Manfred Steiner had a successful and productive career as a doctor, helping generations of medical students learn about hematology(血液学). But all along, he had a strong feeling that he should be doing something else: studying physics. At age 89, he has finally realized that dream, earning his PhD in physics from Brown University.

“I am really on top of the world. It’ s my third doctoral degree, but this is the one I really cherish a lot. made it—and made it at this age,” said Steiner in an interview with NPR. “I always had this dream:   Someday I’ d like to become a physicist.”

Steiner grew up in Vienna. When he was just a teenager, he was fascinated with physics.   However, persuaded by his parents, he decided to pursue a medical career instead. But during his studies in Vienna, physics still tugged at him. “When I was a medical student, I used to go to the institute of physics, which was very close to the medical school,” he said, “and listen to some lectures about physics there.”

When Steiner moved permanently to the US from Vienna, he focused on medicine and hematology, training at Tufts University and MIT. He then became a professor at Brown and led the hematology section in the university’ s medical school.

It was only after Steiner retired from his career in medicine in 2000 that he was finally able to scratch the physics itch(痒). He started taking classes at MIT. “I had to do a lot of physics classes at MIT before being allowed to start graduate studies,” he said.

Steiner worked slowly—he’ s a grandfather who likes to spend time with his family, and health problems have been a concern—but the credits kept piling up. And before long, Steiner was eyeing yet another PhD.

“You know, it took a long time,” he said. “There were very serious health problems in between. But fortunately, I’ m here now and I’ ve overcome these problems.”

Well, here I am in Jakarta (雅加达), Indonesia (印度尼西亚)! We arrived a few weeks ago and we’ll stay for two years, so I’ll have lots of time to write about my experiences — but here’s my first post (帖子).

Jakarta! I love the place! It’s wonderfully warm and for me, warm weather is always good news! It gets wet sometimes and you may feel uncomfortable, but I’m already used to that. At this time of year, it rains every day for about an hour. Sometimes it rains really hard! But when it stops, you get the wonderful smell of grass and clean roads after summer rain. This is quite similar (相似的) to my hometown in England.

However, some things are different. Number 1 is the traffic! They say that 10 million cars go onto the streets every day — very different from our little English town. In the morning, it can take an hour to drive five kilometers (公里)! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. What’s great here are the people; they smile and they are warm, polite and friendly. They’re easy to get on with. Then, the food there it’s quite delicious.

Here is what I like most: what people do when they meet an older person. The older person puts their hand out and the younger person takes it and puts it on their own head. It shows respect (尊重). I think it’s wonderful.

Well, that’s all for today. More in a week or two.

Best wishes from Nancy!

It was February 24, 2017, and my husband, David, and I were both at work. It was a day like any other. Our 15-year-old son, Justin, his sister and his friend Mike were playing with a ball in our backyard. Completely a common day!

What happened next was exactly a storm. Justin suddenly suffered cardiac arrest (心脏停搏) caused by a hit to the chest, and his heart just stopped. No pulse, no heartbeat. There are only about 10 to 20 cases a year. And it was almost always deadly until recently, when CPR (心肺复苏) has worked in up to one-third of cases.

Thankfully, the other children acted immediately instead of freezing in fear. Mike called 911 while my daughter called my husband. That second call proved vitally important, as my husband was able to get in touch with a neighbor who ran over and started CPR. And later, the doctors arrived and quickly shocked Justin’s heartbeat rhythm (节奏) back to normal.

Since then, I’ve found myself changed as a parent. There is more worry now. This unexpected incident has made me realize that anything can happen to my children. So, we’re doing what we can to be prepared. Earlier this year, Justin took part in a community education event with our fire department teaching Hands-Only CPR to the public. At least 100 participants showed up, and Justin shared his story to show why CPR is so important. At a local university where I work as a nurse lecturer, I’ve volunteered to join the CPR and AED first aid training for incoming freshmen.

David and I feel very fortunate to still have our son with us. If the kids hadn’t known to call 911, he wouldn’t be here. If our neighbor hadn’t known CPR, Justin wouldn’t be here. I think everyone should take the time to learn CPR. You could save a life — maybe the life of someone you love. Cardiac arrest often comes without warning. Everything will be normal right up until the point it isn’t. You have to know what to do.