With Veron in Mind

I haven’t been blogging lately as you can see. Let’s just say it was a very busy week. We had to write our reports and make our presentation. After long days of writing and editing we all finally sent in our papers. The presentation was what took up most of our time and having to present in front of a handful of people that you have spent your whole summer with is not as easy as it sounds. In the end we were all glad it was done and it sure will not be in the top ten list of things to remember from that summer. There wasn’t a grandiose ceremony for the end of the program but we all just sat in the conference room and mingled for the last time. Apart from the formal thanking of the director for giving us this opportunity there were some initiatives that were declared. Such as the initiative to form a committee for the sake of the clinic we visited in Veron ( By far the best part of the program). We promised to stay in contact and plan fundraising and other activities for the clinic. It was on that note that we all retreated to our room to pack for the long trip back home. ...with Veron in mind.

Sea Urchin in The Storm

This week was all about bioassays. It all revolved around sea urchins. The plan was to go pick sea urchins by the beach. Then the tide got high and the clouds rolled in to make way for the storm. Unfortunately duty still called …”ahh the greatness of field work…” and so we went in the water to get the sea urchins and take them into the lab. In the lab we performed a bioassay taking advantage of the urchins external fertilization and tested out plant extracts for antimitotic activity.

On a lighter note this weekend we decided to roam around the Dominican Republic and visit the capital city of Santo Domingo. We visited the colonial areas and toured around many of the historical sites. This week I will be working on putting all my results together in a paper and a presentation. Let’s see how this turns out !!!

Bioassays, Brine Shrimp, and… Spain!

So this week was a pretty busy week. Since Monday we have been going in and out of the lab repeating procedures over and over again. We have been putting the extracts from our plants to the test and this week we focused on six microbes. In addition, we have been using the extracts against a selected brine shrimp population raised in the lab. The point was to see if the extracts could terminate a good portion of the shrimps. We had to count those tiny little shrimps using a microscope before and after putting the extracts. The time to present our data is near so we all have been busy researching article to write our report. Last but not least watching the world cup finals in the hotel lobby was quite interesting. By the TV area in the lobby was a lounge filled with Dutchmen and Dutchwomen disguised in bright orange clothing and wigs in support of their country. Of course when Spain scored the goal that room got really quiet and was soon emptied out. My friends were quite happy especially the new guy who works at the foundation who happens to be from Spain.

The week when it all really begins...

This week was when serious lab work began. Our days are now brought down to strictly working in the lab. In the month of July the heat is much more unbearable and no one wants to be out there. The time has come for us to pick the plants from which we will take out extracts to be used against certain microorganisms. Thankfully a few of my plants have shown growth inhibition. A part of the program is to make a presentation and a report so it’s good to have something to work with. Good News! My roomie is coming back tomorrow and she is feeling much better! Plus we have tomorrow off. Yay!

Week 4 In a Nutshell

Week 4 was… awesome!

Here’s the scoop.

We first went to a different part of D.R. (can’t remember the name because I was so excited) and checked out a few gardens with plants of possible use. All along, the rain was threatening to strike and thunder was well under way. Then the professor decided to take us to a different garden far up ahead. To get there my friends we had to go up many mountains. However, crossing a stream with car has got to be the best part. After the stream was another and this one was rocky. After 5 tries it was decided that the bus that we were all holding on to dear life in was not fit to cross such a mountain. We had to walk up the mountain. Then it rained like I’ve never seen it rained before .We had to take shelter under a touristy stop where lots were being done! First thing we saw in the crowd was the snake man. Snakes were twirling around his neck like a dancing necklace. He was inviting people to put them around their necks and take picture. I was not sold … just yet. We quickly moved away and landed by the Mama Juana venders which was a well known Dominican drink and happened to be both medicinal and alcoholic beverage. After several tries to get us all to drink his free samples, the vender retreated to having us dance to the music that was booming from the back. While I was nervously swaying to the music I caught a glimpse of the tourists around and they were from all over the world. What followed was a mix of confusion and amusement. It was like a clash of the world and all I could here was a cacophony of French, English, Spanish, and a few that I could not quite recognize. It was like a room filled with people trying to mingle but the language barrier couldn’t let them, but not here understood or not people were talking away. A shout and next thing I knew all of the tourist were getting in the vans ready for the next adventure. We were left alone… with the snake guy. No, he did not take for an answer and everyone had to take pictures with my snakes today, he said. When it finally came to me the rain had stopped and it was time to move to the next top (Hew!). All I could remember from the next was doing these few things: eating coconut fruit, cocoa fruit (who knew these were so good), and drinking guava juice taking shelter from the rain at some random stranger’s house and holding the cutest baby in the world and riding back in a bus filled with happy and drenched kids on a flooded road.

Let’s see what next week holds!

The Good and The Bad

Hello All,

It’s the end of the third week and I have both bad news and good news. My roommate had to leave because of some health issues. It seemed like it had something to do with the food. Fortunately, as she assured me with a note and a comment on facebook, she will be back by Tuesday. Which leads me to my piece of good news, this coming week we will have two field trips. On Monday we will go to a neighboring village that is about 2 hrs away for more field work and on Thursday we will go to the national park!!! These ought to be interesting. The only downside is that we will have to wake up as early as 6:30 am for these trips. I’m not quite of a morning person. As for the work we are just about to get on the laboratory part of the program which deals with getting extraction from plants to be used in assays. Stay tune for the verdict of those two trips … and hopefully my roommate’s wellbeing.

Once Again Another Week Ends

Hello All!,

Once again another week ends. This week was pretty much a continuation of what we did last week. The only thing is by the end of the week two of our first guest professors left and now we are waiting for the other faculty members that would follow. Other than that there is nothing new … only that we are on the verge of seeing another fascinating week here in Punta Cana. Highlight of my week? After a long day in the field, a few of the participants and I (including my roommates of course, we are starting to grow very close) walked the five minute walk to the beach. While others opted to sunbathe, my roommate and I chose to lie on the hammocks and soon enough we found ourselves lured to sleep. We had to blame the vague for hypnotizing us and the not so hot sun for playing peak-a-boo through the lengthy palm tree leaves. That’s it for now. Until next time I wish you all a very exciting summer!