in high school, and I'm honestly surprised I did well on the AP exams.

That's exactly what I was going for, actually. To get an internship at a company and try to get a job offer from them to secure some sort of work after senior year (assuming I don't end up doing premed). And yeah, that speed school sounds pretty good for engineers interested in getting a job or doing research. Right now I'm actually looking to get an internship over the summer with some biomedical company--that's the backup plan though. I've applied to my school's engineers without borders program to go to Madagascar this summer. If I don't get into that, then I'll definitely be applying to internships even though it can be difficult for freshmen to get them.

Oh my gosh, I had two 8 AMs last semester and three next semester, I will be living completely off of coffee hahah. But 8 AMs aren't too bad if you get to bed at a reasonable time (which is never me).

Ahh, Cincinnati does get pretty cold. DC gets cold as well but while I've been home it hasn't been too bad. I go to school in North Carolina though so now pretty much anything that isn't NC-like weather is cold to me. But DC has been pretty mild & really similar to NC while I've been on break, but it has def started getting cooler. Ahh, global warming. :)

Oh yeah, E&M is unbelievably difficult. I took it in high school and I actually did get AP credit for it, but if I take the credit I'll have to take the next level of physics at my school to fulfill the one-semester of physics requirement. And I'm not about to take quantum mechanics haha. So I just took my credit for mechanics and I'm retaking E&M. Ahhh yes, engineers don't have the senior thesis to do (thank god), but I am hoping to have some sort of work or research going on by senior year. So I'll try to take my more difficult classes in the next two years D:

Hot chocolate is my favorite drink. It got me through last semester. Or maybe it was the coffee. Nah, it was definitely the hot cocoa. Where are you from that it's cold though? I'm in Washington DC right now but it's not too cold here surprisingly.

I'm good! I'm just enjoying the Winter Break while I can until the 24th of January. Plus I also got a new phone to kick off 2016 too!

Also, I'm v jealous of your hot chocolate and Coldplay (sorry for creeping on your other convos, it was just under my message)

Oh man, I know that if I tried balancing school, friends, sleep, AND work, I'd just die. I'm waiting until the summer to start working because I'll have a lot more free time; maybe that would work for you too? You'd only have that one biochem class so maybe you'll be able to get a part-time job at that coffee shop over the summer? Whatever works best for you though! :) & yeah I have soooooo many science and engineering classes to take haha. Need to take orgo 1&2, electricity & magnetism, cell/mol bio, then all the bme courses, which are heavily bio-based. If I do choose to do ECE as well, I'd need to fit in a few compsci classes in addition to all the engineering ones. The next few years look rough xD but I'll get through it! :)

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Whoa, that's really cool (and pretty economical). Unfortunately my school doesn't allow us to graduate in three years, gotta stay all four and end up with crippling debt xD. But that's alright, hopefully I'll be able to get a job where I make enough to pay it off. With those classes of yours, it sounds like your next year won't be too fun (unless you're reeaaaaalllly into those classes), but at least it'll be your last year! :) And it's so awesome that you have things planned out, even if it's tentative. When I think about the next three years I'm overwhelmed with anxiety haha so I like to take things in pieces--right now the most I can think about is what I'll be doing this summer.

Doing pretty good. I'm trying to enjoy my last 2 days of relative freedom before school starts. How about you?

Thanks a lot! :)

That's so awesome! Good luck with pre-pharm :) Is Chem 2 the same thing as orgo? If so, looks like your next semester might not be so fun haha. My bio class is also cell and molecular bio and I'm actually super excited for that :D I have AP credit from high school, so I took Calc 3 last semester. My school does the math track a little differently--it's Calc 1, 2, 3, Linear Algebra, then Diff EQ. So I've got two more semesters of math, then I'm home free haha. Are you a freshman as well?

Oh my gosh yes. I'm currently majoring in Biomedical Engineering. But I'm stuck between being premed and double majoring in electrical/computer engineering. So next semester I'm trying to stick with both tracks so I can decide which I want to do later after I've had experience on both tracks. I'm taking an intro ECE class, prereqs for BME, and trying to fulfill pre-med requirements. So I'm taking Bio, intro ECE, Psychology (needed for premed), Linear Algebra, and a writing course (engineering department requirement). But the good thing about BME, ECE, and premed is that the BME and premed track overlap a lot and BME and ECE a good amount (both being engineerings). Haha, hopefully I'll have my life figured out by the end of next semester though. How about you?

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! :) I have been having a nice break! Unfortunately I go back to school January 8th though. And classes resume the 12th. Looking forward to going back but not looking forward to all the work again haha.

Nice to met you too, Bruce.

I'm good thankyou~ yourself? :)

Ty happy new year your self

But hello anyway