2018-07-06

【Aiden in English】

        So recently, against my will, I was sent off to the University of Pennsylvania for an 'internship' in a lab. This was most likely to push me in the direction of a science career. While it may have seemed like a good opportunity, the effort for me to reach the campus was unreasonable. UPenn is located within the city in Philadelphia, while the lab, located in the dental school, is not near the train station. Essentially, my daily transportation would go as such: Mom drops me off at the train station close to her workplace, and I board the 8:30 am SEPTA train to the central city. After getting off at the 30th station, I take Lucy Circular Bus to the dental school. In total, this takes a good hour and a half to two hours. In addition, the bus I take is specifically made for UPenn. The college is enormous, a town within Philadelphia. It's mostly filled with a park and different stores and such, so walking through the place was quite enjoyable.

        The dental school itself seemed to be very modern, a greenhouse included. I later learned most of the buildings I worked in didn't have much to do with teeth. The team, made up of 4-5 members (I'm not sure because one was never there), I was assigned to work on the herpes virus, which obviously concerned me. Logically, we used only a portion of the virus, the RTA, so it was harmless. The RTA controls the genes that will be activated to produce the virus. Even more specifically, the team tried to find the genes in human cells herpes control that lead to cancer. Certain genes like P53 that go berserk in tumors are what the team searches for, well, at least the dude I'm working with. Another member is working with proteins, while the third kind of tag along my guide is just there for papers and books. I, on the other hand, follow my assigned partner like a lab dog. What he does, I question, and probably annoy the heck out of him. 

        Eventually, he left me to do some work on my own, like mini-preps of DNA for PCRs or Excel spreadsheets. I, to be honest, would not have enjoyed this if it weren't for my partner. He was an extremely chill person to talk to and ask questions. He shared similar interests, like Rick and Morty as well as the World Cup. After a few days, I did feel at home. While this taste of an actual lab is very specifically oriented to school labs with messy benches and unorthodox conditions, it is the first time I've experienced actual science. Even though choosing my profession is years away, it is time to begin thinking, and after this 9th year of school, I've eliminated some obvious careers. This is still my first taste of an actual, advanced profession, so it does put some perspective on effort, time, and social life. The guy I stayed with often worked long past sunset, some days past midnight. I'm not sure if that is for me. He seemed extremely dedicated to his work, enjoying it thoroughly. Although I don't like losing sleep, I hope one day I can find a job like his, where working after hours is not a burden.

【紅霞譯文】

        近來，我被趕鴨子上架，居然跑到賓州大學實驗室“見習”，照這樣下去沒準兒真能促成自己朝着科研方向發展，甭管怎麼着機緣難逢，只是一路來回倒車牽扯不少精力，要知道賓大位於費城市區，而牙學院的實驗室距離火車站八杆子打不着，基本上我每天必走的路線是：媽媽送我去她工作單位附近的車站乘坐早晨八點半那班賓州東南地區交通局通勤火車，等進城到了卅街站後再轉露西環線公交汽車至牙學院，前後鉚釘鉚一個半至倆鐘頭。這是一條賓大專線，校園本身極大，猶如費城城中城，裡面公園及大小商店一應俱全，因此走街串巷甚感愜意。

       牙學院看上去相當氣派，甚至擁有花房式大廳，後來我才知道自己所在的大樓很多部門跟牙科毫無關係。教研室由四五人組成（我不太清楚具體人數，因為有一位從未露面），我分在單狀疱疹組，挺讓人提心弔膽，其實我們只用病毒反轉錄激活因子，沒多少害處，該基因掌控病毒複製，確切來講，科研人員試圖在宿主體內找出疱疹病毒整合的致癌基因，像腫瘤細胞中失控的人體抑癌基因便是他們主攻課題，說的沒錯，至少和我一起工作的小伙子側重這個方面，另一位搞蛋白研究，掛銜的導師忙於著書立說，而我儘量跟在指定的那位師兄屁股後面打雜，他着手干我動嘴問，簡直把他折騰得夠嗆。

        最終他讓我獨立操作簡單程序，要麼小量提取脫氧核糖核酸並用來做聚合酶鏈式反應，要麼處理軟件數據。說心裡話，如果不是看在師徒合作份上，我並不喜歡幹這種瑣事。他處世相當穩重，既好胡吹亂侃又愛問東問西，跟我情趣相投，彼此都熱衷電視科幻動畫片《瑞克和莫蒂》及世界盃足球賽，因此用不了幾天工夫我便有賓至如歸的感覺。親身體嘗的實驗室充滿大學特色，桌面上堆滿了雜七雜八的學問，工作環境中沒有清規戒律羈絆，這是我平生頭一回見識真正的科學研究。雖然再過個把年頭我才會敲定專業，但眼下當該到了考慮的時候，何況高一年度結束我已經把某些行當排除在外。通過首次與高精尖領域零距離接觸，我總算對做事態度、投入時間和社交生活有所了解，帶我見習的哥們常常工作到天黑，有時甚至延至半夜過後，我不知道自己能否吃得消；他好像酷愛科研，完全忘乎所以陶醉其中，雖說我不願犧牲睡眠時光，但希望有早一日像他那樣找到自己喜歡的工作，即便加班加點也在所不計。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2017: Upper Danube—Passau to Linz(多瑙河上游—帕紹至林茨)

2017: Danube—Jochenstein Lock, Germany(德國多瑙河—約亨斯坦水閘)

2017: Passau the God's Ballroom, DEU(德國帕紹—天宮聖境)

2017: Passau the City of Three Rivers, DEU(德國帕紹—三河之城)

2017: Passau Organ Concert, Germany(德國帕紹—管風琴音樂會)

2016: Frederiksborg the Danish Versailles(丹麥凡爾賽宮—菲特烈堡)

2016: Frederiksberg Palace & N Zealand, DNK(丹麥菲特烈堡宮和北西蘭)

2016: Kronborg Hamlet Castle, Denmark(丹麥克倫宮哈姆雷特城堡)

2013: Drama Camp-2(戲劇夏令營之二)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

A Mini Merry Christmas Museum, PA(賓州微型聖誕快樂博物館)

Dickens Village @ Philly Macy's(費城美西狄更斯村)

Salute to Vienna @ Kimmel Center(費城金梅爾“向維也納致敬”)

Fairmont Park in Philadelphia(費城費爾蒙特公園)

A Day in Philadelphia(記費城一天)

費城自然博物館(Academy of Natural Sciences, PHL)

費城開心觸摸博物館(Please Touch Museum, PHL)

費城富蘭克林科學博物館(Franklin Institute, PHL)