My Fourth Week at CIMMYT!

 My Fourth Week at CIMMYT!

07/13/2024 + 07/14/2024: This weekend was kind of boring. Both days I went into the office for a few minutes to check on my samples and record observations on them. On Saturday when I was heading in I ran into a post-doc that is working here on different technologies. We walked together to and from the labs and then went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Afterwards we walked around campus for a while and just talked. That evening I watched a movie called "All my heroes are cowboys" which I loved. I'm such a big fan of old or semi-old western movies. On Sunday I watched a movie called "The Ride" which was even better. Both days I went for a short jog, a longer walk, did bible studies, and on Saturday I did my laundry too. Not too busy or interesting, but I like that the weekends are a time to relax and restart for the next week!

07/15/2024: Today I worked primarily on preparing seeds for germination testing. We counted out 100 seeds for each sample, and for six special samples we counted out five envelopes of 25 seeds each. Then we tested and recorded the humidity for each of these samples. We were going to scan them through the video meter but now instead we will do that tomorrow morning because other students are using the machine today. After that I worked on developing an analysis for the information we had already collected from the seed samples and germination tests. Then I worked on lab research in my office for a few hours before heading back to my dorm/apartment. I went for a quick run and studied German and Spanish. Then I called my sister and went to bed. Not a very interesting day but I'm liking the routines I'm settling into here!

07/16/2024: Today I worked with the VideoMeter a lot. The more I get to know the software, the more I like it! I feel like I'm getting faster with the processes each time I use it and I'm learning more about different things you can do on it. Today we scanned six seed types with four sample of 25 seeds for each seed type. Then we put these 24 samples alongside the remaining seed types into containers to do accelerated aging. This is the process where we put 200 mL of water into a container and then put our seed samples on nets that keep the seeds from being soaked in the water. Then we put lids on the containers and keep them in a chamber at 40 C for 3-4 days. This allows for the seed to age much faster than it would in a natural growing process. This time, though, we dipped the seeds in water with 1% chloride to try and prevent mold. After this, we took samples that we did a germination test on last Friday and analyzed them. In this process we unroll each germination roll to count how many seeds germinated, how many died, and how many were growing abnormally. Then we roll the test back up and put it back into the germination chamber for three more days. After this, I did more research and worked on my 1st month report for World Food Prize which is due this Friday for me. After work, I went for a quick run and ate supper before going on a walk around CIMMYT's campus. I love going on walks because the sunset is so pretty and I love being outside after a long day in the labs. There isn't much space to walk but I love walking around the fields. Then I went to bed for a little bit but at 12:00 AM I woke up for an interview. It was with AgriNEXT for a potential award, but because of the time difference I could only interview between the hours of 12:00 AM- 5:00 AM. Then I went back to bed. 

07/17/2024: An office day to say the least. I checked on the germination samples right away in the morning, before heading to my office to work. I worked on a research project and different interviews for CIMMYT and my internship. There are a lot of organizations and people from home that have or are interviewing me since I am from Iowa and so was Norman Borlaug. For a few hours, I went out to the greenhouses to collect data and to look at the corn ancient varieties. With the heat inside of the greenhouse and insect issues, many of them are dying which is a huge problem. After work I went for a short walk, ate supper, did bible study, and talked with a doctor that I met a few days ago on campus. Another non-busy boring day, but I loved it anyways!

07/18/2024: Instead of going into work at CIMMYT today, my boss took me to the museum of anthropology with his family! It was so fun. First we got to see an exhibit on ancient Italy and Rome in specific. Then we walked around the entire bottom level, there is a top level too but we ran out of time. I got to see all types of history in Mexico and the artifacts from ancient civilizations that used to live here. Some of the artifacts were even from my town in specific! It was so interesting, especially since I went to go see the Aztec pyramids just a few weeks ago. It was a much more in depth look into them. Afterwards, we went to a Mexican market and I got some different chocolates and candies to try which were all amazing. One of my favorite things about Mexico is the chocolate and candies. For lunch we went to a cafeteria type restaurant where you sit in the middle of about ten different restaurants that all serve a different national cuisine. Then you can order from a menu that has all of the dishes from each restaurant. We had amazing Columbian cheese sticks with a garlic sauce, empanadas from Columbia with potato and pork, and tacos from Brazil. They were all so good! Then we drove about three hours home because of the heavy traffic. By the time we got home, I just showered, ate supper, caught up on tasks I missed at work that day, then went to bed. It was a great experience though to actually go into the city and explore it a little bit!

07/19/2024: Last night I couldn't sleep for some reason so I only got a few hours of sleep. I woke up early and did my bible study and ate breakfast like any other day though. Then at 8:00 AM I arrived at work and spent a few hours using the video meter, scanning seeds, and showing others how to use it of their projects. Afterwards, I tested the humidity of our accelerated aging seed samples and put each sample into an envelope. Then a coworker and myself took all of the sample envelopes and did germination tests with them. That's the process where we separate each sample into four groups and roll each group up into a germination paper and leave it for four days. After that, we took our germination tests from a week ago and counted them all. We counted how many seeds were dead, abnormal, or germinated. This test was a lot more successful than the last one. Plus we worked in the viability labs and they gave me different Mexican candies to try. After work, I went for a quick run, and called my family. It is fair time in Iowa right now so everyone has so many stories to tell of things they're doing at the fair and the animals they're showing! Then I played soccer with some people living in my building and ended the night with a walk around the fields with one of my co-workers. It was a basic work day but so fun. Sometimes it's still so hard to believe that this is just my everyday and I LIVE IN MEXICO!!!! Also that I am now halfway done!