Another book

I have an app on my phone called Duolingo which teaches you languages for free. It's vey helpful and you learn a lot of vocab, but that's about it. I always end up trying it out for a while and getting answers wrong because of using incorrect grammar (which is never taught), and not knowing certain language rules (also never taught). So today I decided to add a bit of education to my summer and buy a proper Spanish book to go along with the app. Let's see how it goes! 

This is also due to the lack of intellectual conversations and work right now. For quite a while I have been very worried about my PhD due to fear of leaving the outdoors and all the excitement it holds. So many of my friends have outdoor careers or part time jobs in the highlands which let them focus on their outdoor activities as much as possible, and I started to be sure that I wanted that. Settling down into a cafe job in Fort William or Aviemore which would enable me to go walking as much as possible seemed perfect. 

However, I had the most wonderful time yesterday discussing the EU referendum with friends and its implications. It was great to have a proper intellectual discussion again which made me think and question. Today I have spent the day learning Spanish and reading about the genes involved in flower colour in foxgloves, and I have absolutely loved it! 

I think that, however much I love the outdoors, I love my education and having stimulating conversations more. Not that people who work outdoors full time don't have these conversations - but being at university means that you are in the centre of so many interesting conversations and ideas. I really do miss that! So thankfully this summer is giving me exactly what I need - a well deserved break and an amazing time outside, but also the desire to start my PhD and research for the next four years. 

Now all I can hope is that leaving the EU doesn't completely ruin British research.... (Cambridge alone is losing £100 million in research funding a year)