Hallo Berlin!

...and welcome, me, to the blogosphere. The first research summer seems as good a time as any to jump into this medium, particularly since there are so many little things to share with so many important people.

I arrived in Berlin on June 5 after a lovely few days in Hamburg with Ms. N. Since then, classes daily, a lovely apartment, much exploring and going on walking tours, practicing German every chance I get, and then the arrival of ... The Bug. Which has laid me flat for 4 days, and is why I didn't get a jump on setting up a blog more quickly.

It is no small comfort that many medical words and gestures are the same auf Deutsch as in English - "it hurts here" or "yes, usually it works to take blood from my left arm" - but I find this interesting because of what interests me more generally. It is also no small comfort how helpful everyone has been, from my host family to office administrators to the folks at the grocery store.

In any case, this, too, shall pass, and things are plenty exciting even without a lot of moving around. In the meantime, plenty of photographs to prepare and upload, explanations and anecdotes to remember and write, and other things to detail. Suffice it to say that this will be quite a personal space for being so public, but it's the only way I can figure to keep in touch - with handy illustrations & visual aids - and I ask your patience as I muddle my way through.

Hi, kids!