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Institution
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Host Institution
Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts
General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Research Mentor: Jing X. Kang, M.D., Ph.D.
E-Mail: l.f.krause@web.de
see Abstract
It was a great experience for me, which I wouldn’t want to miss. People were very friendly and open and we made good friends here. In my opinion, the Boston area is a very nice place to visit. Since there are so many colleges and universities in this area, the city is very young and sophisticated. I was impressed by how international everything here is, which comes to an extreme in the scientific field. Estimated, there are about 85 % Asians working in our research building and another 10 % Europeans, which leaves about 5 % Americans. Also everyone in our lab here is Chinese. Altogether it was a wonderful cultural experience for me, getting an insight into not just the American way of life but in many different ones, too. (e.g. celebrating Chinese New Year in the lab was great fun!)
By American standards the rather old age of the city of Boston makes the architecture very interesting, diverse and beautiful. You’ll see sky-scrapers next to tiny old brick houses. The rents are pretty high, but it’s a really nice place in which to live. Boston is great to experience by walking, biking, or by the public transportation (called the “T”). There are lots of nice little streets with cafés, bars and stores and also big public parks. The only thing that I found a little disturbing was the fact that the “T” service stops around 12:30 am. You get used to it (everyone just goes out earlier, starts drinking and partying earlier)…
Finding an affordable room (without mice), and understanding the Chinese accent in English, but eventionally everyone gets used to it
- Go to www.greyhound.com to book cheaper e-fares for your bus trips (don’t take the Chinatown bus to New York! - bad experience…)
- Go to “Grendel’s Den” at Harvard Square for dinner (Mon. - Fri. 5-7:30pm) good food in a nice bar for half the price
- If you work in Charlestown: a membership for the YMCA (gym, pool, sauna, classes) is only 28$ per month and it is right across the street
- Get a “Deutsche Bank” account and a credit card in Germany. You can withdraw money at Bank of America ATMs for free
- In my opinion, Cambridge and Somerville are the nicest living areas
Must Do's
- If you have any free time (especially in the beginning when your work schedule is not as tight yet) travel as much as you can (New York, Cape Cod, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and even Canada are really not that far away and always worth a visit.)
- If you’re interested in wintersports: make a day trip to a ski resort (e.g. Wachussett mountain is very close)
