BLOG MOVED!!!

Due to unforseen circumstances, I had to move my blog to a different site. The Chinese government blocked many American sites, including blogspot, so it is unaccessible. My new site is lgeiger09.weebly.com. I am sorry for any inconvenience, but I hope you will continue to follow my adventures in China!

Day 24

Today was a very productive day for me. I went to the lab this morning and started on extracting the DNA from my cotton samples. We did it as a big group because there were also about fifty corn samples we had to test because Dr. Li didn’t think he had been sold Bt cotton from Monsanto. He asked the graduate students to test all the plants to find out. Everyone helped who is in our lab except Lily, Alex, and Chen because they had their own things to do. It took awhile because each sample has to be carefully ground up while being cooled with liquid nitrogen. Everyone had their own job, and I worked solely on my own samples with the help of Ibraham, so I didn’t mess up the corn samples. We got everything ground up before lunch. Then we all came back after eating, so we could finish it today. I had to add chemicals and centrifuge it many times, but there weren’t many gaps of waiting like there was with Elisa. After I had extracted the DNA, which is a tiny pellet that I dissolved in water, I learned how to make electrophoresis gel. When you inject the gel with the DNA samples and blue dye, it runs through the gel due to an electrical charge attached to it. My ending result ended up being what you are shown in forensic shows. It’s the blue lines of a DNA profile. It was so cool, and I guess I did a really good job for my first time because I injected it correctly with only two of eleven mistakes. I guess that is better than most first timers. The ending result wasn’t very good though because we shut the electrical charge off early, so we could make it to supper. It’s okay though because I will be doing it again sometime this week for more practice. I basically did everything myself since everyone was busy with the corn samples. If I had a question they gladly stopped and answered, but I understood the directions I had copied down pretty well. I am pretty proud of myself for being so self sufficient.
Alex and Lily had already gone to supper by the time I was done, so Baria took me. We went to a different cafeteria that I have been going to. The food there was pretty good, too. Then, Baria invited me back to her room to see it and meet her roommates. She shares a room with five other girls. It was about a half size bigger than standard dorm rooms in the US. The undergraduate students have eight people per room, and it is usually the size of a normal two person dorm room. It is just big enough for four bunk beds and some storage cabinets for clothes. They used their space very well, and it looked much bigger than it was though. She showed me a bunch of her pictures and showed me different things in her room. Her roommates are very nice and speak very good English. They also don’t have a bathroom in their building, so they have to go to a big shower house for bathing and using the bathroom. That would be inconvenient to me. I am glad I have my own bathroom.

Day 23

Today we went to the Great Wall, and it was even more magnificent than I imagined. We hired a car to take us there because it is about 70 km from Beijing. We went to the Great Wall at Badaling. It is the most well preserved area on the Great Wall. It is huge! I knew it was big, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so tall or well preserved. It was as if it were built ten years ago. I can’t imagine how much man power was needed to build something like that. We entered the Great Wall and went to the highest point on the left side of Badaling. It was so steep going up; I was looking forward to the walk back down. However, it ended up being just as hard going down the slope as it was going up because I had to control my speed. It was very steep. In some places the stairs go straight up or straight down. The Mexican Pyramids seemed like a walk in the park compared to walking on the Great Wall. Once we got back to where we started, we went to the right to go on the famous section. We started to make our way up to the highest point on the entire wall. It was very crowded because it was mid-morning when we started on the famous part. In some places, the wall got very narrow, so people were pushing and shoving to get through. I was really nervous about it because we were so high up. The wall just lifts up from these huge valleys, so all you can see are the tree tops. It took us until about 11 to get to the highest point. I looked it up on the internet, and it is about 800 meters above sea level. I was exhausted by the time we reached the top because it was so steep. Then, we continued on the wall because it eventually makes a circle putting us back to where we very first started. Going down was very difficult also. I had my good running shoes on, but my feet were sliding really bad because it was so steep. There were a lot of women wearing high heels and dress sandals and some wearing no shoes at all. I was struggling in just plain tennis shoes. I have no idea how they were doing it. Many people had young children and babies with them also. We saw this one little boy, who was about five, knock out all his front teeth because he started running down the wall and couldn’t stop. He fell right on his face. I felt so bad for him.
It took us about an hour to make it to the area where the wall is no longer open to tourists. We walked through a marketplace that reminded me of fairs in Iowa. There were games, food vendors, and souvenir shops all along the road. We made it back to the car at about 1. We hiked for four hours (taking out the time we took for breaks). I was so tired, and we all ended up sleeping in the car. Then, we stopped at the Ming Tombs. It is where all the Emperors and Empresses during the Ming Dynasty were buried. I had just finished reading my book about them. We walked along the sacred road that has willow trees and statues all along it. There were four of many different kinds of animals. For instance, there were a pair of elephants (one on each side). Then right next to them would be a pair of elephants that were kneeling in order to show respect to the imperial visitors. It was very beautiful. We couldn’t go to see any of the tombs though because they are closed to the public. There are 13 Imperial Tombs total. They are all very extravagant and built like miniature palaces.
Then, we came back to the university and had a rest. I showered right away and washed my clothes because I was absolutely drenched in sweat. We actually had nice weather here. There was a storm coming, so it was cooler and there was a really nice breeze. It was also very foggy on the wall, so the sun didn’t beat down on us. It was still humid though. Plus, I just sweat a lot too. We went for supper later than usual and went to the marketplace to eat. It was a pretty nice restaurant. We each had our own burner with a pan with broth in it. Then the waiters bring you raw vegetables and meat, and you pick what you want to cook in your broth. I ended up just eating boiled eggs and some vegetables. The other types of meat were veal, which I don’t really care for, and cheese made out of blood, which didn’t appeal to me at all. When we left, it had just started raining and by the time we got back to our building we were drenched. I will be uploading pictures tomorrow of my day at the zoo and the Great Wall to send out.

Day 22

I have officially missed out on my two favorite holidays this year: New Years’ and the 4th of July. This morning I slept in a bit later than I usually do as I have not been sleeping well here. I went to the lab, and Lily and I went to the greenhouses on the edge of campus. We helped Alex change the water for his cotton plants, and then added a chemical called PEG to them. PEG is a chemical that induces drought-like characteristics in plants. It deprives them of the ability to absorb water and nutrients. He used several different amounts and also had a control group that didn’t receive any at all. Then we went to lunch and took our afternoon break. I took the opportunity to finish up the rest of my laundry and pick up my room.
After the break, we went to the Beijing Zoo. I saw every animal possible, including some very adorable pandas. They have animals from all over the world. I saw almost every type of bird, snake, turtle, and deer like creature on earth. I also witnessed a crowd of people go nuts over a raccoon taking food through the cage. I never thought I would see the day when a raccoon would be a star at a zoo. I also saw an Asian leopard cat. It looked exactly like my cat Tara did. It was just a bit bigger though, and its face had longer hair. It is a nocturnal creature, so that explains why she never came out during the day. It was kind of sad though because it was so hot today, most of the animals were sleeping or laying down in the shade. People were throwing empty water bottles and such at them to get them to move. The zoo was huge. It had the animals sectioned off by both continent and type, so certain birds were in several different places. I even saw some Chukar partridges and peacocks.
We left the zoo at about six o’ clock because it was closing. We had to walk quite a ways to the bus stop. We ended up stopping at an outdoor restaurant on the way to have supper. Alex and Lily don’t really understand that I shouldn’t eat certain things, like food from a roadside vendor, because it could make me sick. I ended up just eating the hottest food that was served in hopes of not getting sick. I should be okay though. It was very spicy. Tomorrow we are going to leave pretty early in the morning, so we can go to The Great Wall. I am excited for it.

Day 21

I spent most of my day today graphing the results of ELISA. It was a long process and had many steps of equations. I must have done something wrong during one of the steps because my final answers were pretty far off what they should be. I went back through everything, but I still couldn't find my mistake. I asked a few of the graduate students to look at it, but they don’t do it regularly enough to tell me where I went wrong. It was very frustrating. I took a break and ate lunch. Then, Lily went with me to try to get a laundry card from the front desk of my building. It turns out that I can’t have one because I am not a permanent student here for a long period of time. I began my first book about the Ming dynasty today. It is actually very interesting while sticking to the facts. I got quite a bit of it read. The author wrote it like a bunch of stories rather than listing facts. It’s more like a novel of short stories than a history book.
After the break, I came back to the lab and tried to work on my graph. I got frustrated pretty quickly though, so I worked on my Chinese instead. The Chinese language is very hard because there are “tones” in the way you say vowels. It is really hard for me to distinguish and pronounce the different tones because they are so much alike, but this is the most important aspect of the Chinese language.
After supper, I came back to my room and started my laundry. I had a lot of it once again. When I figured out that there was a washing machine in my building, I stopped doing my laundry in my sink because I could just do it all at once in the machine. I had about three days at that time (I was going to do it that night in fact). I ran out of clothes again today, so I had to do it. I only got half of it done though because I ran out of space for everything again. It’s a big pain in my butt to have to do it in the sink, but I will never take for granted a washing machine again, or the leprechaun at home who takes my dirty clothes and returns them clean and folded. Thanks mom :)

Day 20

Today wasn’t quite as productive as yesterday. I took my laptop to the lab with me today, so that I could graph my Elisa results in English. I graph the values of my known concentrations, but I couldn’t figure out how to find the concentration values for my samples because Excel doesn’t have a function for it. The one it has was backward from what I needed. At about ten, Alex asked me to go to a lecture with him and a few others upstairs. It was a Life Science teacher at Texas Tech University talking about stress tolerance in certain genes. Alex said it would be in English, so I would learn a lot. The professor was Chinese, so he ended up speaking Chinese with a few English words thrown in every once and awhile. His powerpoint was in English, but it didn’t really help much because it was supplemental to what he was talking about. I lost interest in about twenty minutes and had difficulty staying awake. It got very hot in the room because it was quite small and completely packed with students. I was just pouring sweat. It got over at about noon, so we went to lunch.
I went to the old lab after the break so I could ask Cici for help on my graphing. She was busy with an experiment so Zhen offered to help me. He didn’t understand it either though. He ended up enlisting the help of a teacher’s aid. He helped us but couldn’t remember the formula for changing the results to a linear equation, so we could determine my unknown concentrations. I actually ended up figuring it out because I had done it in Calculus and Statistics. I have to wait until tomorrow to finish it though because I left my laptop in my room after lunch. It turns out that my results for my high concentrations of known protein were too high. I took to long during the last step so the higher concentrations reacted too long with the last chemical. I was lucky though because it is the low concentration knowns that are the most important. I just have to throw out my three highest numbers and everything else will be fine. I guess the protein levels I found of my unknown samples were better than some of the graduate students have ever gotten. That made me really happy because I was sure that I completely messed it up.
Then, I went back to the new lab and talked with Tina a bit. We decided that my hypothesis would test whether or not Bt cotton is still effective to use in China. I will be testing it in many ways and learning a lot of new things, including checking cotton bollworms for signs of resistance to Bt cotton. I am pretty excited about it. On the side, I will also be helping Ibraham with his herbicide resistant weeds. Then, we went to supper and to the supermarket for more water. I also picked up a new webcam since mine won’t work. It was very cheap; just under $7 actually. We even checked to make sure it would work. I also figured out that my cost to eat everyday is under $2. You can’t buy anything in the US for $2 let alone an entire day’s worth of food!

Day 19

It’s hard to believe that it’s already July. Only six more weeks, and I’ll be home again and starting school. Today was a very productive day for me. I went to the lab at 830 like I do every day. I called Cici on the phone and was expecting to have to pass the phone off to Alex in order for him to translate, but I was so wrong. She speaks perfect English. I could understand every word she said. She told me to meet her at the old lab at ten so we could begin ELISA testing. I just messed around on the computers until then. Then, I went to the old lab, and we got started. First I had to grind the leaves into a liquid and put them into test tubes. I had four samples total. Then, we had to refrigerate them for four hours. I talked with some of the graduate students before I went back to the new lab to go to lunch. They are all very nice. There was a man named Zhen who just came to the university six days ago to begin his masters degree. He was very anxious to practice his English on me which was also very good. Cici was embarrassed to talk to me because she didn’t think her English was very good, so she had Zhen do all the talking for her. I tried to tell her that her English was very good and encourage her to talk, but she didn’t believe me. At 1130 we all went to lunch. I came back to the lab at two in order to continue my experiment. I had to use the centrifuge to separate the liquid from the solid. Then, I had to create a control of known concentrations to be able to compare the concentration of protein in my unknown samples. I created 8 controls; each having half the concentration of the one before it. Then, I had to mix in chemicals to my known concentrations and samples and incubate it for two hours. We went to supper at this time and then went back to the lab again. I had to then wash the samples and concentrations with a special fluid and fill the wells back up with chemicals and incubate it for 30 minutes. I had to wash, fill, and incubate three times. Then, I added a special dye and a stopping agent. Then put it in the spectrometer for analysis of the color. It printed out a table for me, and I will have to graph it tomorrow to determine the amount of Bt protein in each of the samples. I know this is confusing to read, but I skipped a lot of details in order to save everyone from intense boredom. I was surprised my experiment was successful because Cici and Zhen didn’t tell me what not to do until I was doing it. I didn’t get back to my room until well after 9 tonight. I also have a pounding headache because the old lab doesn’t have air conditioning and it was in the upper 90’s again today.
I had a slight scare today too. I didn’t have a lot of money left, so before I went back to the lab after lunch, I stopped at the atm near my building. It rejected my card saying it was an error. I was freaking out because I was told my card would work here, so I didn’t bring that much cash. I mentioned it to Alex, and he took me to a different atm also near my building. Luckily this atm had an international banking option, so I was able to withdraw money. I also had the most intelligent conversation with someone since I have been here. Zhen is very interested in American politics and the economy, so we talked quite a bit about that. I also talked with Cici and another graduate student, Ming, about movies. Apparently, most of the movies shown in China are American. They just run Chinese subtitles. As we worked, we also watched the first Transformers movie on the computer because it is everyone’s favorite.

Day 18

Today was a pretty uneventful day for me. I went to the lab today, but no one was working on their experiments. Everyone was using the computers to compile data and do research, so I did some more research about PCR and ELISA in order to refresh my memory and started my lab journal that I am going to keep track of all my experiments and procedures. Tina came in mid-morning and sat down with me to explain my project. She had just talked with Dr. Li about it. My project concerns Bt cotton evaluations. I am going to use tissue of cotton and co-culture them with Agrobacterium in order to infuse them with the Bt gene. Then, I will grow them in a medium that will only support the embryos that have the Bt gene in them. Then, I will grow the successful embryos and use PCR, ELISA, and Insect Bioassay in order to locate the Bt gene. As far as I can gather so far, an insect bioassay determines the toxicity the Bt cotton will have on certain insects, such as the cotton bollworm for which is designed to protect itself against. Using this data, I will determine the effectiveness of Bt cotton. There are still some major details about my project that we have to hammer out, but these are the basics of it. At least now I have something specific to research and determine the exact direction and hypothesis I will use and test.
After lunch, everyone continued on the computers, so I continued with my research. Alex and Tina found me some scientific articles that I could use for my background information. It takes me quite awhile to get through these papers because there are so many technical words that I don’t know the definitions of, so I have to do a lot of cross research. I only read through two papers after lunch do to this. Tomorrow I will begin ELISA on my samples of Bt and wild cotton in order to learn the procedures. A graduate student named Cici, yes the same as my cat, is supposed to help me, but I don’t think she speaks much English, so it should be interesting.

Day 17

Today I took samples of my cotton plants. They weren’t very big at all, but we didn’t have time to let them grow a few more days. Instead of 10 samples for ELISA testing, I only have three. Each sample for this test has to be .5g. It took three seedlings to equal this amount. Since ELISA is easier than PCR, Tina decided it would be best to have less ELISA samples. Before I could weigh the samples, I had to wash each seedling and cut off the stem because only the leaves can be used. Then, I labeled and wrapped each sample and put them over dry ice. I took 10 samples for PCR testing. These samples did not have to be weighed, and it took two seedlings per sample. I also washed these, but the stems could be used. I wrapped them in tin foil and also put them over dry ice. Then, I took one sample for each sample of the wild type cotton and did the same thing. A graduate student named Baria told me how to do everything, but let me do it all since it is my experiment. The samples have to be stored for two days at an incredibly low temperature before I can test them, so Wednesday I will begin ELISA testing.
This took me up until lunch. For lunch I had something halfway normal: sweet and sour pork with cucumbers in it. I was so happy because it actually tasted like what I would order at a restaurant in the States. After lunch I came back to my dorm for the usual rest and read like I usually do. I am much farther in my reading book than I had thought I would be. I am reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and it is over 1,000 pages. I am already halfway done, and I didn’t start until I got here. It’s a wonder what two hours a day can do. Plus it’s really good too. I helped Ibraham in the lab after lunch. He is here getting his PhD from Egypt. He has two kids and a wife at home, so he is anxious to graduate. His major is weed science. His experiment is about herbicide resistance in wild oat. He brought a lot of samples from Egypt, and he is going to compare it to wild oat in China and maybe in the United States. He says it is a big problem all over because some strains have developed herbicide resistance. He is basically growing weeds, spraying different herbicides on them, and figuring out the mortality rate. Then, he will try to isolate the gene that causes resistance, so an effective herbicide can be made. He says it is a really easy yet beneficial experiment to do for his PhD because there aren’t many papers about it, and one of the requirements for a PhD is to publish an original paper. I helped him to take the seeds out of their shell. The shells are really hard and small. He has billions of seeds (no joke). We only had to do a very small part of it. After awhile of doing it, I started getting really itchy on my arms and neck, so Ibraham informed me that wild oat causes irritation in some people. He thought I knew that since it is a problem in the US, but I had never even heard of it before. I just washed up and tried not to touch myself. He also told me that his internet hasn’t been working right either, so now I think it is the building or college that is having problems. He also mentioned the fact that our building (turns out we are in the same one) has washing machines in the floor above me! I have been doing my laundry in the sink for two weeks now for no reason. Now I am going to let it all pile it up and do it all one night rather than doing it every night. I knew this was going to happen. I just thought it would be my last day or something. At least now I have six weeks to use it. Better now than never. Professor Li came to the lab, and we discussed my project. I am going to be doing transgenic plant evaluations, but he doesn’t want me to start until I am more familiar with the lab and its procedures. He said he would get me information about it soon, so I can begin to research it. Then, we went to supper, and I came back to my dorm. I am working on uploading more pictures, so everyone can see the Forbidden City and my project so far.

Day 16

Whoever said today was supposed to be cooler and rain lied. It was as hot as ever. Alex and Lily took me to see the Forbidden City today. It was absolutely huge. It was twice the size of New Hartford. It was the palace of the Emperors and Empresses from the Ming to the Qing Dynasties. The whole place is filled with intricate artwork and huge stones. They are working to restore it now by repainting and fixing it up. It must be a lot of work, especially since the main metal used was copper and all the tarnish has to be removed. I also noticed that the government is making it so that the palace is handicapped accessible, but it would be a huge pain in the butt to push anyone around in a wheelchair there because the ramps are so steep. We had bought some food at the campus grocery store, so we ate inside the park in the Imperial Gardens. It was so beautiful. My face, lips, and arms are burnt because I didn’t reapply my sunscreen. I didn’t realize it until we got back though. I also have a really wicked watch tan complete with the rest of a farmer’s tan.
After we finished touring the Forbidden City, we took a taxi to another area of town. I would describe it as the old part of Beijing becoming modern. The storefronts and restaurants were built like a river walk because it is set on a canal. We rented a small boat for an hour and went out on the water. The scenery was magnificent. There were blooming water lilies and ducks all over. We walked along the canal after that and went through the marketplace. The only way I can describe it was that it felt the same as when we went to Taxco while we were in Mexico. The street is just wide enough for people to walk and the stores are squished together. We took a bus to a huge bookstore near Peking University. There were people sitting everywhere on the floor in the aisles reading. I got two books there. One about the Emperors and Empresses during the Ming Dynasty and another about the tourism spots in Beijing. They seem to be very interesting, and I am happy because they contain a lot of history. Then, we took the bus back to campus and ate supper at a small restaurant. It was after 7 when we got back, and we left at 8 this morning. It was a long day, but it was well worth the pink cheeks.

Day 15

My internet started working again right after I posted last night, but it is acting up again tonight. I know what to think of it. This trip has made me realize that I am bad with technology (my webcam still does not work for some reason). We went to the farm again today. I was supposed to meet everyone at the lab at 8am but for some reason my alarm didn’t go off this morning, so I ended up getting up at ten till 8 and made a mad dash to get ready. Alex and the others ended up picking me up in front of my building. Instead of taking a bus, Alex asked one of his friends to drive us. It was a very tight fit because it was a very small car and five people in it. It wasn’t until I was in the car that I realized that I had forgotten to eat breakfast in my rush to leave. At the farm, we helped one of the students to label her Bt corn and take samples from them. Then we went to look at Alex’s cotton, and once again we had to strip down the unneeded branches. It was easier than last time, but it was hot, and I was light headed from not eating. After that we went to help the others pick peaches to take back to the lab. I didn’t eat any this time because I am still not sure what made me sick, and I didn’t want to risk it.
Then we came back to the campus and went to lunch. We took an unusually long break this afternoon because it was so hot out, so I met everyone back in the lab at 3. We were going to go to the birds nest (site of the 2008 Olympic Games) and the bookstore, but it was too hot. Instead we stayed in the lab. I am surprised at the amount of people here who are mourning the death of Michael Jackson. That’s all everyone wants to talk about in the lab, so most of them looked up Michael Jackson videos and songs on YouTube all afternoon. I never thought he would have such a worldwide impact, but apparently he did. We went to the campus bookstore right before dinner, but they didn’t have a Chinese-English dictionary or books on Chinese History written in English. We are just going to look tomorrow when we are out and about. It’s supposed to be cooler tomorrow, but it’s also supposed to rain. Lily helped me get my food for dinner, but she had to go help a friend move right after. I walked back to my building and decided it would be a nice night to go for a walk. After I changed and came back out, it started to downpour out of nowhere, so instead I picked up my dorm. Hopefully I can get my internet figured out soon.

Day 14

Today I felt much better than I did yesterday. In fact, I didn’t have any symptoms at all anymore, but I am not going to complain about it. I went to the lab this morning, and Alex met me right away. We went to the graduation ceremony which I thought had already occurred but apparently hadn’t. It was incredibly hot already at 9am, and I was still a bit weak from yesterday. I ended up sitting under a tree for most of the ceremony. The students were disrespectful by American terms. The graduators were coming and going as they pleased while the speakers spoke. Then, only the PhD students had their tassels turned to the other side by professors, but no one stayed to watch. Everyone just got up and walked away to talk to family members and came back when it was time to throw their hats up.
The rest of the day basically consisted of taking pictures. The students messed around and changed gowns around with friends (they were different colors depending upon the degree in what major). We went to lunch at the normal time and had our usual afternoon break. Then, when I returned to the lab, we went out to take more pictures with teachers for awhile. After that, Tony took me to uncover my seedlings, so they could get more light. They are just about an inch tall now. For the rest of the day, I just messed around on the computer, since it was Friday, and no one wanted to actually work. Tony took me to supper because Alex had to do something, and Lily was still out taking pictures with friends. My internet is not working correctly. I am actually sitting in a hallway up a couple of floors using someone’s wireless connection. I have no idea why my Ethernet connection suddenly quit working. I will try to get it fixed as soon as possible because the internet is my lifeline!

Day 13

I didn’t do anything today because I have been sick. I was up from about 3am on last night due to terrible belly cramps and diarrhea. I am thinking that it must be from the yogurt I ate last night with supper. I have decided that now on I am not going to eat something and say I like it in order to be polite. When I got up this morning, I was feeling okay, but after I ate breakfast and got ready to leave for the lab, I was feeling sick again. I thought it would be best for me to stay in my room today, so I could use my own bathroom and get better. I slept off and on all day. Lily brought me a bland lunch to my room and checked on me quite often while Alex keeps trying to offer me laxatives to help me get better. My cramping gets much worse after I eat. Alex took me to a restaurant just outside campus, so I could have rice soup. It was good, but I hadn’t even finished when I started feeling bad again. I have been taking pepto bismal tablets all day and have been drinking plenty of fluids to replenish what I am losing. I will see how I feel tomorrow or see how tonight goes before I go to the clinic. It would be bearable except for my cramping, but I am keeping my hopes up that tomorrow will be better.

Day 12

Today was another hot day. I went to the lab this morning, and a graduate student, Shen, asked me right away if I would assist him today with his experiment. He is testing the effects of Silicone sprayed on soybeans to see if it will increase yields like it has in other plants. His first task was to test the amount of soluble protein in the leaves of various silicon treatments. My chemistry knowledge impressed Chen and made it a lot easier to understand the chemicals we were using and the molar math behind it, so thank you Mrs. Nicholson! I helped him to weigh out specific amounts of leaves, so he could grind them into a paste and put in test tubes. Then, we went to the old lab in order to use the centrifuge, a machine that spins items very fast, to separate the liquids and solids in the test tubes. I then helped him to extract the liquids out of the test tubes and prepare the solution for protein testing. We basically created a solution that dyed the plant liquid. Then we used a spectrometer, a machine that calculates the exact wavelength of a color, in order to determine the amount of protein in the samples. This took us up until lunch.
After lunch and our traditional afternoon break, I returned to the lab and assisted Chen again. The graduate students have put a sign-up sheet up in the lab, so they can take turns having me help them with their experiments. Chen’s day was today. This afternoon we weighed out more leaf samples to determine the amount of nitrates in the leaves. I didn’t get to help too much because right when it got interesting, Lily came rushing in to grab me for dinner. Professor Li had invited me to go out with him, some other faculty, and the recent graduates from my lab. We went to a very fancy restaurant where we had our own private room in the back. In fact, it was so nice that the traditional lazy susan in the center of the table, that allows everyone to eat what they want without having to pass the food around, was motorized so it turned automatically. I didn’t like the food very much. It was basically comprised of all the foods I dislike and realized I disliked after tasting it, such as mutton, green peppers, whole fish, yogurt that tasted (and probably was) rotten milk, cantaloupe, and apple juice, which ended up being apple vinegar. I was not impressed by the bathrooms though. I have discovered that here in China no matter how fancy anyplace is, it has squat toilets. They are basically holes in the ground (with porcelain if they are really nice) that you squat over when you have to go to the bathroom. Luckily I didn’t have to go bad enough to have to use it.
Dr. Li is very nice. He has a nine year old daughter who was born in the United States when him and his wife were living there. Dr. Li said he got his PhD in Alabama, and then moved to South Dakota, where his daughter was born. They moved back to China shortly after. He wants me to teach her some more English, and I said that I would be happy to. He is even planning a trip to the US in September to visit Alabama, and then attend the World Food Prize Symposium in October. After the dinner, Dr. Li drove Lily and I back to the lab because I had left my bag there in the rush to leave. Then, I came back to my apartment. It was about 10pm when I finally got here. Hopefully tonight I sleep better tonight. My air conditioner has not been working right, so it has been very hot in my room, but tonight there is a breeze coming in my window. Plus, I haven’t heard any drunk people yet, so I think I will be able to sleep tonight!

Day 11

I planted my cotton seeds this morning! Tony helped me plant them in sand because they do better in sandy soil. After we finished planting, I went with Alex to the greenhouses on the other side of campus. I rode Tina’s bike, and it was ridiculously tiny. Alex is working with a drought resistance gene in cotton, so I helped him cut leaves off of cotton leaves, so he could test the rate of water loss from the various types as they dried. It was very repetitive because we had to weigh about a dozen leaves from four varieties of genes and one control every hour for three hours. Alex also took pictures of all the leaves, so he could see if the leaves changed shape as they dried. In between weightings, I helped him to change the water his seedlings were in. At the university, after the cotton plants germinate, they are put in Styrofoam, and the roots are grown in aerated water with nutrients in it as the plant grows up from the foam.
We were about halfway done transplanting when it was time to go to lunch. After lunch, I finished the rest of my laundry and read a bit because I have decided that the naps are only making me more tired. When I got back to the lab, I started asking the graduate students if they had any experiments that they wanted me to conduct because they didn’t have time. Most of them couldn’t understand what I was asking, so I gave up for the day. I am finding that the English speakers here tell me they understand what I am saying, but in their response it’s obvious they don’t understand what was said. After that point, they won’t listen to any explanations because they believe they are right. Instead, I had a conversation with Ibraham, whose first language is English. He gave me some very good ideas involving weed control for an experiment, but he thinks I should run them by Professor Li and make sure he didn’t have anything planned for me to do. I agreed and talked with Lily about it and ended up getting another run around from a misunderstanding. In the end though, she suggested I see Professor Li tomorrow. This took me up to dinner time. After which, I uploaded and sent out some pictures of my time here in Beijing so far. If anyone else wants them, just email me!

Day 10

I just realized that yesterday was also the official first day of summer. This week will follow that date in true form with highs in the 100’s and lows in the 80’s. YAH, not. It’s already hot enough here. I am not really looking forward to July here. But anyways, today was a pretty good day. This morning I rotated my laundry around. I only have ten hangers, so I hung my shirts outside on my balcony from a wire attached to the roof. I put all the rest of my clothes around in different places in my room. I realized this morning that I had somehow turned all my socks pink when I washed them. I have no clue what happened, but oh well I guess.
This morning at the lab, I did more research on my experiment topic. Tina gave me more suggestions about what to look up, and she also emailed me some more information about how to use PCR and ELISA. Then we went to lunch and took our traditional afternoon nap. I really should have done the rest of my laundry, but I was pretty tired, so I took a nap instead.
After lunch, Tony helped me with the procedure for germinating cotton seeds. We had to soak the seeds ( I am comparing both transgenic cotton with Bt and “wild” cotton) in H2O2 for 30 minutes to kill the cauliflower mosaic virus, which could hinder germination. Then we rinsed the seeds in water three times before letting them soak for twelve to twenty-four hours, so I will be finishing them tomorrow by planting them. I also began asking the graduate students if they had a question or experiment they had thought about during another experiment (like a follow-up or something) that they didn’t have time to do because I could do it for them for my “real” project. The one I am currently doing is more of a learning experience than an experiment. I have to do something substantial and helpful in order to meet my requirements for my paper for the World Food Prize. No one could think of anything, but I still have quite a few people left to ask, and I am trying to think of something myself. It’s just difficult because I am only here for eight weeks, so I can’t take on something huge.
Then, I just hung around the lab and asked some of the graduate students questions about their experiments and projects. Then, Alex came back from the farm with a huge bag full of fresh peaches he picked while he was there. They talked me into trying one (but don’t worry I washed them thoroughly in clean water and peeled the skin off), and they were amazing. I never really liked peaches, but these were very sweet and juicy. I even brought some back to my room for breakfast. We missed dinner at the cafeteria because Alex didn’t get back on time, so he went to a restaurant nearby and brought back cold noodles and egg sandwiches. I liked the noodles at first, but the more I ate, the less I liked them. It consisted of noodles, cucumbers, vinegar, and some other seasonings. I ended up just picking out the cucumbers and eating them instead of the noodles. I heard that Iowa had a lot of severe weather last night, so I hope all is well and everyone is fine.

Day 9

Happy fathers’ day to all the fathers reading this! I hope it will be a good day. Today was a long hot day here. I went with some of the graduate students to their experimental farm outside the city this morning. We left at about nine. We took a bus to a small village outside Beijing. It was about a thirty minute drive. Then, we had to walk from one end of the village to the other in order to get a taxi to the farm since it was Sunday and the school buses to the farm weren’t running. When we got there, Alex showed me his cotton plots. He is testing various types of transgenic cotton, such as drought resistance, Bt, and growth regulation. He was planning on taking soil samples, so that he could measure the amount of water in the soil, but he didn’t have the tools he needed. Instead, we had to thin out the cotton plants, so there was one plant per hole. We also had to strip the non- fruit bearing branches, so that the plant does not waste nutrients on them. This was difficult for me because I didn’t know what a fruit bearing branch looked like. I messed up a couple before I figured it out. You can tell if a cotton bud is going to bear cotton if the bud is in the shape of a pyramid.
We got one plot done before it got too hot in the sun to continue, so we went in for lunch. There is a cafeteria on the farm, but it only offers one option. It was not an option that I liked because it consisted of green peppers and a tiny bit of meat. I ended up just eating sticky rice for lunch. I was also only offered beer to drink. Luckily I had a bottle of water with me, but unlucky because the water was quite warm. After lunch, we went above the cafeteria to small rooms in order to take a nap to stay out of the hottest part of the day. It ended up being a three hour nap. Then, we went back outside and finished up Alex’s other cotton plot. We were done in no time because the others had finished their work before dinner, so they all helped us.
We had to walk halfway back to the village before a taxi drove by and picked us up. Then, our bus drove past us without stopping, so we had to wait quite awhile for another one. We got back to campus in time for dinner. I had some very delicious watermelon for dessert tonight instead of my traditional ice cream. After supper, I went back to my dorm in order to do laundry. It took forever because I haven’t done any laundry since I’ve been here. I actually ran out of clean clothes yesterday, but I haven’t had any time to do it. Here it seems like people wear their clothes until they are smelly and truly dirty. Alex has been wearing the same shirt for four days now, and Lily has been alternating between two shirts and a pair of jeans. Everyone here does this. I think it is to cut down on the laundry, but I don’t think I can do this. Especially not my shirts since I sweat so much. At least my showerhead is detachable, so I could efficiently rinse them. I only got my shirts and undergarments done before I ran out of room to put everything. I made a huge mess in my bathroom and everything is soaking wet. I have decided that I am going to do my laundry every other night in order to avoid this problem again. I spent over an hour on it, and I am only halfway done. I have also realized that I will not be able to wash my two pairs of jeans because they are too big for my sink, and they will not dry very well. I am hoping to upload some pictures and send them out later this week. I will send them to everyone who has been emailing me. If anyone else would like them, just email me!

Day 8

Today everyone got up kind of late because of the late night last night. Alex called me at 10 to tell me to meet him in the lab. I met Lily outside the lab building, and she said I was going to go with her to a friend’s house. We walked across campus and met four more of her friends near the gate to campus. I thought this friend lived on or near campus, but I was very wrong. We ended up getting on a bus. Once again I thought it wouldn’t be too far away, but once again I was wrong. We were on the un-air conditioned bus for about an hour, during which I developed an ear splitting migraine from the intense heat. It is very hot and muggy here. The lows at night are only in the 70s, and it’s only going to get hotter.
Lily’s friend’s apartment was very nice, but very small. It only had four rooms. Her friend had just got married, so she was throwing a dinner party to show off her new place. They all spoke in Chinese because the friend knew very little English. Therefore, I sat there for about five and a half hours just smiling and looking interested. We left close to dinnertime, and barely made it back to campus in time to eat supper in the cafeteria. Then, Alex suggested we go to a mini mart that night. I had mentioned that I was almost out of breakfast food so I thought this was a good idea. He said we would meet in front of my building in twenty minutes, so Lily could change shoes, and I could drop my bag off in my room. It turns out that I misunderstood him though. We ended up hiking up Bai Wang Mountain near the campus (and yes it is a real mountain). It was a lot of fun, and since it was cooler on top with a nice breeze, my migraine went away. My only problem was that I didn’t have the proper clothes or shoes on. I was wearing a nice t-shirt, cargo pants (luckily not jeans), and my converse shoes (which have no support). On the way to the trail, we walked through tranquility garden. There were these fountains that danced with the music playing out of speakers all over the park. It was really cool to see. When we reached the top, it was nearly dark. We could see quite a stretch of Beijing. It is really beautiful at night because the major streets have huge lamps on them. It almost looks like a huge airport at night. It was a great ending to the day.

Day 7

It’s really hard to believe that I have already been here one week. Today was a much better day compared to the last few days. This morning I went to the lab but instead of researching my project (which I know just about everything about except for the experience) I decided to bother some of the other graduate students and get to know them. It worked out great! I ended up spending the morning chatting with two girls named Sun and Ren. As a sidebar I should tell you that if the names of the graduate students sound American, they are. Student who take English give themselves English names, except for Ren. For lunch, I went with Sun, Ren, and Tony. It was very nice, and they were very eager to talk to me. Then, after lunch, we took a traditional afternoon nap. This afternoon I was tired, so I decided to actually nap instead of read, but it only made me more tired. After lunch, I went back to the lab and helped Ren number 1700 tags, so she can label her cotton plants next week in Hubei. That ended up taking the rest of the afternoon.
At around five, Alex told me there was a party that night for the graduate students who had graduated (this includes Lily). He wanted me to go with him and Shen to the restaurant to order the food before everyone got there. The restaurant was very nice. It was nicer than many I have been to in the US. About thirty people came, and I have to admit that the food was great. There were four large tables and each table had about a dozen large platters of various food items, but they were the same for each table. Ren pressured me into trying them all. I decided that it would be in my best interest not to ask what was in each one. I would rather remain unaware of what exactly I was eating. To my surprise, everything was amazing! I did have to draw the line at eating fish with the head, scales, tail, and bones still attached to it, but by that time, I was truly full.
I have fully realized what a small world it is because one of the girls at my table, Jessica, will actually be going to Iowa State in the fall to begin her PhD in Horticulture. Everyone came over and introduced themselves to me and taught me new Chinese words (none of which I can remember sadly). But it was the thought that counts. After dinner, I was invited to go with everyone to play Majong. It is a tile game that I absolutely love. I had never played it with a group before, but Jessica, Ren, and Shen patiently taught me. I even won a couple of games. It was a great evening, and I have made a lot of new friends. I am finally beginning to fit in here!

Day 6

As some of you may know, today is my 19th birthday. It turned out to be just another ordinary day. This morning was another disappointment to me. Alex took me to the lab this morning, but we got there before everyone else did. He told me just to look up PCR on the computer until everyone else got there later. PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction. Most people know it as the machine that determines the “DNA fingerprint” on the forensic tv shows. I learned quite a bit about it, I won’t bore everyone with the details. When I couldn’t find anything new, I started researching gel electrophoresis which is how a scientist actually sees the DNA sequence (the grid with the blue lines on tv). This took me up until lunch because I went into great depth in my research because I really had nothing else to do.
Alex and Lily took me to lunch in the cafeteria, and Alex explained that he was finishing up a project, so he suggested that I get to know everyone in the lab before I began my own project. At least now I had a reason for being forgotten at a computer, so I decided to make the best of it since that is what most of the interns do during their first week anyway.
After lunch, we took our traditional nap break. I attempted to fix my skype because it has not been loading correctly since I had to switch internet browsers, but I failed miserably and made it worse (if anyone has any suggestions please email me). This took me nearly an hour, so I left to go back to the lab. I watched and helped Alex create graphs on excel to show his experiments’ results of Potassium in cotton roots, and then I went back to my own computer desk and worked in my Chinese language workbook.
At about 3, Tina, a graduate student in the same lab, came over and said she had my project details and went over them with me. Basically I will be growing cotton seeds known to have the transgene, Bt, in them. After they germinate, I will extract DNA from them and use PCR and ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays) to locate the transgene with the possibility of furthering my analysis to which method is better. She said we would start on it Monday. I was so excited to have a project. I went back to my desk and looked up ELISA since I already knew what PCR and the Bt gene were. ELISA is another way to see the proteins present in a molecule. It is cheaper and faster than PCR because it can be used outside a laboratory, but it is less accurate.
Let me explain what Bt is (I hope I am not boring everyone though). Bt is a gene that was extracted from the bacteria Bactillus thuringiensis. Basically when the gene is put in a plant, the plant produces its own pesticides. It reduces the amount of labor and money farmers have to put into their cotton, but it can also be put in other crops such as corn and soybeans. This creates a genetically modified cotton, and much of China, India, and the US are using it.
My research into topics relating to my project took me up to dinner. Alex was still working on his project and Lily was busy with one of hers, so another graduate student Tony said he would take me to dinner (since I cannot speak Chinese and tell people what I want to eat). He helped me change the cell phone I was given to use on campus to English and figure out its phone number. He also talked with me quite a bit about his research and experiments about growth regulators in cotton. He was very nice. Then, he walked me back to my building since it was raining, and I didn’t have my umbrella with me (so much for it never rains here). This concludes my ordinary, everyday birthday, but at least things went better today. The good things definitely shadowed the bad.

Day 5

Today was kind of a disappointment for me. I got up this morning at 730. I was pretty excited to see Dr. Li and begin working. My breakfast consisted of plain bread and a banana because no one knew what jam/jelly was when we went shopping yesterday. I was all ready when Lily called and told me to meet her in the lobby of my building, so I just grabbed my bag and left.
She immediately took me to Dr. Li’s office. He told me that I would be working on evaluating transgenic plants. He wanted to make sure that I was feeling okay and was willing to answer any questions I had. He told me he would get me a cell phone for use on campus. He also told me that Lily and Alex were going to be my mentors and instructed Lily to help get my internet set up. Then, we left to go to the new lab in the building next door.
Here is where the disappointment began. She basically sat me down at a computer, so I could access the internet. Even though I was anxious to work, I decided I might as well get online since we were waiting on Alex anyway. It turned out that I would spend the entire morning sitting at that computer. I asked after about an hour if there was any reading I could do to prepare for my project, and he gave me a book of Chinese fables. So instead, I did some research of my own about transgenic plants for some background information since I still didn’t know the specifics about my project. I am pretty sure that Alex and Lily forgot about me because they kept leaving. Then, the internet stopped working when they were gone and no one in the lab knew English well enough to help me, so I sat by myself doing nothing for awhile. Then, Alex came back to take me to lunch. There was a wide variety of Chinese food in the cafeteria, and since no one knew English, I just pointed to what I wanted. The only plus was that I got ice cream for dessert.
It is part of the Chinese culture to take a nap after lunch, so I came back to my room. Alex had gotten me my access code, so that I could get online (even though I had been on all morning). I ended up reading during the nap break because I wasn’t sure how long it would last. Alex called me two hours later and asked me if I wanted to go to the lab, and he would show me around. However, once again I was set down in front of a computer, so I looked up the final papers past interns had written to get an idea of what I would have to write. I met another foreign exchange student from Egypt named Ibrahim. He was very nice and talked to me about his research project, and his difficulties in China so far. I was nice to talk to someone because Lily and Alex just talk to each other in Chinese around me.
During this time, a student named Tony dropped off his old cell phone for me to use. It needs a sim card though to work. He talked for awhile with me about Iowa and China. Then, a student named Tina came over to get my email address, so she could email me some papers to read about my project because it is what she researching.
At about 6, Alex and Lily came back to take me to supper. They took me to a small restaurant that was once again in all Chinese, and they ordered for me. I told them I just wanted fried rice and explained that it was rice with vegetables and egg in it (I had already had it several times). What I ended up getting was sticky rice with cooked tomatoes with egg on the side. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate scrambled eggs (I can’t taste them in fried rice). I had to eat it though because I had said that I liked them.
Let me explain dining in China though. In China, meals are served family style on large plates in the center of the table. Every person is given a tiny plate to eat over, but everyone eats out of the large plates in the middle. The little plate is just there to catch anything that falls off your chopsticks. I am a total germaphobe and am having a very hard time adjusting to this, but I have to follow the culture here.
During dinner, two more students came and sat with us. They talked to each other in Chinese for the next hour and forgot I was there. I had to stay because I didn’t want to seem antisocial and rude. Plus I didn’t know where my dorm was in relationship to the small restaurant on campus. We finally left around 730, and Alex and Lily walked me back to my building. Alex told me that tomorrow he would teach me how to use the PCR and give me papers to read about my project. I have decided to remain optimistic. I’m sure Alex and Lily didn’t mean to leave me out; it just happened.

Day 4

I’m sorry I did not post last night. My internet wasn’t working yet, but let me tell you about my day anyways. Meera and I got up pretty early to eat breakfast with Bing, our graduate student, because she had to leave early for a meeting. After breakfast, we went back to our room and packed up our things, so we would be ready to leave. We didn’t know what time we were going to be picked up yet though. We basically killed time all morning because there was nothing to do and it was a torrential downpour outside for most of the day. About noon we started to get hungry, but we didn’t want to leave our room unattended just in case someone called or came to get us. Therefore, we decided to go separately downstairs to get lunch. Meera went first and met Bing in the lobby as she was coming back. When they got back, Bing took me to KFC in our hotel. It was delicious I might add. Then, we went back up to our rooms to eat, and then Bing ordered a taxi to take us to our universities. She dropped me off first at China Agricultural University.
A graduate student named Alex came to get me from the taxi and take me to my room. I was told I would have an apartment, but I would consider it a dorm with a private bathroom. It is very nice and clean though. I have two beds, a tv, a couple of desks, several cabinets, and even a balcony with picture windows looking out to it. I would like to point out that I am on the fourth floor with no elevator, so I will be getting my exercise. The bathroom leaves something to be desired though. It is very small. So small, in fact, that there was not room for a shower so someone installed a handheld shower head into the wall above the counter and sink. There is a curtain, but it doesn’t stop the water from spraying everywhere. There is a small drain in the floor, but it is not at the lowest point, and I have the feeling that it will be constantly wet. However, I am very thankful that I at least have my own bathroom.
I had posted earlier that I hoped I hadn’t made a huge mistake in forgetting essential things, but I was lucky. I have many nice towels and bed linens. I did take for granted that this university would have laundry services like those provided in the states, meaning washers and dryers. I was wrong. Apparently I will be doing my laundry in the tiny bathroom sink for the next eight weeks.
After I got settled in, Alex took me to meet the other graduate student “in charge” of me, Lily. She was also very nice. They took me to see Dr. Li, but it was graduation day here, and he was tied up taking pictures with the students. So instead, they showed me around the lab I will be working in. Then, they took me to get an adapter so I could plug in my foreign appliances, and to get dinner. The menu was totally in Chinese, so they ordered for me. I ended up eating cucumbers with garlic that were pretty good. I also tried some “soup” that had the consistency of and tasted like oatmeal. It was okay. I did not like the chicken stirfry they ordered for me because there were still bones and skin on it. In fact, that is what most of it was.
Alex and Lily are very friendly. They “argue” with one another in Chinese, and it is quite amusing. I know they are just joking around though. I helped them out on their English and taught them new words. They took me to the super market after we ate to get some breakfast items, water, laundry soap, and a few other things I needed. I picked up a package of muffins that looked pretty good. They, unlike most things, had the ingredients listed in English. I was lucky that I read it because they were made with pork. Instead, I ended up with some mini donuts, plain bread, and bananas. It was frustrating trying to find laundry soap because I needed a stain remover also because I always manage to spill on myself when I use chopsticks. The one that the sales lady gave me (after Lily translated) had the word “bleach” on it in English but that was the only word. Lily said that the saleswoman had said it would be safe on colors, but I grabbed another bottle of regular. I ended up getting both because the sales woman put it back in the cart.
Then, they brought me back to my room and Alex tried hooking up the internet while Lily wrote down their phone numbers and other important information. I guess I need an access id in order to get international internet here, so I have to wait until Dr. Li gives me one tomorrow. I will post again as soon as possible.

Day 3

I got up this morning about the same time as yesterday. Then, we went to breakfast, and once again I had toast. After that, we came back to our room, and I read my book, Atlas Shrugged, for awhile. For lunch, we went to Subway, and it made me very happy. I had my usual sandwich even. It was great! Then, we went to Tiananmen Square. I got to ride the subway for the first time too. It was very clean, and I was impressed. Beijing is much cleaner than what I thought it would be. It was very interesting, and we even went through an art exhibit there. It was amazing. I fell in love with all of the beautiful art. After that we took another subway to the Temple to Heaven. It was very beautiful also. They have this circular echo wall that you can have a conversation with someone who is pretty far away. Meera and I tried it out. It was sweet. Then after that we went to the market and I got a Prada bag for less than $10, a pair of sweet converse shoes for less than $10, and a couple of other things. I bartered really really well. Then we went out to eat near the market to a Westernized Chinese Restaurant so it was what I am used to. All in all it was a good day.
I am actually pretty good at using chopsticks after only two days. Yeah and you know how yesterday I forgot my camera? Today it died halfway through the day because I left it on all day yesterday when I forgot it in my room. I am feeling better now too but I keep going to bed too early so I am going to stay up later tonight so I don’t wake up so early.
Everyone wants to take pictures with Meera and me because I am American and Meera is Indian. They will just come up to us and pose and take pictures. And then when I was on the subway coming back to the hotel, a Chinese woman started talking to me in English about church services in Beijing. I think she more wanted to try out her English than anything else. Everyone here is very nice, but I have noticed that few people smile. It is interesting.
I am also now realizing that I REALLY underpacked for this trip. I only brought clothes for one week which means I will be doing a lot of laundry, which brings me to the fact that I did not bring laundry detergent. I also didn’t bring sheets, towels, an electrical converter, a water purification system, or any extra food like granola bars. I am not sure if I will actually need these things because I took it for granted that they will be provided. I hope I did not make a terrible mistake.

Day 2

Today was a pretty good day. I went to bed last night pretty early (8pm) because I was so tired from travelling and due to this I woke up at 530 and tossed and turned until 8. I got up and got ready and the two graduate students came to get us for breakfast. I was pretty adventurous and had toast and blueberry jam. Then I returned to my room and relaxed until lunch. After we ate lunch the two graduate students took us by taxi to the summer palace in Beijing for the day. It was so beautiful. I am pretty mad at myself though because I left my camera in the hotel plugged into my computer but luckily Meera had her camera. It was where all the Emperors and Empresses lived. It was rebuilt after the Anglos burned it down in the 1800’s. It is a huge garden with statues built into the mountains and surrounded by a lake. It contains landscapes from all the different regions in China. We even saw the gold Buddha there. Then we took a bus back to the hotel where we immediately ate dinner. I am feeling kind of queasy because everything here is cooked in a lot of grease and that upsets my stomach, but I am sure I will get used to it (at least I hope so). Now I will just relax until bedtime because I am actually pretty tired from walking up the hundreds of steps in and around the palace. I will post again soon though!

I Have Arrived!

Hello everyone! As I said before, I went to my grandparents on Thursday night to stay over so that we would not have to leave so early in the morning to be to the airport by 6am. I got to sleep at about 11pm because we left late from our house and chatted and made plans with my grandparents about the following day. I then had to get up at 430am, so that I could shower, and we could leave by 5am. We got there pretty early because I didn’t have an assigned seat on my flight from Chicago to Beijing. Lisa thought that maybe Colin and I could choose our own seats, so we could be close to Meera but no such luck. I was handed a ticket with my seat already on it. Our flight left on time from Des Moines at 815am. The flight was very short, and after a very long taxi, Collin and I were walking the great distance to our next gate. Our gate was switched about one hour before our flight was scheduled to take off, and Meera met us shortly after. I made my last few phone calls to my loved ones before I boarded the Boeing 777. It is the biggest plane I have ever ridden in. It is 2-5-2 seatwise and I have a window! I am pretty far away from Meera and Collin, though.
The flight took off ahead of schedule at about 1230pm Iowa time. The flight was pretty uneventful. I just watched some moviesand read. I was also fed pretty well, so that’s a plus. The flight was a whopping fourteen hours long. I am pretty exhausted, but I can never get comfortable enough to sleep on a plane.
When the plane landed, members of the health department boarded the plane and took everyone’s temperature to check for H1N1. I was freaking out because like five little kids threw up right before we landed, and if you are running a temperature, you and everyone around you gets quarantined for seven days. But luckily we got through without a hitch. Then, we went through immigration, customs, and a bioscanner to check for a temperature again.
My supervisor, Dr. Li, picked Meera and I up at the airport. He and a colleague took our baggage, and a grad student took us in a taxi to a four star hotel for three days for quarantine just in case we do have H1N1. The hotel is really nice. So far I love Beijing! The two grad students are going to take us out tomorrow to see the Birds Nest (Olympic Stadium). It is currently 545pm here which is 445am in Iowa. I have been up for over twenty four hours now with no sleep. Needless to say I am tired. I will just relax for the night. I’ll post again soon though.

Almost Gone

Hello All! I leave tomorrow for Beijing, China. My flight leaves at 8am from Des Moines to Chicago. Then, my next flight doesn't leave until like 12:30 to Beijing. It is a fourteen hour flight (yikes!). My mom and I are actually going to leave tonight so we can stay with my grandparents in Ames. That way we don't have to get up at 3am to drive to the airport. I will post again sometime tomorrow or saturday when I get to Beijing. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Linda

I created my blog today. I will post again right before I leave for Beijing, China on June 12.