Book Review: 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi, Chapter 2

July 30, 2021

Chapter 2 starts from the beginning of the universe, detailing how our little plot of space was created and why its conditions were crucial to making it what it is today. To walk you through, 13.77 billion years ago, everything began with the Big Bang. As this novel thing called “time” progressed, we see the creation of the first atoms (hydrogen) and, depending on the density of certain spots in space, small variations overtime could become much more exaggerated and form galaxies. Nuclear fission in stars made new elements, providing us with the chemical evolution that later spawned life. Some of these, mostly iron and silicates, formed Earth 4.5 billion years ago. Both some radioactive elements as well as the impact from Theia (the planet that hit us and created the moon) melted much of the iron and gives us our molten iron core. This is why we have the magnetosphere protecting us from solar wind and along with the ozone stopping UV-C (germicidal radiation) at about 35k altitude. Without it, living cells wouldn’t be able to exist. Additionally, our planet is a “Goldilocks Planet,” as it is in such a position that it is not too hot nor too cold for life. Our axis provides us with seasons, and our moon provides tidal effects in water and rock. Without all this, life would be unlikely to have formed all those 3.5 billion years ago…

Book Review: 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi, Chapter 1

July 23, 2021

Over the last few months, I’ve been looking into various grad school programs and labs that fit my interests. I managed to find one that I really like and the PI already told me to apply! I am keeping my fingers crossed, because I genuinely want the position but I still won’t know for some time if it’ll come to fruition. Anyways, while we were chatting, I asked him for book recommendations, and he gave me the title of the textbook he uses for his class: 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi 2nd Edition. Like the good little student I am, I purchased the textbook and brought it with me to Honduras to start cracking into. Since mycology is hugely understudied (and I need a more foolproof way to take notes here given my original notebook got a bit waterlogged from an unexpected and extremely sudden downpour), I figured I’d write little summaries of each chapter here on the world wide web.

Bubble Wrap

July 21, 2021

It’s been about three weeks since I left Chicago. In reality, it’s not that long of a time– some people even go on vacation for three weeks– but it has felt significantly longer. When I first got here, it was like entering a new world; I was an alien trying to figure out how to be. Culture shock is real. I remember doubting that I’d ever feel it when we talked about it a year ago in my TEFL course, but sure enough, it happens to the best of us. It feels isolating. It feels like an anxious knot in your stomach. You question why you’re here and what you’re doing. I looked at plane tickets online and thought about returning home. I know the feelings of culture shock aren’t over yet, and I’ll probably go through this again, but at the current moment I am doing a lot better. Having started teaching has given me more of a schedule, and I’m using this change to form new habits, hopefully with time for productivity and relaxation. All in all, I’d say it is helping me handle the differences and build a temporary little life here. So yay! Assimilation and positive changes! But we’ll get back to that later.

Wandering in Copán

July 13, 2021

Shortly after arriving in Honduras, I was informed that the next week was a school holiday. All the other teachers would not be returning until the 10th of July, so I was essentially free to either stay alone in the volunteer house or take the time to travel. On a whim (and fighting an overwhelming urge to be stay home and “be productive,” whatever that is supposed to mean when you’ve hardly settled into life in a new country), I booked a bus ticket with Hedman Alas to a place on the west side of Honduras called Copán Ruinas. Other volunteers had done the trip prior, and they were able to give me very clear instructions on how to finagle it myself.

Adios Chicago, Hola Honduras!

July 3, 2021

There is no other way to begin this other than “greetings from Honduras!” And wow, does it feel strange to say that! Although I’m definitely getting used to the changes, I know that mentally accepting the fact that I’m here will take some time.

I left Chicago Tuesday morning, and after some issues with Spirit I was moved to a later flight. My time in the airport was relatively uneventful. I had a long layover at LAX and decided it was better to just camp out there than risk trying to explore. The time, tiredness, and loneliness did get to me, though, and I had a fun little cry about 20-something hours into my airport adventures. I kinda realized that some important people in my life would be in a different place when I return to Illinois and that I had some feelings I didn’t really know that I had. Nevertheless, post-tears and overpriced airport snacks, I made it to Honduras around 7am Wednesday.