The start of my second year on the University of Glasgow

The current term started slowly, this time with only 2 courses, each with 5 lectures and a 3-hour lab per week. However, I gradually realised that it sometimes took well over 3 hours to revise for just one of them, especially the ones delving into biochemistry or immunology. The courses are also much more interesting, though, have stoked my interest in attending summer laboratory placements. The lab in one of our courses actually led us to examine a gene encoding a bitterness taste-receptor, thanks to which we learned a whole range of useful molecular methods.

We learned to work with the analysis program R and subsequently had to use it to generate graphs and data analysis output for two lab reports, one from each course. Even though we had two weeks to write the reports, the necessity to return to Prague for a few days and all-weekend rehearsals chopped a significant chunk of time away and I just barely managed to finish the assessments on time. Other than that, I’m managing to keep up. I look forward to my second term, as from there on we will begin to focus more on our chosen degree paths.

Over the last two months I have greatly improved my cooking capabilities, as going to restaurants more than once ever few months is pretty expensive in Glasgow – hence the necessity to satiate my cravings myself, from scratch. I stumbled upon a whole new range of recipes, some of the best being Asian. My greatest pride was making farmers’ ramen; although it took a good few hours to make, it was definitely worth it. I find cooking a great pastime in-between studying.