Things I wish I had known

Although we talked to all of the people from last year’s IRRI group, there were so many things I wish they had told us before coming. Here is a list that I making for those going to IRRI next year that I wish I had known: Don’t worry about forgetting something, they have a supermarket […]

Rice Research

It’s only appropriate that one of my last blog posts is about my research, since it is the reason I came to the Philippines. Sometimes I forget that I’m not just one a 2 month vacation. This past weekend, especially, was a big reminder on this trip being just as much for work as it […]

Go Local or Go Loco

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” as they always say. Well, when in the Philippines, DO AS THE FILIPINOS DO. I mean it, guys. I will make your trip a hundred times easier and more enjoyable. We had a couple times where this past weekend we could have never done the things we […]

Traveling to Tokyo

As I am waiting for my rice plants to grow, I decided a great way to spend the weekend would be to visit my best friend Aida (an IWU student studying abroad) in Tokyo, Japan! Bring on all the sushi and ramen. But first, we had to get to the airport. For those of you […]

New country, new you

When going to a new country, everyone always tells you to learn the customs beforehand to avoid being rude or looking like an idiot while abroad. Most things you can ask the locals about however; during our orientation some norms were even explained by Tito Mon. I think the biggest difference came from people openly […]

Adapt to Survive

ADAPT ADAPT ADAPT. Being a biology major I should know all about this from the countless classes I have taken that discuss evolution and natural selection. Adaption is key to survival. Being in the Philippines is no exception. From having my research experiment go wonky at almost every step, to planning trips merely hours, if […]

It’s time for beaches, beaches!

The the whirlwind of chaos we had to go through to get to the beach over the long weekend was unbelievable. We had someone arrange for us to go to a beach at first and it turned out to be too expensive and not very nice. Canceling that trip left us one day to find […]

Rice Rice Baby

After all that amazing Filipino food, I have, in fact, gotten a rice baby. This combined with all the culture that I had been experiencing the past few days, I almost forgot that I was here to do research, too! I finally got to meet with my advisor who, sadly, is leaving for a homeleave […]

First: Fun, Food, Friends

First week. With the long 3-day weekend and orientations still happening, we had a lot of time to explore Los Baños. To preface, I don’t think I have sweated this much in all my years of living combined compared to the few days we just walk a mile outside. But it was all worth it […]

Here we go!

This is the excerpt for your very first post.