IPSF-SEP in Portugal, Part 4

Bon Dia! It is indeed a great day here in Coimbra--if not too hot! My Portuguese professor pulled up in a red Alfa Romeo this sunny morning and picked me and Nuno, the post-doc, up to drive to Aveiro. Today I had the privilege of sitting in on a Masters in Biology candidate, Pedro, present his research. Pedro is a student at the University of Aveiro, but has been doing his research here at the Faculdade de Farmacia at University of Coimbra with Dr. Gabriela and Nuno. We drove by kilometers and kilometers of lush green vineyards and olive groves. If I could affordably transport back all the amazing wines and olive oil I have been having all over Europe, I would! But I guess some things you just have to enjoy at the moment. In Ann Arbor I will enjoy the American football, my soy lattes, and the library...

Pedro´s research is on antibiotic resistance in E.coli from animal and natural water sources, as well as looking at Class 1 Integrons responsible for bacterial horizontal transfer of the resistance genes. I was able to comprehend his presentation more from the Powerpoint than from listening to the Portuguese.. Plus I had already been reading up on similar research papers in the past several weeks. And so I was completely lost during the feedback and discussion afterwards.


Aveiro is a small town north of Coimbra, but I like it because it has been awhile since I saw a nice, new outdoor shopping mall similar to the ones in sunny San Diego. Aveiro is also famous for ovos moles (soft eggs), a typical Portuguese sweet made of egg yolk and sugar. It is enjoyed by many and the freshness is delectable. So after lunch I tried these delicacies with my usual caffe espresso.

Interesting common slogan I learned from a well-traveled Dutch student in Barcelona (yes, what an European international twist!) about the Portuguese: "Party in Lisboa, Study in Coimbra, and Pray in Fatima!" Another joke made by a renowned Portuguese author is that the Portuguese only know three F´s: Futbol, Fado, and Fatima. Fado is traditional Portuguese singing/song, especially famous in Lisboa.