When I was roughly 12 years old, my parents and I took a weekend trip to Monterey Bay. As we walked around the hotel, we came across the “Hospitality” Center. I exclaimed something along the lines of, “Oh! They have a hospital!” My father has never let me live down my mistake. Speaking of hospitals, aside […]

In my first blog post I promised to tell you about my experience riding an elephant. While Doreen and Gaby have already talked about our experiences in Thekkady, I’ll throw in my thoughts before telling you about our trip to Pondicherry. Firstly, I’m warning all future travelers to India, this country is huge. It seems […]

In the not so distant past (2005), Harvard President Dr. Lawrence Summers suggested that “innate differences” between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers. As a member of Penn Women Biomedical Society, I am keenly interested in encouraging women to pursue their passion for medicine and science […]

A well-educated and exceptionally well-read family friend recently told me that in his opinion there is a strong correlation between the intelligence of a nation and the percentage of atheists living in that nation. While the debate on the existence of God rages on around the world, religion has played and continues to play a […]

6 planes later I’m in Madurai. It’s hot, and I’m going to be permanently attached to my 1 L water bottle. A few initial surprising finds about Madurai: it has western-style malls complete with food courts, it has have American fried chicken and Oreos, and it has a modern gym (Talwakars gym). Globalization at work. […]

Hello CASI blog followers, My name is Diana Blidarescu, and I’m a rising senior in the College studying French studies with minors in Chemistry and Biology. I was born in California, but needed a change of scenery for college. Clearly, I still need more change of scenery. I am very excited to be traveling to […]