Bìng (sick!)

Only 4 more days left of the internship, part 1 of my trip! It's going very fast, yet the I still feel like I am going to be here for a long time! I've had a really great time, and this is by far the biggest learning experience I've ever had. And it's not nearly over with either. I really am not sure what the second part of my trip is going to be like, though I do have a detailed schedule of what we will be doing. It looks super busy, and each day is packed full of places to see and lectures to listen to. If I had to guess, I would say that it is going to be VERY different than the experience I have had so far. I have really enjoyed the freedom I have had during internship; I love that it feels like I live here and can do things at whatever time I want to. The second part I think I am going to feel more like a tourist with a group of about 25 international students (I think some may be Taiwanese too) which has both its positives and negatives. From looking at all the activities we are going to be doing, I will likely be dead exhausted when I come home! Thoug h I will be very busy, I hope I will still have time to keep communicating with everybody.

So far I feel that I am pretty lucky to have had good health, especially with a drastically different diet here. I have been careful on what things to try and what looks like a good idea to avoid, which is many times an easy decision! A bad choice the other day may be apart of the problem, but I unfortunately had to deal with stomach/migraine issues yesterday. Though I am feeling slightly better today, I am hoping these go away asap! Not a fun time....

Today is my last day working at the zoo *sniff*, a part of this experience that I may miss the most! Though it is a hot, sweaty job, I am quite used to those during the humid summer at home, and I will be sad to leave all the great friends I've made there. They've been super hospitable to me and have trusted me with some independence when working there. We already have tons of inside jokes and are pretty goofy most of the time. I will be so sad to leave! I really wish I could post pictures that I've taken while being there, but if you have interest in seeing some just let me know, and I can show you without publicly posting them.

I have to finish up a little presentation about what I've been doing these past four weeks. I am just talking about my duties at the zoo as well as the ELISA project I've been doing in the research lab. It turns out the leopard cat (very different from a leopard, which I didn't realize at first) that I tested for progesterone concentration was not pregnany, which would have been exciting :( So the last thing I need to do is determine the length of its etrous cycles, and then I will be pretty much done.

That's pretty much the gist of what's been going on the past couple days. Please please please email me/message me with what's been going on with you or if you have any more questions about anything! I would love to hear it. I wouldn't say I'm exactly homesick, but hearing about home definitely makes me feel better. I am pretty sure I will be ready to head to the airport when the time comes; I just want to stick all my new friends in my suitcase with me!

Love you all :)

My zoo friends and I went to a sushi place with the conveyor belt- something I've been wanting to do since I got here! Easily the best food I've had yet. We had a blast that night.

The different color plates are different prices, so your stack of plates that you have totals your bill.

Some delicious examples

Here are some of us

 

Making the sushi

Afterward, Alou, a girl from my lab who is doing research at the zoo and got me into the department I've been working in, bought me a gift at a night market- a Chinese fan with my Chinese name written on it! It's so beautiful and something I will keep to remember how much help she has been to me while being here.