My Residence, Tacos, and Pete Cocco

I realize that I’ve never shared my living arrangements here at IRRI! I live in a comfortable room with one roommate and we share a bathroom and closet. We get our laundry washed and sheets cleaned once a week. I’m also very thankful for the air conditioner and wifi 🙂 Here’s a picture of one side of the room: 

After walking down two flights of stairs, I come out of the front doors of Swaminathan Hall (my dorm) and head to the cafeteria for breakfast. Outside of the dorm is a basketball court and a football (soccer) field:

Almost each hour, a coaster (bus/shuttle) departs for the U.P. Gate which is the end of Lopez Avenue. U.P. is the University of the Philippines which is one of the best colleges in the country and is also a partner of IRRI. This street is similar to Veterans Parkway in Bloomington where there is a huge line of restaurants and shops:

Because the street is so long, it is common to ride jeepneys from one end to the other and any stop along the way for only 8 pesos (16 cents). Here’s a neat view from the back:

On U.P.’s campus, there are a lot of palm trees lining the sidewalks which reminds me of California:

In other news, I have an update regarding my food hunt. For weeks, I have been craving Mexican food and have been searching for any kind of taco/burrito/quesadilla/etc. Well, it took me six and a half weeks, but I finally found some!! It’s at an outdoor restaurant called Fat Yards. The burritos and nachos were amazing and hit the spot:

Filipe from Brazil had never had Mountain Dew before so we opened his eyes to possibly the most sugary and caffeinated soda that exists. He really liked it:

Switching gears, I wanted to share a really interesting story. Back in Illinois, Megan and I both attend a campus ministry at ISU. We had heard that the lead pastor of the organization had spent some time doing mission work in the Philippines and so we asked him if he had any tips for us as we prepared to go. His name is Pete Cocco and when we said we were going to live in Laguna for two months, he became so excited. He told us that he was leading a group of college students to the Philippines for a two week trip this summer. I could not believe it! What a small world! We coordinated a meet up in Los Banos, and a local church sponsored the group from ISU to visit and hold a worship night just last week. It was so neat to see familiar faces from Illinois brought together halfway around the world through different situations:

I am still in the middle of my research at IRRI as well as filling out secondaries for medical school back in the U.S. Time is flying by as I only have 10 days left here. However, I can see the end coming and feel a little uneasy. I know that it will be very hard to say goodbye to all of the friendships that I have made here with people from all over the world. Hopefully on day, I will be able to meet up again with my colleagues and friends because like I said, it is a small world after all.

 

Week 6!

It’s week 6!

Even though it has been fun to blog about traveling and food, I should probably give an update about how my research is going! I am still working on my gas chromatography experiment and am slowly moving into stage 2. Stage 1 includes de-hulling and cyro-grinding rice samples which is simple preparatory work for Stage 2 and 3: extraction and analysis…except when we have over 500 samples…and we run out of liquid nitrogen..

It’s okay, though! When I have down time from my experiment, my supervisor, Cindy, is very good at giving me work to do or new things to learn! I have observed and helped other researchers in the lab and have even done research on one of the current controversial issues in the Philippines: Fake Rice.

A report about the alleged fake rice came out after a man posted a video on social media and claimed that the rice he purchased in a market in Taguig City was plastic. The National Food Authority (NFA) assured the public on Friday, June 23, that there is no proof that fake rice is being sold in the Philippine market. It said that based on laboratory tests conducted by the agency’s Food Development Center (FDC), the suspected fake rice have starch granules, starch content and sensory characteristics typical of raw rice. The FDC conducted three laboratory analyses on six raw and two cooked rice samples submitted using microscopic analysis, starch analysis, and sensory evaluation to test if these contain harmful chemicals. NFA recalled that two years ago, there was a report on alleged fake rice in Davao City. But laboratory tests showed that the strange appearance of the alleged fake rice was only due to a “retrogradation process” involving a series of freezing, thawing, and heating.

Along with the research, I have comfortably set into a routine in the lab. I have learned a lot about scientific techniques and instruments (I used a sonicator for the first time the other day). I have also learned how to properly plan out and organize an experiment such as the necessity of keeping a detailed notebook. But, I also realize that the work environment is still a place enjoy your time. The camaraderie of the workers in Grain Quality is unlike any office I have been in. Everyone is always smiling and willing to help! They are all so kind, and I have had a lot of fun. They are always bringing in snacks for me to try and offering to give me things anywhere from Genetics textbooks to their favorite Korean dramas. Here are a few shots from a recent birthday party:

I swear the cake is the most delicious thing about this country.

Thanks to my lab mate, Herlyn, I have also been learning quite a bit of Tagalog. I can count to ten and say phrases such as good morning, good evening, thank you, you’re welcome, it’s hot, how are you?, I’m fine, that’s delicious, and let’s eat!

Hope things are going well back in the states! Have a rice day!

The Blog Post You Have Been Waiting For

Get ready for an entire post about delicious food found here in the Philippines! I can honestly say that I have no complaints about the cuisine here. I find myself trying new things all of the time, but also grabbing some comfort food found in the US. So, here are some pictures and brief explanations of my favorite dishes of the trip so far:

First, let’s start with breakfast!

-Eggs, rice, fruit plate with red and yellow watermelon and papaya, and flan (so good)

-Fried rice and orange slices

-Delicious dragon fruit/ pitaya

 -Veggie Omelet and bread

Lunch/Dinner:

 -Hmm, the cafeteria food looks a little different here…

 -Chicken Caesar Salad with fresh mangoes!

 -Fish bowls and pansit (my favorite)

 -Carbonara (Italian food is really popular and easy to find here!)

 -Filipe, fellow intern from Brazil, was really excited to get a pizza all to himself

-Beef Bulgogi, Kimchi, rice, and raspberry lemonade at Seoul Kitchen! Korean food is also really popular here. I have never had kimchi before but it was decent. I’m just not a big fan of spiciness.

DESSERT:

 -Buko Pie! It’s the specialty of Los Banos!

 -Chocolate Cake made of ooey gooey chocolatey goodness

 -It’s a favorite of ours and we’ve gotten it three times already to split

 -No explanation needed

 -Coffee jelly! It has bits of gelatin in it.

Wow! I’m starving now after writing this post! Research update next week!

Travel Post: Fun With A Selfie Stick

Happy 4th of July! The Americans are celebrating here at IRRI! I cannot believe it is July already and that we are at the halfway point.

Last weekend, the IRRI interns made the trek to Taal Volcano. It is a complex volcano located on the island of Luzon and is the second most active volcano in the Philippines with 33 historical eruptions. All of these eruptions are concentrated on Volcano Island, an island near the middle of Taal lake. The lake partially fills Taal Caldera, which was formed by prehistoric eruptions. It is located about 50 kilometres south of Manila. So basically, it is a lake in the crater of a volcano, surrounded by a lake, surrounded by land. No wonder it is compared to a Russian doll.

The scariest part of the day was not the possible eruption, but having to leave IRRI at 3 A.M. (eep!) The coolness of the air and the views of the sunrise were worth it, though:

From Talisay, we took a half-hour boat ride to island and then hiked about forty minutes up to the viewing platform a the top of the volcano. The views were absolutely incredible. Pictures do not do it justice:

Around the rim of the volcano, there are several holes that emit noxious smoke:

We were very grateful that Annika brought her selfie stick which are very popular in the Philippines. Unfortunately, about half of the pictures we took are of me sneezing because we were facing the sun. I could tell the rest of the group was getting annoyed even with their laughter haha:

The most memorable part for me was being able to drive golf ball into the crater for only $1. I wished I had practiced more at the country club before coming, but the hole was pretty big so you could say that I finished under par:

Overall, we had a great morning! We finished the day by eating breakfast, visiting local souvenir shops, and driving up the hill in Tagaytay to look at more of the beautiful country:

Happy Independence Day USA!!