Science Can Be Sweaty

Now that my experiment is coming to a end, I finally can breath. The past 3 weeks have been filled with data collection ninths greenhouse, encoding all the data, and writing the research paper. It all happened so fast.

Data collection occurred at the beginning of each week. The way data collection was I would show up to my greenhouse at 7am all decked out in my work clothes. My “helpers” and I would split into pairs. One person would take a ruler and measure the plants while the other person would record the data and make sure we stayed on track. We measured every single plant that grew. Depending on how many people were helping, this would last for two days with 7 hours of work on each day.

Now the trays are low enough to the ground that all data collection was done by sitting on these little buckets. My legs would fall asleep after about 30 minutes of sitting. I was constantly having to readjust or stand up.

The greenhouse is also the hottest place on the campus. If you have ever been in one for several hours you understand. If not well just imagine a glass box with the sun shining in making the air hot. But the breeze can’t get in and the air can’t get out. So now you have a box with extreme amounts of humidity and no way to change that. I was drenched at the end of each day. My clothes were all soaked through and I would have sweat dripping down my back. My roommate would find me passed out in random spots usually at the end of these days.

Even though the work was exhausting and gross, I had fun working my “helpers”. Most of them are native Filipinos hired by IRRI. Their English wasn’t very good but we made it work. I learned specific phrases that helped the data collection run smoothly. I also had to listen closely cause the way they pronounce 7 and 30 sound a lot like 5 and 13. By the end we would sing along to songs and help me learn more tagalong words.

I would say the science side of my experiment was very different than the other IWU students here. I have never gotten this side of science from all the research experiences I have had. It was a blast but I will be glad when I have my finished paper to present.

Queen of the Mountain

I have been staring at the huge mountain outside of the IRRI campus all summer. Finally I decided to do something about it. I climbed it!

Now being from a state without mountains I thought this would be easy. People climb mountains all the time. Its just like a huge hill. Well, I can now confirm that hiking a real mountain is really difficult. We set out on the trek with the 6 students from Illinois Wesleyan and our new friend from Australia. The path started off as a steep concrete road. I started breaking a little sweat but then watched a group of people on bikes riding up the mountain and decided I was going to suck it up and just do it.

After the concrete path, it became dirt and rock. It also got a little more narrow but nothing I couldn’t handle. It also looked like we were in an actual jungle. We stopped a few times for snacks but not too long so that we wouldn’t be covered in the most populous species, leeches.

After a while I noticed thepath started to become more steep and involve climbing over tree roots or large rocks. Now having short legs I began to struggle but I was determined to make it even if I looked ridiculous doing it. Eventually it got to the point where we had to use ropes or branches to climb up. There was a lot of falling, sweat, and times I needed a little push. We had been hike now for about 4 hours and I was just ready to reach the top.

Another hour later and we reached the top. The view was a little bit of a disappointing but I was never more excited to see a signcongratulating us on reaching the top.

All in all I am glad I climbed the mountain but would need a full day to rest afterwards. I also learned that I am not as flexible as I should be and that it is possible to sweat through a dryfit shirt.

I Guess I’m A Rice Mom

Today was the day! My team and I were finally able to plant the seeds that will be used for my research project here. This step has been a long time coming. After many weeks of preparation and a little confusion, it finally happened. Now the science can really start rolling.

I awoke very excited to start my planting at 7:00 a.m. I meet 4 Filipino workers in the greenhouse. Walked into my room to see 8 large trays filled with dirt on one side of the room. After a few instructions, the leader handed me a pair of tweezers and instructed me to plant. I was a little confused at first but then I realized that I would be using these little tweezers to hand plant each and everyone of my seeds.

First, why would I need to use the tweezers in the first place? My experiment relies testing individual rice species for each condition and gathering separate data. The tweezers help us control the placement of the seeds better. Machines could cross strains and contaminate the experiment. Rice seeds are also fairly small so my chubby hands would not be as delicate. Hence the tweezers.

Second, planting seeds can’t be all that hard, can it? There are only 8 trays right? Well yes there are 8 trays, but each tray has 3 columns. Each one of the columns contains 30 rows. Each row will have 20 seeds from a specific species with 180 different in total. Now encase you were not keeping track that’s: 8 trays, 720 rows, and a total of 14,400 seeds. Each and every one of those 14,400 seeds has to be hand planted and will be counted throughout the experiment.

I guess you could now say that for the rest of the summer, I am the mother of 14,400 rice plants that will need to be watered and maintained for the next 4 weeks. I look forward to the actual science aspect of rice and trying to grow a lot of rice.

My 14,400 seeds

An Unpatriotic America Day

How do you celebrate the 4th of July when you are thousand of miles from your home surrounded by Filipinos? You eat some mediocre apple pie and eat Filipino hot dogs with Germans. Our group wasn’t sure how we were going to handle the 4th. We realized that no one here celebrates it and we they don’t have a lot of fireworks laying around on campus. Luckily, a graduate student from University of Illinois (still a lightly crazy we found her) invited us over to celebrate it with her German roommates. So we all headed over there not sure what to expect. The Germans greeted us by cheering “To America Day!” We realized that the 4th of July sounds like America day when we explain it to foreigners. The German students asked us a lot of questions about how we celebrate this day and if there are any special foods. One of them brought us turkey thinking that was the main dish used to celebrate. He got Thanksgiving and the 4th a little mixed up but it was a very thoughtful gesture. It was a fun time learning about all the differences in the cultures and we are slowly making friends.

All I Need Is Sun, Sand, and Water

This weekend we finally got off the main island and had a relaxing beach trip. I have heard several times that the Philippines is made up of 7,100 islands (7,107 at low tide) so you have to visit multiple islands to get the full Philippine experience.

Finding a cheap enough resort for college students that still had a private beach was easier than we thought. There are tons of resorts on the many beaches. Getting there proved to be more of the problem. In the Philippines, there are two ways to get around. You can either rent a van or car or try to navigate the public transportation. Since we are not trying to blow our budget or want to risk getting into a crash we opted for the public transportation. We asked several people how to get there, wrote everything down, and set our plan. We left IRRI at 4am to catch a jeepney to a different town. Then it was another jeepney to a bus station. The bus took us to a pier where we took a ferry to an island, finally getting a tricycle to our hotel. We had to ask several people if this was the right stop or which vehicle to get on but we successfully made it.

We spent the rest of the time relaxing on the beach, swimming in the pool, and kayaking around the cove. We even played some beach volleyball with a group of French students only to realize that they are the same students working with the IWU students on GK. I am really appreciating my time over here and want to explore more and more of this country.

It’s Not That Taal

I can check hiking a volcano off my bucket list but it was not easy. A group of eight IWU students made the 2 km hike on Saturday. We first took a scenic boat ride across the lake in a Filipino outrigger. The boat took us to the base of the volcano island where started the steep climb. We opted out of the horses and decided to make the trek on our own two feet. We soon realized that it was not as easy as we thought. The number one problem was dehydration. I had a continuous stream of sweat one my face so we drank all of the water on the walk up just to try to combat the dehydration. The second obstacle was my lack of calf muscles. The climb was steep and sandy which created some difficulty but I just kept telling myself it was a workout and not a leisure hike.

Once we reached the top, the view took all the pain away. It was beautiful and well worth the trip. The volcano has a crater in the middle filled with water. Inside that little lake was another island. The Filipino people call this the island in a lake in an island in a lake in a island in the ocean but that gets way too confusing. We all took turns doing stupid poses and group shots before heading back down. The trip down was a lot easier. We took no breaks on the way down compared to our 15 breaks on the way up. All in all it was a great trip and definitely on the to do list if you are ever in the Philippines.

 

IWU group

IRRI group

view inside Taal volcano

Planting With The Big Boys

 

Last week, I was given the chance to go out in the fields and plant rice with the professionals. I wore the same clothes and hand planted the seeds but I don’t think I found my true calling. The rice plants here at IRRI have to be hand planted into risen mud beds. Since research here is testing very specific traits or genes, each type of rice was put into a labeled envelope and then each envelope is hand planted into its own specific line in the mud beds. Now that doesn’t sound too bad yet, take the envelope that  matches the labeled stick in the mud and dump the seeds in a lane. Now what if I told you each line is a foot long and there are about 1,000 lanes per mud bed and there are about 20 mud beds in one rice plot. Also you only have a 5 inch wide water filled trench to walk in without stepping on the mud beds or seeds. Ohh, add the extreme heat into the mix and you have one step in a year long process. Now it sounds like a lot of work for just some carbohydrates. Imagine the looks I got when this blonde pale girl showed up and wanted to try to help with this meticulous job. You get some stares and laughs at first but then they try to help you learn about the art of planting rice.

The first thing I learned was how to dress for the rice fields. With a heat advisory constantly in place you would think shorts and a tank top, but it is actually the complete opposite. Everyone was in long pants and long sleeve shirts or had a jacket on. Everyone also has wide brim hats with or without neck and face covers. One guy was completely covered except a little part of his eyes. Now half the people were walking through the mud barefoot and the other half were wearing the weirdest looking boots I have seen. The are all rubber with elastic on the top. They come up to your knees (or over them for some people). The strangest part was the toe of the boot which reminded me of animal hoofs. There was a split between my big toe and the rest of my toes, just like flip flops would but in boot form. It took me a while to figure out how to fit my toes and socks in them. This whole getup looks strange at first but trust me, its in-style out in the rice paddies.

I was given the job of emptying the seeds into the correct lanes. It took me a second to get them all evenly spread. Then I realized that I had sunk even more in the mud so i struggled to lift my hooved boots out of the mud and more over without slipping or tripping in the mud to work on the next set of seeds. I eventually got the hang of it only to look up and watch three ladies emptying 5 envelopes each in the time it took me to do 1. I kept trying to get to their level of skill but I either emptied too many seeds, forcing me spread them by hand, or I got stuck in the mud making me almost topple into the seeds behind me. This was probably the first time I was too big for a job and my clumsiness definitely wasn’t helping.

I learned so much about the planting of rice but that’s just one part. After the seeds were all put in the appropriate lanes, the mud beds were covered with a thin layer of dirt and allowed to grow for 30 days with daily watering. After the 30 days, each lane of seedlings are collected and bundled into groups. The workers will then plant 4 to 6 bundles of seedlings in one rice paddy. This is called transplanting and is all done by hand again. They will be organized into a 20cm by 20cm grid with 1 seedling per point in a freshly plowed and tiled paddy. The rice will then finish the cycle there with daily watering, weeding, and other labor intensive maintenance. In other words, its a full time job taking care of rice and more temperamental than your average 4 year old. I have a new found appreciation and respect for rice farmers.

Each row contains a different type of rice to be tested

A seed plot with thousands of rice seeds

Mic Drop

Yesterday I was able to experience one very important aspect to the Filipino culture . . . Karaoke. The Filipino people love to sing. You can hear them singing in the cafeteria here or just walking around outside. They sing songs in their native language, Tagalog. They also know all the latest American hits like Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. They even know the classics like Elvis Presley. On weekends and most weeknights, the thing to do is head out to the videole (Filipino term for karaoke) bars  and sing your hearts out.

Now karaoke is done differently here than it is in the States. There is a TV screen in a central location that displays the words. Groups are sitting at tables and you ask for the textbook size song book to pick the songs you are going to sing. You write down your songs to hand to a waiter and then when its your turn, they bring the mic to you so you never have to leave your seat. That’s right you can sing while sitting at your table. No one is forced to stand on a stage, no awkward stares, and hardly any judgment. Its the best way to do karaoke if you ask me. I loved the fact that you didn’t have to stand up in front of everybody and it is much more relaxing.

The selections of songs is almost impossible. when I said that they sing almost any kind of song, I was not joking. You think of a song and you could probably find it in their song book. It took our group forever to leaf through half of the songs until we (mainly Piotr) settled on four songs. The locals got a kick out of the foreigners dramatically (again mainly Piotr) singing Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), Buttons, and I Won’t Give Up. Kuya Mellord even helped Piotr sing a song in Tagalog which the locals also loved. All in all, I think our experience with videole was a success.

(Picture: Kuya Mellord helping Piotr sing a Tagalog song)

The Big City

This weekend was the first time I braved the trip outside of my save little bubble here at IRRI. A group of us decided to head into Manila for a little touristy activities. We knew that we were in for an adventure, from the second the bus dropped us off on the side of the road till we were safely back in our beds. Metro Manila was a whole new ballpark than we were use to.

The streets were load and very crowded. While we searched for a taxi driver, several people tried to talk to us in Tagalog or just stared from a distance. Finally a taxi driver (who spoke enough English) agreed to take us to the apartment of other Wesleyan students. The 10 minute ride in the taxi caused my heart-rate to sky rocket. There is no such things as lanes on the road, motorcycles are fearless and its normal to come with in inches of cars before stopping. There were several occasions where we let out a gasp of fear which was answered with a chuckle from the taxi driver. He tried reassuring us that this was normal but I’m just thankful to not be plastered onto the side of a jeepney. We decided to avoid the roads and walk as much as possible after that.

Our trip included stops in Old Manila, Fort Santiago, and Rizal Monument. Minus the constant sweating, it was a cool experience. In the middle of this bustling city, the Filipino’s many heritages can be found. There were influences of Spanish culture from the 16-17th centuries, Japanese culture from WWII, and Western culture all mixed together. Its a wonder that the Filipinos were able to keep such a strong hold on their own culture.

Navigation remained our biggest obstacle throughout the trip. English is understood by most but in a very limited way. Yes and no questions were the best forms of communication along with pointing and describing landmarks. Everyone was very helpful but we soon realized that just because the people are nice and helpful doesn’t mean you will understand what they are saying. We could make it a block before becoming lost again and having to ask help again. We somehow managed to make it on a bus that dropped us off right outside of the IRRI gates. The weekend trip to Manila was definitely an eye opening experience but I was very thankful to come back to my mountain and rice fields. Maybe next weekend we will opt for a more relaxing activity.

There’s No Time Like Filipino Time

         After being in this beautiful country for a week, I am starting to fall in love with the people and the culture. There is one slight adjustment that is proving difficult. It’s not the food, even with some of the mystery meat they serve. It is not the heat or the constant sweating. It’s not even the Filipino language which I am slowly trying to learn. The biggest adjustment is the concept of time.
            I refer to it as Filipino time (similar to island time if you listen to Jimmy Buffet) and it is completely different from what I am use to in the states. People arrive at the labs whenever they want. I arrive to an empty office at 8:00 most mornings and watch people file in at random times throughout the day. The Filipino people also take several breaks during the day: coffee break at 10, lunch at 12, then a snack at 3, and finally leaving around 5 each day. Of course during each break, they eat more food always including rice.
           The other aspect of Filipino time is if you want something done, just do it yourself. If you ask someone else to do it then who knows when it will happen. You spend most of your time waiting around for someone to help you. This is drastically different from the states where everyone rushes to get projects done or give back paperwork. I am slowly adjusting my expectations here. The Filipinos are a hardworking group but all operate on separate clocks and schedules. I am starting to like all the food breaks and who knows what the next two months will bring. The uptight, schedule oriented person could change to this laid back way of life.

Until next time, Paalam