Game-changers...

With almost a week and a half of class under his belt, Matthew is plugging along nicely. I realized (thanks to many of you asking) that I have failed to mention anything to do with his schoolwork, which afterall, is the main reason we are here. His schedule seems to vary by the day, but so far, so good. He hasn't felt overwhelmed yet, and the lectures he attends are over pretty much every topic he has ever been interested in. Who would have thought that a person with a degree in Chemical Engineering, minors in Economics and Spanish, and plans to go to medical school could find a program that involves almost every aspect of his former education?!

He is already working on a group project that involves researching a cancer drug - Avastin, I think. His group was chosen for him, but it is comprised of pretty much all his favorite classmates, including Alberto. So that's good. His lecture times have allowed him breaks in the middle of the day, making it convenient for us to eat lunch together. That's really nice because I'm not just sitting at home all day entertaining myself. He thinks that this term is used more or less to get everyone on the same page with the basics, and then next term amps up the intensity. The third term is when he will be doing his internship and writing his thesis, so I'm guessing it will be the most busy and stressful.

I'll try to keep this post short and sweet since the last one was long and lacked pictures. A couple new developments over the past couple of days have really made our lives a bit easier. They are:

Matt has joined the ranks of cyclists in Cambridge. He is now the proud owner of an awesome, secondhand, aqua blue bike. Also, in an attempt to look even more like a local, he has purchased a 'man bag' that he uses to carry his things to an from his department. We will be looking into getting a used bike for me tomorrow. It is so much faster to get around town. What did take Matt 25 minutes to walk now takes him 8 to bike. GAME-CHANGER.

This beauty here is our new slow cooker. Granted, it is about a third of the size of the one packed away in our attic at home, but nevertheless...we now have the ability to cook delicious stews with inexpensive cuts of meat and other cheap ingredients. Just set it and forget it! GAME-CHANGER.

We feel like we have been forking out money left and right and visiting the ATM (or "cash point") almost every other day. However, it has all been spent on things we feel we need. I'm kind of baffled as to what to get Matthew for his upcoming birthday because of course he refuses to give me any ideas since everything costs money. I guess I've got a couple weeks to come up with something. Anyway, until next time!