OC VB summer check in from Anna in Dairyland

Hey Guys!
Anna here, checking in from America's Dairyland. I'm here in Madison, Wisconsin this summer working as a neurogenetics intern in a lab in the genetics department at UW Madison. We are working with Drosophila (fruit flies) and trying to determine the genetic factors that influence the development of the neuromuscular junction (the place where the brain talks to the muscles). I have a lot of independence in the lab this summer, which is nice. I am planning my own experiments and so far have been fairly successful. The internship is a lot of work, but it is motivating me to work even harder in school. Other than the job, I have spent a lot of my summer writing essays for fellowships that I am applying to in the fall and studying for the GRE which I will take right at the end of summer.

I have had some time for fun, though. Madison hosts the Midwest's largest fireworks display which called Rhythm and Booms. The fireworks display starts with a true military F16 flyover and the whole show is set to music which is played over the radio on a local radio station. They shoot the fireworks over the lake, but people gather with their radios in different places all over the city to watch. My friends and I took some canoes out on the lake this year and had a picnic on the water while watching the fireworks right over our heads. I couldn't believe how close they looked! I also had the chance to go to Summerfest last week. Summerfest is America's largest music festival and it goes on along the lakefront in Milwaukee with 11 sound stages playing simultaneously. I headed over with some friends for a few days of food and fun, and I got to see Usher, The Heavy, The Bravery, Modest Mouse and a couple of others (the picture above is from The Bravery). This weekend, I am heading off to California to visit family and soak up the sun. Hope all of your summers are as good as mine!