The Essence of Freedom

I am writing this post—my last one—from the Sleep Inn in Houston. Although the location isn't deliberate, the timing is. I decided after my last post that I wouldn't post again until I was out of the country. It seemed to me that I didn't want to spend my last week documenting everything. (Don’t worry however, I did physically write thoughts down in my journal as I have been doing this entire time.) I instead wanted to live it, experience it to the fullest. That is what I did and what I will now chronicle as I bring my blog and my 2014 World Food Prize Borlaug-Ruan International Internship to a close.

Work wise, I continued to wash and count nematodes, prep experiments and help Elfinesh who is studying the morphology of Fusarium fungus and multiplying fungus on wheat bran. I will add now that whenever she does this I have gotten into the habit of smelling the fungus/wheat bran mix once the threat of contamination has passed. I mention this because Elfinesh and I discovered that different strains have unique smells. You could have Fusarium culmorum 23 smell like hot apple cider (which it did) and then have Fusaium culmorum 2 smell like rotting cabbage (which it also did). Now whenever she starts opening the bags I come over and scientifically waft the smell and give her a report. None of this is being studied or recorded for scientific publishing. We simply found it interesting and fun.

Some of you may or may not know that my birthday was August 8^th. I will preface this story with one from last year. In 2013 the Iowa Aquitards, the Envirothon team that I was on from Marshalltown, went to the North American Competition in Bozeman, Montana. We were gone for two weeks camping, hiking, site-seeing, studying, competing and testing across the great West. While we were out there I spent my 18^th birthday locked in room with my four teammates for eight hours as we prepped our 20 minute presentation on responsible grazing practices. True Fact: When Lil Jon asks “Turn down for what?” the only response he accepts in “responsible grazing practices.” We kicked butt at the oral completion and ended up placing 11^th overall out of the 54 teams. I mention this because that was an amazing birthday. I got to spend it with friends and the always wonderful Super Sue (my ELP Adviser). I got a big foam cowboy hat and smoked cigars with some really cool people from Ohio. All in all it was great and set the bar high for birthdays to come.

So, what does this have to do with my internship this year? Well this year comes in at a very close, and respectable if I might add, second. I woke up that morning listening to “It’s My Birthday” by Will.i.am and Cody Wise. I thought it very appropriate. I went into work where I prepped some filters for soil and root samples and listened to some Spotify, NPR and Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. It sounds like a rager right? Well, around the 3 p.m tea time Gul came in and started talking Turkish to everyone. I didn't pay much attention because that is her job. I was talking with Dr. Zafer from another department about my leaving soon when Omer grabbed me by the arm and walked me to the break room where once inside I saw two beautiful cakes along with everyone who works in the lab. Elfinesh lead the group in around of “Happy Birthday” in Turkish as I and Omer blew out the candles. I should mention at this point that Omer’s birthday was the very next day so this was a duel celebration. Sevil and Gul handed out the pieces of cake which were oh so good as Elfinesh took some pictures of the group (see below). I personally didn't take any pictures because my phone was dead from listening to the radio all morning and afternoon. I was pretty surprised and very thankful for everyone involved. I would like to add that the cafeteria served lamb kabobs with couscous for lunch. I firmly believe someone tipped them off that it was my birthday. That night Elfinesh, Cui and I made the famous lentil soup and pancakes from scratch. I have to say, my second birthday away from home was very nice all thanks to the caring friends and coworkers at CIMMYT.

As I look back now with the physical and mental distance, I have to say I’ve changed. I’m not the same person that got on the plane back in June. The discussions and conversations I’ve had over the past two months have been life altering. I grew in tremendous ways from the talks I had with many different people whether it was about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the need for a “green (agriculture) war” instead of physical violent wars with Amer, Ethiopian culture and the Orthodox religion with Elfinesh, or the crisis in Syria along with life lessons from Fateh. I learned about plant pathology and soil borne pathogens along with learning about myself. I learned that I can be independent in a foreign country. I wrote the following passage in my journal on the 2nd of August: “I rather like being a foreigner. I wonder where I’ll end up? There are little things more freeing than being in alone in a foreign country. Everything you do screams INDEPENDENCE!”

I sit here now at the Sleep Inn in Houston and prepare for my final flight home and all I can think about is where I’ll end up next.

I want to thank the many people who have been there for me and helped me along the way throughout this journey.

The World Food Prize Foundation and its staff especially Lisa Fleming and Amb. Kenneth Quinn for their hard work organizing and dealing with the logistics of sending 23 interns to several different countries. The WFP does an outstanding job and provides an amazing experience to America’s youth. I am very grateful to them. I would also like to thank John Ruan III for providing the funding to make this internship a reality.

My supervisors Dr. Amer Dababat and Gul Erginbas for teaching me so much about plant pathology, culture and life. These two always looked out for me and asking “Adam, do you need anything? If so, just let us know.” I will miss them both and hope to see them in Des Moines for an upcoming World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue.

Elfinesh for a lot of things at once. A supervisor, a coworker, a chef, a mother, a friend and the list goes on. Elfinesh always looked out for me and was very valuable while shopping and communicating thanks to her excellent linguistic abilities (she knows four languages fluently including Turkish and English). I would wish her the best of luck but I know she doesn’t need it. Elfinesh is smart and driven and will accomplish anything and everything she puts her mind to.

The CIMMYT staff especially Sevil hanim and Omer. Both of these individuals helped me whenever I got that confused look on my face while working.

My family for always being supportive. I can’t express enough how behind every independent and free spirited person is a supportive foundation. My family, especially my brother, bring light, humor and great perspective to my decisions and feelings. (Don’t get a big head Riley. You can be cut at any time.)

My friends for simply talking (or Snapchatting) me. As I said before, sometimes the simple messages and pictures can mean the world when your half a world away.

So that’s it, my last post on my 2014 WFP BRI Internship in Turkey. I am now home with my family and look forward to Iowa State in just a few days!

And to our left we have a mosque built in 1525

I would say that I've been busy and that is responsible for me delayed posting; however, the truth is that I've been watching a lot of The West Wing and sleeping.

Work: Since my last post, I've continued counting CCNs and helping Elfinesh when she needs it. I finished counting my samples today and started washing new ones. (The cycle continues!) Gul is currently in Antalya, a coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea, with her husband and his family. Amer is either planning, traveling or already in Palestine (the West Bank NOT Gaza) for the holiday and his brother's wedding later in August. Either way, I saw Amer for the last time before I leave for America which is kind of sad, but I know he is only an email away. For those of you wondering about the holiday it is called Eid al-Fitr or Ramazan Bayrami. It celebrates the breaking of the fast from Ramadan and is a three day long celebration. Although the Institute is closed for the three days (Monday-Wednesday), Elfinesh, Cui and I have been working.

Before Gul left, however, I was able to set up my "own" experiment regarding CCNs. I inoculated 14 varieties of wheat to test their resistance to CCNs. I also inoculated 4 varieties with known resistance and susceptibility to serve as checks. My plants will be ready by the end of September and Gul will email me the results.

Not work: The working over Eid is alright. None of us are Muslim and we didn't feast during Ramadan. We've been celebrating in our own ways though by cooking and going into town. On Saturday Elfinesh made a traditional Ethiopian dish called Doro Wot. Doro Wot is simply chicken and sauce but is oh-so delicious. We cut up a whole chicken and saved have for soup we are going to make later and baked half for the Doro Wot. As the chicken baked, I made the sauce from tomato paste, onions, garlic and an Ethiopian pepper. The sauce cooked for quite some time. Once all was done we combined everything and ate it with bread.

The next day, after the food from the night before had settled, we went to town to take advantage of the holiday sales. I got a majority of my gifts for people back home during this time as well as some stuff for myself. I have to say, I rather enjoy shopping in Turkey. Back home I loath it, but here it is--dare I say?--fun.

I hate to say "not much is going on" because I am in a foreign country where quite a bit is happening. I'll add quickly that my title refers to a mosque I was able to see when Zafer, a Doctor from another part of the Institute, took me to town to do some site-seeing. It was a remarkable moment and one that I will remember for some time.

The workers come back to work tomorrow and Gul comes on Monday. I'm purposefully refraining from saying how much time I have left because it serves as a reminder that this is only temporary and I can't stay forever. So, I have a finite amount of time left here that shall remain unsaid.

The Field Trip (Pun definitely intended)

Today started out like the last few days have. Get to the lab, make coffee, count nematodes, gag at the smell of rotting debris in stale water. However, around 11 a.m. EEST I asked Gul what if we had any plans for the upcoming holiday--the three-day celebration for the end of Ramadan. She said she would talk to Amer to plan something for Cui, Elfinesh and I to do (I'll come back to this later). I went back to counting and Amer walks into the lab. This is unusual because he lives/works in Ankara about four hours away. We chat about my work and how I've been and then he sets off to find Gul and Cui. I continue counting until I'm interrupted by Gul about 15 minutes later. I'm told I should finish the slide I am on and then grab a hat. I do so and hop in Amer's car with Gul and Cui. 

We venture through town and end up in some research fields just outside Eskisehir to the northeast (the institute I'm staying at is on the outside to the southwest of town). Cui and I are given brown paper bags and told to collect soil samples from the roots of the wheat plants. So, I zig-zag through the field ripping up the wheat plants and shaking the soil into the bag. We continue this for several more fields in the area and then hop back into the car. 

Next comes the exciting part. In order to get a random sample, Amer stops the car on the side of a fairly busy road next to a wheat field and we hop out and collect our samples. Now, these fields aren't owned by CIMMYT nor did anyone ask the land owner about sampling there. We simply stopped the car, collected our samples and went on our way. After collecting on the north side, Gul and Amer decided to get some more from south of town. We drove like we were going back to the institute but kept heading south instead of turning west when the time came. 

By this point it was around two and Gul mentioned a restaurant nearby. I was a little shocked because Gul and Amer are fasting for Ramadan. We ended up stopping and eating at this beautiful place in a park. It was along a creek that had been blocked in order to divert water for irrigation. It surrounded by tall conifers and smelled of pine and cool water. We had grilled meat that was very Turkish. Gul ate with us but Amer did not. 

Afterwards, we kept going south and collecting samples in the same fashion. We ended up in a town called Kutahya which is apparently famous for their porcelain and China. I made some purchases for my family and friends and we headed back to Eskisehir. All-in-all it was a very nice break from the regular lab routine that had developed over the last few weeks.While in the car, Amer mentioned that I might be the only intern to stay in Turkey during the entire month of Ramadan. For me it is okay--it is a nice experience and Elfinesh is a wonderful cook. 

Speaking of cooking, Elfinesh, Cui and I made an amazing pizza on Sunday night. I made the crust and Elfinesh made the sauce out of fresh tomato paste with some thyme, oregano and Ethiopian spices. The sauce was beyond amazing. I asked for some of the spice so that I can bring it back home and try it there. 

Back to the beginning, I'm still not sure what I will be doing for the holiday but Amer is thinking about it tonight and will get back to Cui, Elfinesh and I tomorrow. I am praying for a beach vacation in Antalya. I know I lied above when I said "one more thing," but I'm over it.

One of the field sampling sites.

The best pizza ever, hands down, no competition. 

Me getting all up in that soil. 

My two outstanding supervisors. Left: Dr. Gul (the "u" should have two dots above it) Erginbas Orokci. Right: Dr. Abdelfattah "Amer" Dababat. I would like to add that they look flawless and I'm sure woke up like that. 

Me with my bag o' soil and my two amazing supervisors. 

 

Where are you from? *America* Oh, America! Like New York? Miami? L.A.? *No, Iowa* (Blank Stare) *It's in the middle of the country.* Oh

I know I haven't posted in a while. Due to a lack of interesting stuff, unreliable internet and my inability to think of a whitey title, I've been putting off updating my blog. 

Work:

This week I've mainly been counting Cereal Cyst Nematodes. I take a small bottle of debris from soil, pour it on a slide that has raised edges that make it look like a maze and then count the number of lemon/popcorn looking things (those would be the cysts). It can be very tiresome. Gul asked me if something was wrong with my eyes because they were all red. If you've been around me long enough you know that sometimes they just get that way. Once in a while they will just look like I smoked a lot of weed; however, rest assured that I've never smoked pot, sometimes I just look like I do. When I wasn't counting nematodes, I was helping Gul and Elfinesh score wheat for Crown Rot. It took about a day and a half to score all of the plants to see if the strain of Fusarium was pathogenic or not. 

While Gul and Elfinesh were scoring, Amer came in with Elfinesh's supervisor from Ankara University. His name is Aziz and as it turns out he's actually been to Marshalltown. He did not respond like most of the people here do as I noted in my title. When I said Iowa he asked where. When I responded he said, "Oh yeah that is a nice small town." I was shocked to say the least. He got his Ph.D. from Iowa State and lived there for three years. He said I was very smart to go into Agronomy as they have an outstanding department. It was nice to meet someone from Turkey who has been in Marshalltown. 

Not work:

Other than work, I've basically been doing the same things. I didn't get to run as much this week because it rained two afternoons. We had internet in the guest house for one day. Elfinesh and I think it only comes on once every two weeks. We finally got drinking water on Tuesday after not having it since Friday. It sounds like a big deal but I had milk and juice and we could boil water. I was, however, very relieved when the jugs were full on Tuesday morning. I'd like to add a dream that I had last night. Maybe someone reading out there can let me know what it means. I'm really counting on all of you who took AP Psychology. So, in the dream I was talking with Mrs. Fritzell, Abby and Wynn about Envirothon and I asked how Rihanna was doing. They tell me that she had to be let go because of her work ethic. I was very sad and confused when I woke up. I'm still not sure why Rihanna was on the MHS Whales Envirothon team. Maybe she really likes nature and stuff.

This isn't a lot for having not posted for an entire week but it is all I have right now. I have three weeks left and I'm not sure if I want to leave. I love the Turkish lifestyle and the city of Eskisehir. There are many shops, parks and restaurants in which you can get lost in for an entire day. On a side note (I just remembered and had to share) there is this restaurant that sells a food called Donas. It is like a burrito (finally) but more American. They take a flat bread (kind of like a tortilla) and roll it with chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, FRENCH FRIES, and some spices and a sauce. You can then add sliced pickles and onions. It was, well I would have cried if I wasn't in public, that is how good it was. 

Taman (Okay in Turkish) I'm done with my incoherent ramblings for now.

Doses & Mimosas

To be honest, not much has happened since my last post but I'll update everyone. 

The title, I take great pride in every one of my post titles, is a shout out to my future farming buddy Wynn Tan. She has an outstanding taste in music. Speaking of music, I've never listened to this much music in my life. Everyday I'll open my Spotify and listen to a new playlist. Thankfully Wynn and Abby have also been giving me songs and bands to look into. Both have yet to let me down! (Pressures on)

Over the past week at work, I have been entering data into Excel. It has been tedious but it is important and necessary work. I've made the observation that science is 30 percent experiment and 60 percent excel and 10 percent "Dear God I hope this works." The scores Gul, Amer and I took about the crown rot and my scans of the roots were all entered into their corresponding files. Eighty-nine pages of numbers from one to five and four and a half pages of seven root parameters--quite tiresome. Luckily while I was working I got to listen to music (see above) and NPR (Terry Gross never disappoints). 

In my free time I've been writing, reading, running and watching Sherlock. The writing has surprised me. I've been able to freely write my thoughts and ideas. It is a very freeing feeling to clear your head and see your mind on paper. I am about half-way through the Agatha Christie murder mystery (I think it is the sister-in-law). Since I can't lift weights around here I have to settle for running. It has been freeing to run on the roads that lead into and encircle the fields of wheat. I can start to feel cooped up after a couple days. However, it is down hill at the start and up hill at the end with the wind constantly in your face. "Oh Adam, the wind constantly in your face? surely that is not possible!" You are all wrong because it surely is. 

As for today, I woke up around seven o'clock, as per usual, to find that there was no running water, as per unusual. So, no shower today...yet. 

Here are some of the pictures I promised! 

Elfinesh, Cui and I made a type of fried chicken with potatoes. It was a culinary experiment. We were just going to bake it with the olive oil, onion, garlic and curry sauce but I suggested we bread it. It was unbelievably good. 

Since I know not everyone has Snapchat, here is the selfie I took at the cafe after I got my hair cut. 

Here I am filling 250 grams of soil into dishes. The soil will then be washed to collect and count the number of Cereal Cyst Nematodes in each sample. Notice the unruly hair!

100 grams of soil and five roots from wheat are soaked in water through filter paper here for 72 hours. The water will then be collected and used to count the number of Root Lesion Nematodes in each sample. Amer informed me that in Florida, the University extension charges $25 for each plate to do this test. I set up 160 plates.

As an update to Elfinesh's work, she has found out which strain is most aggressive and is happy with her results! On to the next one!