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

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.



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Bubble Wrap

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.



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Wandering in Copán

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.



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Adios Chicago, Hola Honduras!

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.



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Book Review: The Night Circus

Upon finishing Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, I was afflicted with those bittersweet post-book blues, hooked on her gilded descriptions and luxurious world-building. In a state of literary withdrawal, I purchased The Night Circus but sadly became too preoccupied by other obligations to finish it then and there. Now with more time on my hands, I restarted the read, devouring the book in about two days and again wanting more. I was skeptical that this book would live up to her other work, or technically the opposite as this was published first, and it nearly did. While there are a lot of similarities in the pace of the plot and other various details, they both pull you into their worlds and give a story lover the ode they desiderate for.



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Big Steps

Hey y’all, long time no write. So, some news: this Friday I officially graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago (can’t believe I’m officially a biologist!!!). With much effort, gusto, and possibly a lack of sanity, I managed to do this in three years, and I’m quite proud of myself. I also completed my Honors Capstone Thesis (Vector-Borne Disease and Climate Change) and won the Honors College Award of Distinction from my presentation at the UIC 2021 Impact and Research Week.

Obligatory graduation photo! Chicago, IL


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Van Gogh to Soothe the Soul

Oh did I have just the loveliest day Saturday! Although my inorgo lab (and procrastination) led me to getting under 4 hours of sleep, I woke puffy-faced and ready to get going. I headed into work for a short shift, grabbed some coffee, then headed home to be picked up by my friends and their family. We then drove downtown to the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Chicago. Let me tell you, I am a geek for artists, specifically their life stories and how it influenced their art, so I was over the moon. Not to mention, pop-up galleries always have a certain flair to them since they’re meant for more than just art enthusiasts. I guess what I’m saying is that they make it a lot easier for the average person to get into the art, which may sound lazy, but art takes many forms and this is one– a dramatic and oftentimes intoxicating one.



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Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Lonely and bored, bored and lonely– the ongoing theme of quarantine. Even if you have a thousand tasks to complete and a house full of family, the feeling still persists. Well, maybe not for everyone, but arguably many. Prior to quarantine, I was content with my daily positive social interactions from classmates, professors, and friends. None were drawn out or particularly close-knit situations, but it was these small doses of connection that kept me motivated and grounded. I took pleasure in exploring the city alone and sharing my discoveries with a classmate over a quick cup of tea before a shared class, or talking about something I read with an engaging professor during office hours. Now, alone more than ever, I know that “introvert” is not synonymous with “recluse.” With so much time and too many alone thoughts, I asked myself, what is love (baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no moreeeee!)? I could not answer this. So, why not figure out what the opposite of love is and work from there? Some say hate. But no, that is the absence of love. A hole. An emptiness. Even the most active of hatreds caves, and if it is fiery then it is not exclusively hate. Instead, it is grief, it is longing. It is full of strong emotion that rivals that of love; it is the love for which is craved. The love one can’t have, either from the start or to the finish. It is the yearning as your touch your lips, their face in your mind’s eye. The shaky breath when a path is a dead end.



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Pharmacy Life During COVID-19 Vaccinations

Setting up for a vaccine clinic in Addison, IL

I’ve wanted to make this post like this for a while now, but I’ve held out in hopes that things would miraculously get better and I could type it out while laughing, glass of lemonade in hand, at how ridiculous the recent past has been. Sadly, these hopes were to no avail. Instead, I am gracing your Internet presence with a disgruntled rant about what it’s like to be a retail pharmacy technician during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, what it’s been like now that the vaccine is available. Apologies in advance, so let’s begin, shall we?



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Ghost Pipe Plant & Some (Not Really) Controversy

Typically defined by their autotrophic nature, plants are known for their ability to use photosynthesis via their chloroplasts to survive. This is pretty well-known and undisputed– even a kindergartner could tell you that plants are green and feed from the sun! But what if I told you there were plants out there that didn’t do this? Dun dun dun!

Although not many species have this feature, some plants actually don’t have chlorophyll pigments. The one in particular I want to tell you about today is called the Ghost Pipe Plant (Monotropa uniflora). This plant is a type of mycoheterotroph, which basically means that it feeds off of fungi rather than using the sunlight or other sources for sustenance. For the most part, they stay underground unless they are trying to seed.



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