I haven’t traveled as much this year as I was hoping to, unless you count the short trip home to New York to meet my niece. One of my biggest regrets after finishing this PhD would be not traveling more around Europe while I had the chance. To remedy this, I’ve been planning short, 2 night trips. Last month, I went to Warsaw, Poland, with my laptop and some writing targets!
About Warsaw
The Nazis destroyed about 80% of Warsaw in World War II. There are only a few areas that were left relatively untouched (~30% destroyed), some of which I saw on a walking tour of Praga:
Moving to a new country is never an easy thing. I sometimes think about how both my parents came to the USA with no English, and very little resources. I don’t think today that I would ever do that! Are you thinking of whether to move to Singapore? I hope this helps!
My parents moved because they knew there were opportunities in the States that they would not have at home in China. So, whatever your reasons are for thinking about for a move to Singapore, remember that it’s your unique situation and your own decision to make. And of course, if you are bringing your family with you, that also changes things. (One thing to be aware of is that Singapore has weird visa laws regarding children born in Singapore. If you don’t earn above a certain pay grade, you’ll have to constantly renew the child’s visa until something more long term can be worked out.) Continue Reading
Not all English speakers use the same terms and slang, just like how in many places where people speak Spanish there are differences. There are a few embarrassing ones, and a few that make your head tilt sideways and go “huh.” This is for thos people asking what’s the difference between American and British English.
I’ll try to add to this list as I go along, but here are the main ones that I’ve discovered in the last year.
The list follows this format: [British word or phrase] = [what it means in American] with my personal notes in italics.
Day to day phrases
You alright? = How are you?/How’s it going? It took me a few months to realize that they weren’t questioning my mental or physical state or making fun of me, but were just opening up the conversation with a general greeting. Continue Reading
This year was an eye opener for me regarding my research and the PhD process. I feel like I’ve overcome a few hurdles, and that’s prepared me to really punch it in during this final year of my PhD. Here’s some PhD advice and lessons learned for those interested. Continue Reading
I know this is a travel blog, but I haven’t been doing much traveling lately. I have a few things planned for this year, though, and hopefully I’ll get to a few new places in Europe and in Asia by year’s end and hit some of my travel goals! Continue Reading
In the first part of my Annual Review, I talked about how 2015 went. Then I wrote about my goals. The last bit of the Annual Review process is to set a theme for the coming year and write out a summary for what I’d like it to be like.
The theme for 2016
I want 2016 to be the year of conviction. I’m using the definition “a firmly held belief or opinion.” What I mean by that is I want to believe strongly in myself and what I’m doing in 2016.
I feel that I’ve especially not had confidence in my PhD work. I don’t need to be the best, but I do need to have more confidence in myself so that I can complete this work. It’s hard, and I’m sure there are many books and blogs about this, but a PhD is a lonely road. One of the hardest parts is that you have to stop yourself from comparing yourself with others. In addition, your struggles are uniquely your own. Though there might be technical things that you can get advice and help on, the ins and outs of daily independent research are specific to your own work. Consequently, all advice is largely general and unspecific. Talking to people helps, and the PhD group in my department has gotten closer this semester so that is a move in the right direction. Continue Reading
I wrote yesterday about what went well this year, and what didn’t go so well. That was the first part of this Annual Review process to review 2015 and start thinking about how I want 2016 to go. This post is about the specific and measurable Annual Review goals that I’ve set for 2016.
Last year, I started this process but I didn’t follow through with setting all my goals and specifying the actions needed for each goal. I also didn’t go back to my goals each month or quarter to check my progress or update what actions needed to be taken to work towards the goals. This year, I’ve filled out the spreadsheet template so that I can keep updating it each month and use it to stay on track for meeting my goals. I think it’s a good idea to come back to goals periodically, or else the only thing you’ve actually done was set the goals and not take any action towards them. The chances of actually achieving them will be quite low without reassessment and action. Continue Reading
Seeing as this next year will be the last of my PhD, it is as good a time as ever to do my first thorough #AnnualReview a la Chris Guillebeau and get prepared for a big year in 2016. This is my first annual review blog post!
Major decisions will be coming up, like where I’m going to apply for jobs and what I’m going to do in 2017. It’s been a good process for me to think through what’s happened these last 12 months and think about how I want the next 12 to go.
The first part of the Annual Review process is to list things that went well and things that didn’t go well. Things that can go on these lists are things that I have control over. Continue Reading
It’s happening. It’s pitch black outside starting 4:30 PM these days. This is what living at higher latitudes means. To think, about a year ago I was living at the Equator, getting the most sun exposure that I’ve ever had in my life, and now I’m worlds away in the North.
My freckles have faded, and my tan lines are almost certainly going to be gone by the end of winter. This winter I’ll be in London, minus a few days during the holidays to visit family.
Last year, I had half the winter in London. It was still a struggle to adapt, so this year I’m going in with a plan. Combine that with the state of my PhD, I’m now gearing up for potentially my worst winter of S.A.D. ever… Continue Reading
Basque Country is a province in Spain along the northern border. These are my Basque Country photos to convince you to go there!
A day walk
As such, there’s a beautiful coastline to see there! When I visited my friend there in April, we went on a cliffside walk from Gorliz to Plentzia. And I was not expecting these views.
Not only was it gorgeous, but you could see and hear the waves rolling in. Continue Reading
Hey, I'm Chewy! I'm a science journalist currently living in New York. I'm an introvert who likes to see new things and learn. Here I write about my travels and musings about food, places and cultures. Check out my photos, reviews, and random thoughts!
