A couple more days

Tuesday, June 2
So today was my first day actually working on some things in the lab. I harvested some crystals from some fractions of elution that Paola’s boss had collected while she was gone. Not glamorous work, but I like it. J Thursday we will do TLC (thin-layer chromatography) with the samples to see what they might possibly contain. I can honestly say that I’ve never worked in a lab where I had to be so precise (except maybe Quant lab, but even then it wasn’t as precise as this). But I like what I’m doing. It seems easy enough, just a lot of work, which is fine with me.
Tomorrow I am going to a place called Yangana, where the plant that I’m extracting is found. Which, if I haven’t mentioned it before, G. verrucosa (I think I spelled that right) has been found to have very good antibacterial properties. But I won’t go into that right now. So anyway, I get to spend the day out in the field collecting plants in a new place. Fun, huh? I’ll try to take as many pictures as possible.
Tonight when I got back to the house, Mercedes made me a sandwich for supper and then made some tea for me. We were all talking last night and they asked what I liked to drink and I told them that usually I drink tea, so they went out and got some instant tea mix for me. That was so sweet of them! I found out that they like it as well, so that’s good too. J
Now I’m in my room listening to some music on my computer and thinking that I’m so tired (it’s only 9 pm haha). I’ve been sneezing all day for some reason and have had a random cough for most of the day. And I’ve been cold off and on all day, which is not a good sign. I’m hoping that it’s just the weather. It’s been rainy and windy today, and rather chilly. I think the dampness is just getting to my allergies. At least I hope that’s all it is. I don’t really have time to be sick right now. But, it might surprise you to know that I’m in my sweat pants (the really thick once lined with fleece type stuff), underneath a thick blanket, and am still cold. Crazy, huh? Maybe I should just go to sleep and hope to feel better in the morning. Sounds like a good idea to me. Oh, side note: I’m reading a book called “Completely His: Loving Jesus Without Limits” by Shannon Ethridge. It is so good! I highly recommend it to any woman. In fact, this book is the beginning of a series (4 or 5 part) of devotional or study group type of books. I’m seriously thinking about getting a group of girls at the school together to do the devotional with me when I get back. I think it would be very beneficial. But that was a very random side note lol. Time for sleep! Good night and much love!

Wednesday, June 3
Today has been an exhausting day. The stupid rooster outside decided to wake me up at around 4:30 am (I’m only guessing cuz I didn’t have my watch by me, but I turned on my phone after listening to that crazy bird for a while and it was only 5:00 am). So I tossed and turned for the rest of the time until I woke up at 6. I took a taxi by myself to UTPL, and it was a trip, let me tell ya. Throwing me in a cab with a limited amount of Spanish knowledge… well, it was funny. The cabbie laughed at me! But I made it to where I was going with no hitch. I met up with Paola at 7:30 am to go on my first trip to collect plants. It was so much fun! We went with two guys in the lab, Eduardo and Jose Miguel. Both are very friendly guys. I took some pictures when we got to the different places. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any of the scenery as we were driving because, again, crazy drivers! But it was a fun day. I actually climbed up part of a mountain! And then, I had Eduardo laughing at me because there was a freakin’ huge spider on me and it freaked me out lol. I don’t like spiders….
Anyway, we made it back to UTPL at 4 pm, and I helped put G. verrucosa in the plant drying room. Then came back to the house where I’ve been cleaning up my room and doing some laundry since then. Oh, laundry… let me tell ya, I have a new appreciation for a dryer. Dryers are very uncommon in Ecuador; you wash the clothes and then hang them to dry. So most of my clothes are hanging out to dry. I just hope that they’re dry by tomorrow evening. I need clothes to wear! Haha… I should not wait this long. Although it really hasn’t been that long, I just didn’t bring many clothes with me so that I would have room to bring back souvenirs. Blasted things! Speaking of which, I haven’t gotten any yet. I hope to pick up some random things during my time here. Anything that “screams” someone’s name at me.
I ate some “papas fritas” (fries) today. It’s the first time I’ve had anything fried in quite some time. My stomach is definitely paying for it tonight. Ugh! But I have been caffeine free for a week! That’s an amazing feat for me! Hmm… what else? This afternoon I have been insanely homesick. I’m not sure why, but I have been. Oh well, I’m sure it will come and go over the next 6 weeks. I should arrive in Little Rock on July 17, if anyone’s interested, assuming all goes well. Until then, I’ll be thinking about all of you! Love you! Night!