0.50 Miles

Every day after work, I try to go and work out. Nothing too drastic. I don’t spend hours in CIMMYT’s gym doing intense cardio or lifting weights. Typically, I run. Not very far (2 miles normally) and not very fast, but I do it. I do it to feel better about myself after I had been sitting for the majority of the day. It helps to keep me in the right mental state when the day feels long.

Now, as I run, I use 0.50 miles as my measuring point. Great, I ran 0.50, one-fourth down! This is how I measure the distance and how I keep myself motivated on the days my legs feel like bricks.

Me after a run one day

Typically, 0.50 can also be used as a halfway point. A point where some might quit, and some will keep going. It’s the point in a run where you decide if you’re going to stop, turn down the speed, or keep pushing and turn it up. The decision is up to you.

I’ve officially been at CIMMYT for four weeks. I’m halfway through my internship. I won’t lie, I’m tired, missing home, and craving some homemade meals. This is the point where I could stay compliant. I could coast through the rest of this internship.

But that’s not what I plan on doing. I want to learn more things. Get more hands-on experience and explore more of Mexico. This past week, I’ve gained the confidence to voice what I would like to do in the second half of my internship. I will dictate the speed, the incline, and I would like to turn it up. I want to be challenged with harder tasks.

This week started with the communications team. I finished a segment called “Petals and Pollinators” and another called “The Ripple Effect”. The AI used to generate the images was running super slow. Why couldn’t it just run faster?!? It was driving me nuts. I was so frustrated with not being able to accomplish tasks at the pace I wanted. Even though everything felt like it was in slow motion, I was still able to cross the finish line and submit my segments for review.

I was very frustrated with how slow the AI was going

On Tuesday, I was with the Training Team, specifically Antonio. He gave me a presentation on the projects that the training team has. Although I could’ve just sat through the presentation, staring blankly at the screen, I decided to engage myself and ask a question. I even planned a fake workshop on postharvest to give to Antonio, applying the methods he taught me during the presentation. I chose to turn it up a notch rather than stay at the same pace.

My workshop plan

Now, Wednesday is the first time in a while that I’ve been able to gain hands-on experience, and I finally got that runner’s high. I was overjoyed to be learning how to use a micro-pipette and combine chemicals to measure the amount of ammonia and nitrate in different soil samples in the soil science lab. I was able to learn about the calculation curve and how they measure the concentration using different machinery and formulations all morning.

Working with the Ammonia Samples (Enjoy the Pretty Colors!)

Conducting a Nitrate Measuring Experiment. Since we were using Sulfuric Acid, we had to work under the fume hood.

That was the only exciting thing on Wednesday, either. In the afternoon, I was able to work in the Maize Quality Lab to measure the amount of Iron and Zinc in different samples of maize flour with Vica. We used an XRF machine, which is like an X-ray machine, to measure these chemicals. This was a two-person job, and we helped each other to keep a consistent pace while doing our work. At the end of the day, we were given fresh bread from the baking laboratory (In Spanish, it is called panification; that's pretty on the nose if you ask me) so that we could carb load for the next day.

First Picture: Panification Lab. Working to measure the Iron and Zinc in the flour with XRF

And boy, did I need those carbs. On Thursday, I participated in a training workshop on Regenerative Agriculture. I was able to learn about biological pest control, water quality, and race to be the first one dressed in full protective gear. My team had to tell me what to put on when, and even though you don’t know Spanish, something about a race can bring people together.

Racing to get dressed in Safety Gear and measuring out a "chemical" for the demonstration

I was also able to talk with my mentor, Dr. Jelle Van Loon, to assign me more hands-on tasks that had a greater difficulty level. I’m so excited to get to work more in the field and the lab. I’m ready for the second half of this run.

On Friday, I was in the same training session, and it was hot in the room. I drank four water bottles throughout the course of the day. We learned a lot about microorganisms in soil and how they can be cultured. We even got to look through microscopes to see different types of microorganisms. It is so important to stay hydrated. Both on your run and in the Mexican heat.

Looking at the different spores through the microscope

I was able to end my Friday and my week with a stretch. The SAS program put on a happy hour for everyone where we meditated, chatted, and ate snacks. Even though I want to continue to push myself and learn more, it is important that I know when to take a break, breathe, and have some fun.