Day 58 July 18 – Goodbye Tim
Today is my last day at Abassa, Egypt; and my last day with Tim Sprick. I spent the morning cleaning my room and filling my suitcase. After spending about an hour cleaning up, I cooked myself breakfast. Then I headed over to the office to find Tim already looking around the internet. It was then he told me that he was leaving at three to go to some church I had never heard of. He said neither had he but Dr. Samir assured him it was famous and worth seeing.
Well three o’clock rolled around and I said goodbye to my roommate of two and half weeks. I am sure we will keep in contact through his blog and facebook. So now I was alone and very bored; being the weekend I was the only one here. I spent the rest of the day getting everything ready and cleaning. I had to sweep everything, mop, clean the shower, and do the dishes. I also removed all of my old food from the fridge, I have a tendency to just push food I don’t want to the back.
I ended up finding plenty of old nasty food in there.
Here is the plan of my return home. Someone will drive me from Abassa to Cairo. Dr. Elghobashy will drive me to the airport. I will get to there early to make sure everything goes right. Then I will fly British Air from Cairo to London. Three hour layover. Long flight from London to Phoenix. Take shuttle from Phoenix to Speedway and Wilmont, Tucson. Someone will give me a ride home from there. Anyone want to take my bet that it will not all go that smooth?
Got an Email from U of A saying I will get my roommate assignment tomorrow, nervous? Oh yea, I don’t need a crazy.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Day 58 July 18 – Goodbye Tim
Today is my last day at Abassa, Egypt; and my last day with Tim Sprick. I spent the morning cleaning my room and filling my suitcase. After spending about an hour cleaning up, I cooked myself breakfast. Then I headed over to the office to find Tim already looking around the internet. It was then he told me that he was leaving at three to go to some church I had never heard of. He said neither had he but Dr. Samir assured him it was famous and worth seeing.
Well three o’clock rolled around and I said goodbye to my roommate of two and half weeks. I am sure we will keep in contact through his blog and facebook. So now I was alone and very bored; being the weekend I was the only one here. I spent the rest of the day getting everything ready and cleaning. I had to sweep everything, mop, clean the shower, and do the dishes. I also removed all of my old food from the fridge, I have a tendency to just push food I don’t want to the back.
I ended up finding plenty of old nasty food in there.
Here is the plan of my return home. Someone will drive me from Abassa to Cairo. Dr. Elghobashy will drive me to the airport. I will get to there early to make sure everything goes right. Then I will fly British Air from Cairo to London. Three hour layover. Long flight from London to Phoenix. Take shuttle from Phoenix to Speedway and Wilmont, Tucson. Someone will give me a ride home from there. Anyone want to take my bet that it will not all go that smooth?
Got an Email from U of A saying I will get my roommate assignment tomorrow, nervous? Oh yea, I don’t need a crazy.
Today is my last day at Abassa, Egypt; and my last day with Tim Sprick. I spent the morning cleaning my room and filling my suitcase. After spending about an hour cleaning up, I cooked myself breakfast. Then I headed over to the office to find Tim already looking around the internet. It was then he told me that he was leaving at three to go to some church I had never heard of. He said neither had he but Dr. Samir assured him it was famous and worth seeing.
Well three o’clock rolled around and I said goodbye to my roommate of two and half weeks. I am sure we will keep in contact through his blog and facebook. So now I was alone and very bored; being the weekend I was the only one here. I spent the rest of the day getting everything ready and cleaning. I had to sweep everything, mop, clean the shower, and do the dishes. I also removed all of my old food from the fridge, I have a tendency to just push food I don’t want to the back.
I ended up finding plenty of old nasty food in there.
Here is the plan of my return home. Someone will drive me from Abassa to Cairo. Dr. Elghobashy will drive me to the airport. I will get to there early to make sure everything goes right. Then I will fly British Air from Cairo to London. Three hour layover. Long flight from London to Phoenix. Take shuttle from Phoenix to Speedway and Wilmont, Tucson. Someone will give me a ride home from there. Anyone want to take my bet that it will not all go that smooth?
Got an Email from U of A saying I will get my roommate assignment tomorrow, nervous? Oh yea, I don’t need a crazy.
Salam Wallaycum
Day 57 July 17 – Salam Wallaycum
This morning Tim got up early to see another harvest; I was lazy and decided not to go. I have seen plenty of fish harvests, I understand how it works. It really isn’t a complicated procedure, just time and effort consuming. I am happy to see how different farms do harvests but here it is simple; lower water, net fish, scoop in buckets up to side, sort by species and size.
Today is Thursday, the final day of the workweek so I need to say all of my thank yous and goodbyes. It was arranged yesterday that a car would come at noon to drive me to CLAR about ¾ mile way. I was perfectly happy to walk but they insist because they say it is hot and dangerous… Well at two o’clock I was tired of waiting around so I just walked over. There I said goodbye to Dr. Said, the director of CLAR, and the other top scientists. They conveniently all happened to be in the same room which saved me lots of effort.
I also wanted to thank the actual scientists who I spent about a week with actually learning the methods. I found them in their lab and spent a good hour saying goodbye and thank you to a bunch of people. One of the scientists was nice enough to give me a motorcycle ride back to my room.
I spent the rest of the day beginning to get all of my stuff together, after two months it seems to be everywhere. I did my laundry and did some of the dishes, we don’t have a dishwasher. As I took my laundry out of the washer I noticed all my whites had a distinct green tint, oops.
Because Tim had attended the harvest this morning he was given four Tilapia. We both agree that they look gross when they are just thrown on the fire so we cook them more. When we get them they look like black and brown blobs, so I peel the skin and fry the meat. Then throw that on some rice and it tastes pretty good.
This morning Tim got up early to see another harvest; I was lazy and decided not to go. I have seen plenty of fish harvests, I understand how it works. It really isn’t a complicated procedure, just time and effort consuming. I am happy to see how different farms do harvests but here it is simple; lower water, net fish, scoop in buckets up to side, sort by species and size.
Today is Thursday, the final day of the workweek so I need to say all of my thank yous and goodbyes. It was arranged yesterday that a car would come at noon to drive me to CLAR about ¾ mile way. I was perfectly happy to walk but they insist because they say it is hot and dangerous… Well at two o’clock I was tired of waiting around so I just walked over. There I said goodbye to Dr. Said, the director of CLAR, and the other top scientists. They conveniently all happened to be in the same room which saved me lots of effort.
I also wanted to thank the actual scientists who I spent about a week with actually learning the methods. I found them in their lab and spent a good hour saying goodbye and thank you to a bunch of people. One of the scientists was nice enough to give me a motorcycle ride back to my room.
I spent the rest of the day beginning to get all of my stuff together, after two months it seems to be everywhere. I did my laundry and did some of the dishes, we don’t have a dishwasher. As I took my laundry out of the washer I noticed all my whites had a distinct green tint, oops.
Because Tim had attended the harvest this morning he was given four Tilapia. We both agree that they look gross when they are just thrown on the fire so we cook them more. When we get them they look like black and brown blobs, so I peel the skin and fry the meat. Then throw that on some rice and it tastes pretty good.
Not For Chemical Fumes
Day 56 July 16 – Not For Chemical Fumes
Today the big event was finishing the nitrate test we began yesterday. Tim didn’t know why this test is important but we will ask tomorrow. Yesterday we took a 50ml sample of each of the six ponds and filtered them. The filter used is very, what’s the word, precise? Therefore we must use a vacuum to pull the water samples through the filter or it would take hours. Then we put each of the filtered water sample is a ceramic dish. The last step we did yesterday was put the six ceramic dishes on a heater so today only the dissolved solids will remain.
Today we arrived to find all the water form the samples evaporated with only the salts remaining. Tim told me to add 1ml of some chemical to each of the samples. It is not that I wasn’t paying attention it is just the vial of chemical had no label. When I added the chemical and stirred it a horrible smelling vapor rose up. At this point Tim remembered that we were supposed to be wearing masks. Soon he handed me a dust mask, I asked what these were for. Tim told me that we had to wear these because the vapors are dangerous. I didn’t think these were meant for that so I checked the box; in big bold font the box said “Not for protection from Chemical Fumes.” Oh well.
The next part of the test needed to be preformed in a hood, a special table with a fan/vacuum to keep the worker from inhaling fumes. We had to add 4ml of 33% ammonium to each of the pond samples. This is where it got slightly dangerous, when adding the ammonium to the samples noxious fumes were given off. The hood didn’t work great so we had to be careful to breathe away from the samples. After adding about 45ml of distilled water to the samples we brought the samples back to the lab. The final step of the process was to take a very small amount of each sample and measure it under the spectrometer.
Later in the afternoon Dr. Gamal came by and gave us some Egyptian deserts. Most of them were very good, but there were a few that were…an acquired taste. I’m finally starting to get everything packed up, and cleaning us the dorm room.
Today the big event was finishing the nitrate test we began yesterday. Tim didn’t know why this test is important but we will ask tomorrow. Yesterday we took a 50ml sample of each of the six ponds and filtered them. The filter used is very, what’s the word, precise? Therefore we must use a vacuum to pull the water samples through the filter or it would take hours. Then we put each of the filtered water sample is a ceramic dish. The last step we did yesterday was put the six ceramic dishes on a heater so today only the dissolved solids will remain.
Today we arrived to find all the water form the samples evaporated with only the salts remaining. Tim told me to add 1ml of some chemical to each of the samples. It is not that I wasn’t paying attention it is just the vial of chemical had no label. When I added the chemical and stirred it a horrible smelling vapor rose up. At this point Tim remembered that we were supposed to be wearing masks. Soon he handed me a dust mask, I asked what these were for. Tim told me that we had to wear these because the vapors are dangerous. I didn’t think these were meant for that so I checked the box; in big bold font the box said “Not for protection from Chemical Fumes.” Oh well.
The next part of the test needed to be preformed in a hood, a special table with a fan/vacuum to keep the worker from inhaling fumes. We had to add 4ml of 33% ammonium to each of the pond samples. This is where it got slightly dangerous, when adding the ammonium to the samples noxious fumes were given off. The hood didn’t work great so we had to be careful to breathe away from the samples. After adding about 45ml of distilled water to the samples we brought the samples back to the lab. The final step of the process was to take a very small amount of each sample and measure it under the spectrometer.
Later in the afternoon Dr. Gamal came by and gave us some Egyptian deserts. Most of them were very good, but there were a few that were…an acquired taste. I’m finally starting to get everything packed up, and cleaning us the dorm room.
This is Thriller
Day 55 July 15 – This is Thriller
Today was a long day, busy busy busy. The first thing I did was work with Dr. Waheed as he stocked another net with four male and female catfish. Tim and I picked out the fish this time, Tim’s first time working with live catfish. I also looked at the hours old catfish fry that we worked on yesterday. The catfish eggs are much smaller than Tilapia eggs, the fry also hatch from their eggs much smaller.
Tim has a schedule that lists when he needs to perform the different tests on water samples from the pond. Some tests need to be preformed every two days, while other only need to be done once a week. Today it worked out that we had to do every single test. This process took almost three hours but game us something to fill our time, a nice change.
For about the tenth straight day we had pasta with tomato sauce on it for dinner. I think I will go into town tomorrow to get a haircut. It only costs a dollar here so I will do it now so I don’t have to spend thirteen dollars when I get home. I’m getting more and more excited to come home. I love to make fun of Tim because he has to stay here for another two weeks alone. I am so excited to hang out with Sean and go see all the movies I missed. And I miss my wonderful bikes, the trails are calling to me.
Afternoons here are pretty boring so we have to find ways to entertain ourselves. Tonight we watched Jurassic Park II, terrible movie. After that we just put iTunes, full blast on shuffle, hilarity ensues.
Today was a long day, busy busy busy. The first thing I did was work with Dr. Waheed as he stocked another net with four male and female catfish. Tim and I picked out the fish this time, Tim’s first time working with live catfish. I also looked at the hours old catfish fry that we worked on yesterday. The catfish eggs are much smaller than Tilapia eggs, the fry also hatch from their eggs much smaller.
Tim has a schedule that lists when he needs to perform the different tests on water samples from the pond. Some tests need to be preformed every two days, while other only need to be done once a week. Today it worked out that we had to do every single test. This process took almost three hours but game us something to fill our time, a nice change.
For about the tenth straight day we had pasta with tomato sauce on it for dinner. I think I will go into town tomorrow to get a haircut. It only costs a dollar here so I will do it now so I don’t have to spend thirteen dollars when I get home. I’m getting more and more excited to come home. I love to make fun of Tim because he has to stay here for another two weeks alone. I am so excited to hang out with Sean and go see all the movies I missed. And I miss my wonderful bikes, the trails are calling to me.
Afternoons here are pretty boring so we have to find ways to entertain ourselves. Tonight we watched Jurassic Park II, terrible movie. After that we just put iTunes, full blast on shuffle, hilarity ensues.
Family Fun
Day 54 July 14 – Family Fun
Tim woke me up early this morning so I could see Dr. Waheed show how they perform natural catfish spawning. Dr. Waheed told us that the important factors of natural catfish spawning were water level, population density, and temperature. I was surprised to hear that the male to female ratio is 1:1.
The first step was to set up a net in a concrete tank which made a pen about 1 cubic meter in size. Then we picked out eight fish; four male and four female. We checked the color of the eggs but getting the right color didn’t seem vital. We then put the fish into the net. The water was about a foot and a half deep, warm, and clean. Putting the eight fish into such a small area made the population density slightly higher than what I have seen in normal ponds.
While I recognize that natural spawning is simple I think overall artificial spawning is better. Artificial spawning has much higher fertilization rates and a greater degree of control. Artificial spawning does require much more training but I believe the benefits greatly outweigh the costs.
Around 6pm Tim and I were sitting around watching the movie “Wanted” when the doorbell rang. Outside we found Dr. Gamal and his 18 year old son. Dr. Gamal introduced his son to us and after some chit-chat he left. After a slightly awkward goodbye I was left with the suspicion that Dr. Gamal wanted his son to stay with us. This was not at all clear but I asked Tim if he thought the same thing, he confirmed my suspicion. We agreed that Dr. Gamal meant us to hang out with his son so we headed out to find him playing soccer with his little brother. He seemed very relieved when he saw us and asked us to play with him.
Dr. Gamal’s oldest son is named Mohamed and his younger son is named Akmed. We played soccer for a few hours, surprisingly we were evenly matched. We talked about what Mohamed was going to do in his first year of college, he spoke excellent English. After a few hours Dr. Gamal and his small daughter came and joined in the game. We all quickly got exhausted while playing a full speed game in the Egyptian sun. Soon we all headed back to our rooms for cold showers and drinks.
Tim woke me up early this morning so I could see Dr. Waheed show how they perform natural catfish spawning. Dr. Waheed told us that the important factors of natural catfish spawning were water level, population density, and temperature. I was surprised to hear that the male to female ratio is 1:1.
The first step was to set up a net in a concrete tank which made a pen about 1 cubic meter in size. Then we picked out eight fish; four male and four female. We checked the color of the eggs but getting the right color didn’t seem vital. We then put the fish into the net. The water was about a foot and a half deep, warm, and clean. Putting the eight fish into such a small area made the population density slightly higher than what I have seen in normal ponds.
While I recognize that natural spawning is simple I think overall artificial spawning is better. Artificial spawning has much higher fertilization rates and a greater degree of control. Artificial spawning does require much more training but I believe the benefits greatly outweigh the costs.
Around 6pm Tim and I were sitting around watching the movie “Wanted” when the doorbell rang. Outside we found Dr. Gamal and his 18 year old son. Dr. Gamal introduced his son to us and after some chit-chat he left. After a slightly awkward goodbye I was left with the suspicion that Dr. Gamal wanted his son to stay with us. This was not at all clear but I asked Tim if he thought the same thing, he confirmed my suspicion. We agreed that Dr. Gamal meant us to hang out with his son so we headed out to find him playing soccer with his little brother. He seemed very relieved when he saw us and asked us to play with him.
Dr. Gamal’s oldest son is named Mohamed and his younger son is named Akmed. We played soccer for a few hours, surprisingly we were evenly matched. We talked about what Mohamed was going to do in his first year of college, he spoke excellent English. After a few hours Dr. Gamal and his small daughter came and joined in the game. We all quickly got exhausted while playing a full speed game in the Egyptian sun. Soon we all headed back to our rooms for cold showers and drinks.
Ruby Slippers
Day 53 July 13 – Ruby Slippers
Today I once again headed out to the ponds to check on the water levels of our ponds. We checked seepage and evaporation today because the workers refilled the pond this morning. Tim once again couldn’t reach the cover of the pipe so I had to go swimming. We had to record the initial water levels so future evaporation levels will be relevant. We didn’t have to change anything for the seepage, that is unaffected by the water level.
Home is getting closer and closer and I can’t wait. I’ve been away from home for long periods of time, but I have never wanted to be back in Tucson as much as I do now. Egypt is great but as Dorthy said, “there’s no place like home.” I wish I had some ruby slippers; they would be much more convenient than 17 hours of driving, jets, delays, and layovers. But I’m not looking forward to the five essays I need to write upon my return to Tucson.
I think I will talk a little about the clothes people wear here at the lab. The manual workers all wear one piece jumpsuits, similar to what you might see at a car mechanic shop. They don’t wear anything on their feet and most wear what looks like an old boonies hat. The scientist all wear long dress style pants with a long button down shirt tucked into them. They sometimes wear white lab coats if they are doing work outside of their offices.
Today I once again headed out to the ponds to check on the water levels of our ponds. We checked seepage and evaporation today because the workers refilled the pond this morning. Tim once again couldn’t reach the cover of the pipe so I had to go swimming. We had to record the initial water levels so future evaporation levels will be relevant. We didn’t have to change anything for the seepage, that is unaffected by the water level.
Home is getting closer and closer and I can’t wait. I’ve been away from home for long periods of time, but I have never wanted to be back in Tucson as much as I do now. Egypt is great but as Dorthy said, “there’s no place like home.” I wish I had some ruby slippers; they would be much more convenient than 17 hours of driving, jets, delays, and layovers. But I’m not looking forward to the five essays I need to write upon my return to Tucson.
I think I will talk a little about the clothes people wear here at the lab. The manual workers all wear one piece jumpsuits, similar to what you might see at a car mechanic shop. They don’t wear anything on their feet and most wear what looks like an old boonies hat. The scientist all wear long dress style pants with a long button down shirt tucked into them. They sometimes wear white lab coats if they are doing work outside of their offices.
Back to Work
Day 52 July 12 – Back to Work
Today was wonderful; we had almost nothing to do. I woke up late and headed over to the office to see what we were supposed to do. After I found Tim sitting around and he told me what the days plan was, I joined him on the computers. After a few hours we went around to the other offices to check up with all the other scientists. I talked to Dr. Gamal about how I was going to get back to Cairo and the airport.
In the afternoon I needed to go into town to get some food, we were totally out. For the third time I invited Tim to come with me into town. Tim has always refused to come with me because he thought he wasn’t supposed to leave the compound. After explaining to him that I can only buy however much food I can carry, he volunteered to come. After ignoring the stupid warnings of my useless bodyguard Tim and I walked into town. Eventually we got a tuk-tuk taxi to take us the rest of the way into town. We got all kinds of fruit, bread, and chips - junk food. After showing Tim around town we headed back on a different tuk-tuk.
I was thrilled to find that Tim had all kinds of movies saved on his laptop, MOVIE NIGHT!! He copied all the movies I wanted to my computer so when I head home soon, I will have some entertainment. But I was nice to watch the movie Stop-Loss, a nice change of pace. It is a movie that points out many of the things I hate about the military but is also an excellent movie.
Today was wonderful; we had almost nothing to do. I woke up late and headed over to the office to see what we were supposed to do. After I found Tim sitting around and he told me what the days plan was, I joined him on the computers. After a few hours we went around to the other offices to check up with all the other scientists. I talked to Dr. Gamal about how I was going to get back to Cairo and the airport.
In the afternoon I needed to go into town to get some food, we were totally out. For the third time I invited Tim to come with me into town. Tim has always refused to come with me because he thought he wasn’t supposed to leave the compound. After explaining to him that I can only buy however much food I can carry, he volunteered to come. After ignoring the stupid warnings of my useless bodyguard Tim and I walked into town. Eventually we got a tuk-tuk taxi to take us the rest of the way into town. We got all kinds of fruit, bread, and chips - junk food. After showing Tim around town we headed back on a different tuk-tuk.
I was thrilled to find that Tim had all kinds of movies saved on his laptop, MOVIE NIGHT!! He copied all the movies I wanted to my computer so when I head home soon, I will have some entertainment. But I was nice to watch the movie Stop-Loss, a nice change of pace. It is a movie that points out many of the things I hate about the military but is also an excellent movie.
Early to Rise
Day 51 July 11 – Early to Rise
Today I once again woke up at 6:30am to go measure the oxygen levels of twenty ponds. After spending twenty minutes of fiddling with the stupid oxygen meter, I finally realized I was the dumb one because it was working fine the whole time. I thought it was broken because the oxygen levels were much higher than I expected.
Usually, the ponds I measure in the morning have a dissolved oxygen level of .5 to 3 mg/liter. When the ponds I measured had an oxygen level of almost 7mg/liter I assumed that the oxygen meter was, once again, broken. After almost twenty minutes of fiddling with and calibrating I tested on another pond. After this I realized that it was just the oxygen levels of Tim’s ponds were dramatically higher than the other ponds. When I returned to the room I meant to ask Tim the reason for this difference but decided going back to sleep was much more vital.
At 2pm I woke back up and asked Tim about the difference between his ponds and the other ponds. Tim told me that he asked the same questions to his boss. He told me that there were a few reasons for this difference. First, his ponds have concrete walls but a muddy bottom. These walls prevent the growth of reeds, grasses, and other plants; while these plants create oxygen in the day they remove it in the night. So with concrete walls the daily variation of the oxygen levels would be much less than dirt walled ponds.
Another factor in the difference between oxygen levels is the fact that Tim’s ponds are not seeded. For some reason Tim’s ponds have not had chicken waste added to spur the growth of plankton. The plankton leads to natural food but also to a large fluctuation of the oxygen levels.
Today I once again woke up at 6:30am to go measure the oxygen levels of twenty ponds. After spending twenty minutes of fiddling with the stupid oxygen meter, I finally realized I was the dumb one because it was working fine the whole time. I thought it was broken because the oxygen levels were much higher than I expected.
Usually, the ponds I measure in the morning have a dissolved oxygen level of .5 to 3 mg/liter. When the ponds I measured had an oxygen level of almost 7mg/liter I assumed that the oxygen meter was, once again, broken. After almost twenty minutes of fiddling with and calibrating I tested on another pond. After this I realized that it was just the oxygen levels of Tim’s ponds were dramatically higher than the other ponds. When I returned to the room I meant to ask Tim the reason for this difference but decided going back to sleep was much more vital.
At 2pm I woke back up and asked Tim about the difference between his ponds and the other ponds. Tim told me that he asked the same questions to his boss. He told me that there were a few reasons for this difference. First, his ponds have concrete walls but a muddy bottom. These walls prevent the growth of reeds, grasses, and other plants; while these plants create oxygen in the day they remove it in the night. So with concrete walls the daily variation of the oxygen levels would be much less than dirt walled ponds.
Another factor in the difference between oxygen levels is the fact that Tim’s ponds are not seeded. For some reason Tim’s ponds have not had chicken waste added to spur the growth of plankton. The plankton leads to natural food but also to a large fluctuation of the oxygen levels.
Phosphorous
Day 50 July 10 – Phosphorous
Let me begin by explaining why my recent entries have not been so packed with information. First, I am nearing the end of my trip and I have learned the basics of all the relevant subjects. Second, my current project is working with my roommate Tim in caring for six ponds. This job does not require lots of time but enough that I cannot leave to go work with the other scientists here. While learning the science is important, actually being responsible for ponds is vital; perhaps even more important.
Today I once again got up early to go with Tim and take the dissolved oxygen levels of his ponds. Everything was fine so we headed back to the lab to perform a phosphorous test on water samples from each pond. We had planned on doing this test yesterday but were thwarted because there was not enough of a certain solution. So we made the missing solution but it had to sit for 24hours.
Today everything was ready so we began the test. The way this test works is you take a sample from each pond and put them into a spectrometer. The spectrometer is set to a certain frequency, 880nm, and the light is fired through the sample. The frequency used is specific to phosphorous and is interfered by it. The amount of phosphorus in the water can then be derived by measuring the amount of light lost as it travels through the sample.
This process might sound familiar because I talked about it a few weeks ago. This same process, using a spectrometer, can be used to measure many different materials in water samples.
Let me begin by explaining why my recent entries have not been so packed with information. First, I am nearing the end of my trip and I have learned the basics of all the relevant subjects. Second, my current project is working with my roommate Tim in caring for six ponds. This job does not require lots of time but enough that I cannot leave to go work with the other scientists here. While learning the science is important, actually being responsible for ponds is vital; perhaps even more important.
Today I once again got up early to go with Tim and take the dissolved oxygen levels of his ponds. Everything was fine so we headed back to the lab to perform a phosphorous test on water samples from each pond. We had planned on doing this test yesterday but were thwarted because there was not enough of a certain solution. So we made the missing solution but it had to sit for 24hours.
Today everything was ready so we began the test. The way this test works is you take a sample from each pond and put them into a spectrometer. The spectrometer is set to a certain frequency, 880nm, and the light is fired through the sample. The frequency used is specific to phosphorous and is interfered by it. The amount of phosphorus in the water can then be derived by measuring the amount of light lost as it travels through the sample.
This process might sound familiar because I talked about it a few weeks ago. This same process, using a spectrometer, can be used to measure many different materials in water samples.
Bodyguard
Day 49 July 9 – Bodyguard
Last night I foolishly agreed to accompany Tim at 6:30am as he went to measure the oxygen levels of about 20 ponds. While normally this wouldn’t be too bad, that time is when mosquitoes are most active.
I was surprised to see how dramatically the oxygen levels had decreased overnight. I assumed that the oxygen level of ponds would only show substantial decrease if the pond contained a large fish biomass. I was surprised to see oxygen levels of 2units, compared to 8-9units in the day time in Tim’s ponds. I interpret this to mean the algae has a much larger affect on the reduction of oxygen levels than I originally suspected. It is also possible that even the small fish in Tim’s pond are making a substantial difference in the pond, but I doubt it.
At 9am we had an official weigh in for all six of Tim’s ponds. This was to be his first set of results, very exciting. We walked out to the ponds to find the working sitting with all the gear. It was not our place to tell them to get to work so we had to wait 20 minutes for Dr. Gamal to come and tell them to do just that. The workers would get into the ponds, they are about 4 feet six inches deep. They used a medium size net to catch about 20 fry, hopefully a random sample. Then Tim would measure and weight 15 of them.
The only problem I could see with this process was I don’t think the fish were an accurate random sample. First, the biggest and strongest fish would have a better chance of not getting caught in the net. Next, the fry were transported in a crate with holes it, allowing the smallest fish to fall out and not be recorded. Lastly, the person who handed Tim the fish seemed the grab the fish that he knew would be easiest to hold, the largest.
At around 4pm Tim had to go back out to his six ponds and measure the seepage and evaporation. There is a PVC pipe stuck in the mud and covered to prevent evaporation. We had to uncover the pipe and record the water level, this is seepage. Then we record the difference between the water level inside and outside the pipe, this is evaporation. We couldn’t get the top off one of the pipes so I got in the water to remove it. The water was so nice and warm I stayed in for a few minutes, until Tim reminded me of the snake… A few days ago we found and had a water snake removed from one of Tim’s ponds. This was adequate motivation for me to get the hell out of the water, flash back of Snakes On A Plane occurred to me.
Well I finally meet me bodyguard. We were running low of food so I headed back toward Abassa for the fourth time. As I got to the security gate the guard asked what I was doing, after telling him I was going to town he told me “no, too dangerous.” Then my bodyguard walks over, he is either in his late 40s or early 50s. He was unarmed and it was quickly obvious he could no more protect me than do a push-up. My bodyguard starts speaking in Arabic and pointing toward town and himself. Now I never asked for a bodyguard, nobody at Abassa asked for a bodyguard, and he is obviously useless. So I stop asking and more start telling him to open the damn gate, I can take care of myself. I tower over everyone else here, I’m fit, and always bring my knife with me when I go into town alone. Most importantly I have already been into town many times and never had any problems.
Eventually the guard opens the gate and I start walking away, ignoring the bodyguards Arabic. I wondered weather my bodyguard was going to walk the two miles to town with me, I wasn’t sure he would be able to. Therefore I was not surprised to find myself walking alone along the dirt street. Everything was fine in town and returned with some badly needed food.
Last night I foolishly agreed to accompany Tim at 6:30am as he went to measure the oxygen levels of about 20 ponds. While normally this wouldn’t be too bad, that time is when mosquitoes are most active.
I was surprised to see how dramatically the oxygen levels had decreased overnight. I assumed that the oxygen level of ponds would only show substantial decrease if the pond contained a large fish biomass. I was surprised to see oxygen levels of 2units, compared to 8-9units in the day time in Tim’s ponds. I interpret this to mean the algae has a much larger affect on the reduction of oxygen levels than I originally suspected. It is also possible that even the small fish in Tim’s pond are making a substantial difference in the pond, but I doubt it.
At 9am we had an official weigh in for all six of Tim’s ponds. This was to be his first set of results, very exciting. We walked out to the ponds to find the working sitting with all the gear. It was not our place to tell them to get to work so we had to wait 20 minutes for Dr. Gamal to come and tell them to do just that. The workers would get into the ponds, they are about 4 feet six inches deep. They used a medium size net to catch about 20 fry, hopefully a random sample. Then Tim would measure and weight 15 of them.
The only problem I could see with this process was I don’t think the fish were an accurate random sample. First, the biggest and strongest fish would have a better chance of not getting caught in the net. Next, the fry were transported in a crate with holes it, allowing the smallest fish to fall out and not be recorded. Lastly, the person who handed Tim the fish seemed the grab the fish that he knew would be easiest to hold, the largest.
At around 4pm Tim had to go back out to his six ponds and measure the seepage and evaporation. There is a PVC pipe stuck in the mud and covered to prevent evaporation. We had to uncover the pipe and record the water level, this is seepage. Then we record the difference between the water level inside and outside the pipe, this is evaporation. We couldn’t get the top off one of the pipes so I got in the water to remove it. The water was so nice and warm I stayed in for a few minutes, until Tim reminded me of the snake… A few days ago we found and had a water snake removed from one of Tim’s ponds. This was adequate motivation for me to get the hell out of the water, flash back of Snakes On A Plane occurred to me.
Well I finally meet me bodyguard. We were running low of food so I headed back toward Abassa for the fourth time. As I got to the security gate the guard asked what I was doing, after telling him I was going to town he told me “no, too dangerous.” Then my bodyguard walks over, he is either in his late 40s or early 50s. He was unarmed and it was quickly obvious he could no more protect me than do a push-up. My bodyguard starts speaking in Arabic and pointing toward town and himself. Now I never asked for a bodyguard, nobody at Abassa asked for a bodyguard, and he is obviously useless. So I stop asking and more start telling him to open the damn gate, I can take care of myself. I tower over everyone else here, I’m fit, and always bring my knife with me when I go into town alone. Most importantly I have already been into town many times and never had any problems.
Eventually the guard opens the gate and I start walking away, ignoring the bodyguards Arabic. I wondered weather my bodyguard was going to walk the two miles to town with me, I wasn’t sure he would be able to. Therefore I was not surprised to find myself walking alone along the dirt street. Everything was fine in town and returned with some badly needed food.
Secret Service
Day 48 July 8 – Secret Service
So during a short conversation with Dr. Gamal he informed me I had a bodyguard. It turns out when I registered my passport with the police department, to extend my visa, they took note. The police now have a guard posted at one the two gates. Dr. Gamal told me that he thought this was ridiculous and wouldn’t let the police man onto the grounds. He said he was posted there more to show off than to actually protect me. I think having my own guard is ridiculous; the only time I have feared for my safety was from a police man, now I’m stuck with one.
Tim is sick and feeling lazy so I followed suit, this worked out great for me. The day was not a complete waste; Tim taught me how to do the phosphorus test. To do this test we made a solution, I have the formula here but it’s kind of boring. The next step would be to put the samples in the spectrometer to obtain a measurement. Tim told me that we will actually perform this test on pond samples in a few days.
So during a short conversation with Dr. Gamal he informed me I had a bodyguard. It turns out when I registered my passport with the police department, to extend my visa, they took note. The police now have a guard posted at one the two gates. Dr. Gamal told me that he thought this was ridiculous and wouldn’t let the police man onto the grounds. He said he was posted there more to show off than to actually protect me. I think having my own guard is ridiculous; the only time I have feared for my safety was from a police man, now I’m stuck with one.
Tim is sick and feeling lazy so I followed suit, this worked out great for me. The day was not a complete waste; Tim taught me how to do the phosphorus test. To do this test we made a solution, I have the formula here but it’s kind of boring. The next step would be to put the samples in the spectrometer to obtain a measurement. Tim told me that we will actually perform this test on pond samples in a few days.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Take Me Home Country Roads
Day 46 July 6 – Take Me Home Country Roads
I left Cairo with Dr. Elghobashy at around 7am to drive back to Abassa. Having stayed up late last night, I slept most of the hour long ride. Upon returning to Abassa, I left Dr. Elghobashy to go back to my room to drop off the food I bought. Back at the room I found Tim who told me about what he had been doing over the last few days.
Tim won some contest so was given to opportunity to come and spend time here at Abassa. But this agreement comes with restrictions, his schedule is much more tightly controlled and he is not supposed to leave the “secure World Fish Center area.” He is also required to do a large scale experiment, which he is completing in the six ponds I previously mentioned. He is also required to write up a complete scientific article compiling all of his data and results. He has a lot of data, haha.
I once again started working with Tim, helping collect data and measure aspects of the water. Tim spent about an hour trying to get a spreadsheet to work correctly, while I read other journal articles on similar subjects. While there were many articles on the subject of Tilapia stocking densities, I couldn’t find any that measured so many parameters of the pond as Tim is doing. The fish in Tim’s ponds are about 2cm long, from what I have seen so far.
I have been trying to figure out what I need to do for the flight home. Do I need to confirm the tickets, I am flying British Air? If so, how early can I confirm them and can I do it online? When I go to the ticket counter what do I need to have with me?
Top Gear could be the greatest show ever.
CIPRO, one of the medicines I was prescribed for “intestinal difficulties” was urgently recalled because it caused tendon damage. Good thing I didn’t use any.
If I cut my own hair for the next 50 years I could save ten thousand dollars. One haircut every three weeks at 12.50$ for fifty years = 10,863.09$. I am going to buy a hair cut kit when I get home. (see what happens when I am bored for hours a day.)
I left Cairo with Dr. Elghobashy at around 7am to drive back to Abassa. Having stayed up late last night, I slept most of the hour long ride. Upon returning to Abassa, I left Dr. Elghobashy to go back to my room to drop off the food I bought. Back at the room I found Tim who told me about what he had been doing over the last few days.
Tim won some contest so was given to opportunity to come and spend time here at Abassa. But this agreement comes with restrictions, his schedule is much more tightly controlled and he is not supposed to leave the “secure World Fish Center area.” He is also required to do a large scale experiment, which he is completing in the six ponds I previously mentioned. He is also required to write up a complete scientific article compiling all of his data and results. He has a lot of data, haha.
I once again started working with Tim, helping collect data and measure aspects of the water. Tim spent about an hour trying to get a spreadsheet to work correctly, while I read other journal articles on similar subjects. While there were many articles on the subject of Tilapia stocking densities, I couldn’t find any that measured so many parameters of the pond as Tim is doing. The fish in Tim’s ponds are about 2cm long, from what I have seen so far.
I have been trying to figure out what I need to do for the flight home. Do I need to confirm the tickets, I am flying British Air? If so, how early can I confirm them and can I do it online? When I go to the ticket counter what do I need to have with me?
Top Gear could be the greatest show ever.
CIPRO, one of the medicines I was prescribed for “intestinal difficulties” was urgently recalled because it caused tendon damage. Good thing I didn’t use any.
If I cut my own hair for the next 50 years I could save ten thousand dollars. One haircut every three weeks at 12.50$ for fifty years = 10,863.09$. I am going to buy a hair cut kit when I get home. (see what happens when I am bored for hours a day.)
Passing is Good
Day 45 July 5 – Passing is Good
Well today I decided to officially decide what my five essay topics would be for college credit. The five topics are supposed to cover topics of culture and aquaculture. Here they are…
Enhanced Aquaculture techniques
Catching Jumpers- how often
Green Houses
Artificial spawning vs Natural Spawning
Biological filters - natural and artificial
Hormones – Testerstrone and Estrogen
Worms from Ishmail
Constant current
Paddle wheels
Mixing Tilipia, Mullet Polyculture
7 stages of intensification
Explain levels
Levels of Dr. Ishmail's farm
Explain factors cost vs benefit analysis
Problems in developing countries - power outages - unreliable water
Exanimation of Islam and its cultural effects
Clothing
View on Atheism
Separation of Church and State?
Religious divisions – Suni Shia?
View on other religions
5 pillars of Islam
Similarity to the five minute activity in Big Brother
Examination of Islamic Prayer
Movements
History
Scripture
Mosque
Dawn Prayer?
1pm prayer
4:30 pm afternoon
7:50 sunset
9:40 evening prayer
Ramadan
Super Male
Don’t have to pay for hormones
People don’t like hormones in food
One time investment
None of the small wimpy fish – more control
No unwanted mating
Done at ista 6?
Need 1000 to work Dr Ishmail had 30
Once done it will continue by itself
Well today I decided to officially decide what my five essay topics would be for college credit. The five topics are supposed to cover topics of culture and aquaculture. Here they are…
Enhanced Aquaculture techniques
Catching Jumpers- how often
Green Houses
Artificial spawning vs Natural Spawning
Biological filters - natural and artificial
Hormones – Testerstrone and Estrogen
Worms from Ishmail
Constant current
Paddle wheels
Mixing Tilipia, Mullet Polyculture
7 stages of intensification
Explain levels
Levels of Dr. Ishmail's farm
Explain factors cost vs benefit analysis
Problems in developing countries - power outages - unreliable water
Exanimation of Islam and its cultural effects
Clothing
View on Atheism
Separation of Church and State?
Religious divisions – Suni Shia?
View on other religions
5 pillars of Islam
Similarity to the five minute activity in Big Brother
Examination of Islamic Prayer
Movements
History
Scripture
Mosque
Dawn Prayer?
1pm prayer
4:30 pm afternoon
7:50 sunset
9:40 evening prayer
Ramadan
Super Male
Don’t have to pay for hormones
People don’t like hormones in food
One time investment
None of the small wimpy fish – more control
No unwanted mating
Done at ista 6?
Need 1000 to work Dr Ishmail had 30
Once done it will continue by itself
Monday, July 14, 2008
No Quiet on the Eastern Front
Day 44 July 4 – No Quiet on the Eastern Front
Once again, Dr. Elghobashy’s son got kicked out of his bed, and was relegated to the couch. After sleeping till about 1:30 I got up and had breakfast. I didn’t have any plans so until about 5pm I just sat around and watched TV. At 5pm I just wanted to get out so I took a short walk over to the mango juice stand. For 50 cents I can get a tall glass of fresh squeezed mango juice, delicious. I can never only have just one glass.
My next expedition was a walk up the main street near the Elghobashy house. I walked about two miles up the street until it turned into a housing area, no shops or people working. While it is fun to go out and see the town there is one thing that drives me crazy, the noise. It is outrageously loud in the city, the cars and music become very frustrating.
When people in Egypt get married, instead of dragging cans or painting “just married,” they just lay on the car horn. It is also tradition for all the wedding guests to follow behind and do the same thing, sometimes with illegal sirens. While this is annoying by itself there are other factors that make it even worse.
Cairo is a very old city, the population has increased so dramatically while the size is limited by the surrounding environment. Because of these influences Cairo has built up, not outwards. The vast majority of the buildings in Cairo are multiple stories; the Elghobashy family lives on the fifth of six floors.
So when I walk on the streets of Cairo (no sidewalks) I am surrounded by tall stone buildings on all sides. These tall building amplify the noise, and the blaring car horns seem to make my brain rattle. People are constantly honking, there is usually only a second or two break between a blast of the horn. When walking along with a wedding procession the blaring horns are nonstop, literally. The deafening noise really gets annoying quickly; I was sorely tempted to profanely tell them to stop with the honking. I have to disagree with Simon and Garfunkel, the sound of silence isn’t so bad.
At night, around 9:30, I left with Dr. Elghobashy’s son to go see a movie. Two mico bus rides later we got to the mall. Once again I was very impressed by the largest mall in Egypt. I was disappointed that Batman and Wanted were not at the theaters, but I settled for What Happens in Vegas.
I miss 4th of July, one of my favorite American holidays.
Once again, Dr. Elghobashy’s son got kicked out of his bed, and was relegated to the couch. After sleeping till about 1:30 I got up and had breakfast. I didn’t have any plans so until about 5pm I just sat around and watched TV. At 5pm I just wanted to get out so I took a short walk over to the mango juice stand. For 50 cents I can get a tall glass of fresh squeezed mango juice, delicious. I can never only have just one glass.
My next expedition was a walk up the main street near the Elghobashy house. I walked about two miles up the street until it turned into a housing area, no shops or people working. While it is fun to go out and see the town there is one thing that drives me crazy, the noise. It is outrageously loud in the city, the cars and music become very frustrating.
When people in Egypt get married, instead of dragging cans or painting “just married,” they just lay on the car horn. It is also tradition for all the wedding guests to follow behind and do the same thing, sometimes with illegal sirens. While this is annoying by itself there are other factors that make it even worse.
Cairo is a very old city, the population has increased so dramatically while the size is limited by the surrounding environment. Because of these influences Cairo has built up, not outwards. The vast majority of the buildings in Cairo are multiple stories; the Elghobashy family lives on the fifth of six floors.
So when I walk on the streets of Cairo (no sidewalks) I am surrounded by tall stone buildings on all sides. These tall building amplify the noise, and the blaring car horns seem to make my brain rattle. People are constantly honking, there is usually only a second or two break between a blast of the horn. When walking along with a wedding procession the blaring horns are nonstop, literally. The deafening noise really gets annoying quickly; I was sorely tempted to profanely tell them to stop with the honking. I have to disagree with Simon and Garfunkel, the sound of silence isn’t so bad.
At night, around 9:30, I left with Dr. Elghobashy’s son to go see a movie. Two mico bus rides later we got to the mall. Once again I was very impressed by the largest mall in Egypt. I was disappointed that Batman and Wanted were not at the theaters, but I settled for What Happens in Vegas.
I miss 4th of July, one of my favorite American holidays.
Goodbye Fayoum
Day 43 July 3 – Goodbye Fayoum
Sorry batteries on camera are dead, can’t find more. No pictures for a few days.
Well I found out last night that today was going to be my final day in Fayoum. Today the adviser picked me up and drove me to the same farm as yesterday. Again we did the rounds; looking at the ponds and adjusting food levels based on the responses of the fish. I got even more practice checking the farms by sight, and recognizing other “symptoms” of a pond.
After a few hours of walking around in the sun we took a break in a building for tea and lunch. I refused tea today because the last thing I wanted was a boiling hot drink, I was dreaming of Eegee’s. Turning down the tea made everyone concerned, I had to convince them that I felt fine and that I wasn’t sick. The lunch consisted of, you guessed it, fish. The way they cooked the fish was about as simple as it gets, just chuck it in the fire. They made a small fire and just laid the fish right down of the wood, ash, and embers. Five to ten minutes later they grab them out and plop them down on the table. Obviously, you don’t eat the skin; all burnt and nasty looking. But once you peel back the skin the fish tasted fine. Not good, fine.
I finally figured out why I have been feeling so awful whenever we drive in Egypt. I have never gotten motion sickness, or carsickness in my life; but I always feel terrible when we drive here. I realized that it is the combination of noise, THICK air pollution, driving style, and the roads. The noise is ridiculous, everyone is honking their horn, it drives me crazy. The air pollution is a major problem inside Cairo, I can feel it in my lungs whenever I’m there. The way the drivers are constantly swerving, accelerating and decelerating also contributes to the problem. The roads are so bumpy and uneven that you are constantly bounced into the air. It is necessary for me to sit in the middle seat, otherwise I constantly smash my head into the roof of the car. These things all put together make me carsick nearly every time we drive. I have been able to keep it down but I still feel awful.
After lunch we drove back to Cairo and I moved back in with the Elghobashies. I was happy to sit around for the rest of the day, update the blog, and catch up.
Sorry batteries on camera are dead, can’t find more. No pictures for a few days.
Well I found out last night that today was going to be my final day in Fayoum. Today the adviser picked me up and drove me to the same farm as yesterday. Again we did the rounds; looking at the ponds and adjusting food levels based on the responses of the fish. I got even more practice checking the farms by sight, and recognizing other “symptoms” of a pond.
After a few hours of walking around in the sun we took a break in a building for tea and lunch. I refused tea today because the last thing I wanted was a boiling hot drink, I was dreaming of Eegee’s. Turning down the tea made everyone concerned, I had to convince them that I felt fine and that I wasn’t sick. The lunch consisted of, you guessed it, fish. The way they cooked the fish was about as simple as it gets, just chuck it in the fire. They made a small fire and just laid the fish right down of the wood, ash, and embers. Five to ten minutes later they grab them out and plop them down on the table. Obviously, you don’t eat the skin; all burnt and nasty looking. But once you peel back the skin the fish tasted fine. Not good, fine.
I finally figured out why I have been feeling so awful whenever we drive in Egypt. I have never gotten motion sickness, or carsickness in my life; but I always feel terrible when we drive here. I realized that it is the combination of noise, THICK air pollution, driving style, and the roads. The noise is ridiculous, everyone is honking their horn, it drives me crazy. The air pollution is a major problem inside Cairo, I can feel it in my lungs whenever I’m there. The way the drivers are constantly swerving, accelerating and decelerating also contributes to the problem. The roads are so bumpy and uneven that you are constantly bounced into the air. It is necessary for me to sit in the middle seat, otherwise I constantly smash my head into the roof of the car. These things all put together make me carsick nearly every time we drive. I have been able to keep it down but I still feel awful.
After lunch we drove back to Cairo and I moved back in with the Elghobashies. I was happy to sit around for the rest of the day, update the blog, and catch up.
Nothin
Day 42 July 2 – Nothin
Well today both of the men I have been working with are busy so I stayed in the hotel all day. I went swimming and read my book, that’s it. There is nowhere to go do touristy stuff so I laid around all day. At least I had a good dinner again.
Well today both of the men I have been working with are busy so I stayed in the hotel all day. I went swimming and read my book, that’s it. There is nowhere to go do touristy stuff so I laid around all day. At least I had a good dinner again.
Keel Haul
Day 41 July 2 – Keel Haul
Today I went to a new farm with a different adviser. This farm was also on that giant bird reservation. The Egyptian version of SpeedRacer was our driver to the farm. The drive there is beautiful, some of the most amazing sand dunes I have ever seen. The colors are so uniform that is impossible to see any detail, I couldn’t tell if what I was looking at was near hill or a far mountain.
As we were walking around the farm I noticed lots of little frogs, then lots and lots of little frogs. Looking down into the nearest pond I realized there was an infestation of inch long frogs. I was very surprised to see them in the water; I assumed to fish would eat them. I took this assumption from an experience I had at the family farm in New York. I was playing with a little frog then, taking it out further and further down the dock and watching it swim back to shore. Until one time I took it too far and a big fish swallowed my little friend. The adviser assured me the fish would not eat them because Tilapia are not carnivores. I would disagree because they eat mosquitoes and mosquitoes larvae. He said the frogs are a problem because they eat the fish food, but they also disappear three week after the pond is filled. I believe the fish grow large enough to eat the second generation of frogs, but the adviser does not think so.
I was also told that the color of the water is important as an indicator of water quality. If the water is dark green it indicates an abundance of phytoplankton; if brownish-yellow, zooplankton. Having zooplankton is better but both are necessary. The concentration of plankton can be influenced by introducing fermented chicken manure to the pond (yummy).
Once again I decided to take my afternoon swim, today I went out much later than yesterday. I finished my swim about 30 minutes before sunset but decided to stay in and watch it. After a beautiful sunset I swam back to the rocky shore. Normally I can easily step over the submerged wall which is used as a wave break. When the sun goes down the wind really picks up. This caused the water level to rise on my side of the lake, making it necessary to crawl over the wall. The waves caused by the wind made this treacherous and now my hands, feet, and stomach are covered in cuts from the barnacles.
For some reason my room is infested with tiny little ants, they are in everything. They crawl into this laptop’s keyboard, into my socks, my shirts, even into my hat. We can add those ants to the list of things in Egypt that drive me crazy; flies, mosquitoes, and ants.
For some random reason all the restaurants were closed tonight. Therefore my dinner consisted of a 7up, two HoHos, and a bag of chips. Because there is nothing to do here I end up reading a lot. In the three days I have been here I’ve read I Robot, Foundation, and Siddhartha.
Have you ever read a book you liked so much that other books you read seem unimpressive by comparison? Like having your first car be a Ferrari then being stuck with a Corolla the rest of your life.
Today I went to a new farm with a different adviser. This farm was also on that giant bird reservation. The Egyptian version of SpeedRacer was our driver to the farm. The drive there is beautiful, some of the most amazing sand dunes I have ever seen. The colors are so uniform that is impossible to see any detail, I couldn’t tell if what I was looking at was near hill or a far mountain.
As we were walking around the farm I noticed lots of little frogs, then lots and lots of little frogs. Looking down into the nearest pond I realized there was an infestation of inch long frogs. I was very surprised to see them in the water; I assumed to fish would eat them. I took this assumption from an experience I had at the family farm in New York. I was playing with a little frog then, taking it out further and further down the dock and watching it swim back to shore. Until one time I took it too far and a big fish swallowed my little friend. The adviser assured me the fish would not eat them because Tilapia are not carnivores. I would disagree because they eat mosquitoes and mosquitoes larvae. He said the frogs are a problem because they eat the fish food, but they also disappear three week after the pond is filled. I believe the fish grow large enough to eat the second generation of frogs, but the adviser does not think so.
I was also told that the color of the water is important as an indicator of water quality. If the water is dark green it indicates an abundance of phytoplankton; if brownish-yellow, zooplankton. Having zooplankton is better but both are necessary. The concentration of plankton can be influenced by introducing fermented chicken manure to the pond (yummy).
Once again I decided to take my afternoon swim, today I went out much later than yesterday. I finished my swim about 30 minutes before sunset but decided to stay in and watch it. After a beautiful sunset I swam back to the rocky shore. Normally I can easily step over the submerged wall which is used as a wave break. When the sun goes down the wind really picks up. This caused the water level to rise on my side of the lake, making it necessary to crawl over the wall. The waves caused by the wind made this treacherous and now my hands, feet, and stomach are covered in cuts from the barnacles.
For some reason my room is infested with tiny little ants, they are in everything. They crawl into this laptop’s keyboard, into my socks, my shirts, even into my hat. We can add those ants to the list of things in Egypt that drive me crazy; flies, mosquitoes, and ants.
For some random reason all the restaurants were closed tonight. Therefore my dinner consisted of a 7up, two HoHos, and a bag of chips. Because there is nothing to do here I end up reading a lot. In the three days I have been here I’ve read I Robot, Foundation, and Siddhartha.
Have you ever read a book you liked so much that other books you read seem unimpressive by comparison? Like having your first car be a Ferrari then being stuck with a Corolla the rest of your life.
Friday, July 4, 2008
SoRy Mi Englash iz no Gud
Day 40 June 30 – SoRy Mi Englash iz no Gud
Before I start I actually saw a calendar and realized that today was the 30th, that means two days have disappeared from my blog. Don’t worry I’m sure your not missing anything interesting, I probably just slept the whole day and didn’t bother to write about it.
Well I found out the town I am living in is named Fayoum, it has a few restraints and a salt factory.
Today I woke to a knock on the door, room service brought me breakfast, cool! It was a very typical Egyptian breakfast. It was that round flat bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, white mystery goo, and eggs. It was ok but I would pay good money for some honey nut Cheerios and milk. I went down to wait for the car at 7:58, I came back up at 8:45 after getting bored. The car eventually came and Mr. Akmed Shariff took me to the farm he was advising that day. As usual, before we started work, we stopped for 30 minutes for tea.
Akmed told me how he is hired to come to this farm twice a week, he does everything from testing the water to changing feeding levels. As you might have guessed from the title, Mr. Shariff’s English was not great, but I am grateful he tried so hard. At the end of our work my notepad was covered in drawing used to communicate.
I found that on this farm they don’t feed the fish on Friday, the hope is the fish will better utilize any natural food present. This would save money is the short term but I am not sure that the longer growing season would make this profitable over the long term. They only run the paddle wheels during night, they rely on plankton to create oxygen during the day. Sandy bottoms are better than muddy bottoms. He told me that during the climax of summer the salinity is much higher because of increased evaporation in the watershed. Their growth/feed ratio is 1 to 1.3-1.5.
After checking all the ponds we went back to the little one room building for more tea. While there Akmed suggested I visit a city on the coast, a nice tourist destination. The conversation eventually lead to the fact that there is a sanctioned Egyptian price and a tourist price. After I made a sour face he asked what problem I had with this. I told him that I thought I was unfair that for the same services I have to pay more money. He argued that Egyptians are poor so should get a better price. We agreed to disagree.
There are some cultural differences that I have mentally classified as un-American ideas. For example: Baksheesh, a poor person believes they are entitled to your money, they deserve your money because they are poor and you are rich. In the US poor people must beg for money, they must acknowledge that they are at the givers mercy. Another is this foreigner/Egyptian price difference. If in the US there was a sign saying “Entrance Fee” Americans 5$ Mexicans 2$ Europeans 10$ Africans 3$ people would be outraged. There would be a racial discrimination lawsuit in the blink of an eye. As I said, to me, these ideas seem distinctly un-American.
I finally found a good place to eat dinner, had shrimp and tilapia. Turns out is was also a chicken farm, he invited me in to see the chickens. Realizing, as they climbed all over my shoes, that getting Avian Bird Flu would probably suck.
Once again I took my afternoon swim in the giant lake.
Ants seem to have a strange fascination with this laptop.
Ants seem to love the inside of my socks…yea not cool.
Dinner cost 34 pounds ~ 7.50$
I guess guests at Egyptian hotels don’t need toilet paper.
Before I start I actually saw a calendar and realized that today was the 30th, that means two days have disappeared from my blog. Don’t worry I’m sure your not missing anything interesting, I probably just slept the whole day and didn’t bother to write about it.
Well I found out the town I am living in is named Fayoum, it has a few restraints and a salt factory.
Today I woke to a knock on the door, room service brought me breakfast, cool! It was a very typical Egyptian breakfast. It was that round flat bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, white mystery goo, and eggs. It was ok but I would pay good money for some honey nut Cheerios and milk. I went down to wait for the car at 7:58, I came back up at 8:45 after getting bored. The car eventually came and Mr. Akmed Shariff took me to the farm he was advising that day. As usual, before we started work, we stopped for 30 minutes for tea.
Akmed told me how he is hired to come to this farm twice a week, he does everything from testing the water to changing feeding levels. As you might have guessed from the title, Mr. Shariff’s English was not great, but I am grateful he tried so hard. At the end of our work my notepad was covered in drawing used to communicate.
I found that on this farm they don’t feed the fish on Friday, the hope is the fish will better utilize any natural food present. This would save money is the short term but I am not sure that the longer growing season would make this profitable over the long term. They only run the paddle wheels during night, they rely on plankton to create oxygen during the day. Sandy bottoms are better than muddy bottoms. He told me that during the climax of summer the salinity is much higher because of increased evaporation in the watershed. Their growth/feed ratio is 1 to 1.3-1.5.
After checking all the ponds we went back to the little one room building for more tea. While there Akmed suggested I visit a city on the coast, a nice tourist destination. The conversation eventually lead to the fact that there is a sanctioned Egyptian price and a tourist price. After I made a sour face he asked what problem I had with this. I told him that I thought I was unfair that for the same services I have to pay more money. He argued that Egyptians are poor so should get a better price. We agreed to disagree.
There are some cultural differences that I have mentally classified as un-American ideas. For example: Baksheesh, a poor person believes they are entitled to your money, they deserve your money because they are poor and you are rich. In the US poor people must beg for money, they must acknowledge that they are at the givers mercy. Another is this foreigner/Egyptian price difference. If in the US there was a sign saying “Entrance Fee” Americans 5$ Mexicans 2$ Europeans 10$ Africans 3$ people would be outraged. There would be a racial discrimination lawsuit in the blink of an eye. As I said, to me, these ideas seem distinctly un-American.
I finally found a good place to eat dinner, had shrimp and tilapia. Turns out is was also a chicken farm, he invited me in to see the chickens. Realizing, as they climbed all over my shoes, that getting Avian Bird Flu would probably suck.
Once again I took my afternoon swim in the giant lake.
Ants seem to have a strange fascination with this laptop.
Ants seem to love the inside of my socks…yea not cool.
Dinner cost 34 pounds ~ 7.50$
I guess guests at Egyptian hotels don’t need toilet paper.
It’s Been A Bad Day
Day 36 June 26 – It’s Been A Bad Day
Well today was very divided, it began well but ended horribly. I left Abassa at around 6:20am and drove almost 4 hours, trough Cairo, to a new town. We drove into a large bird reserve while also contained a fish farm. The fish farm seemed normal but I was impressed that all the ponds used paddle wheels. They were not running but I was assured that they run at night. I followed around a group and was impressed by how well everyone watched the fish. They mentioned that yesterday the fish didn’t eat much food, implying a high level of ammonium, so they reduced the amount of feed for the fish tomorrow.
After a short ride we stopped to see the only waterfall in Egypt, a nice 12 foot fall. It was all artificial and worked by a pump but was still nice. I still love how everyone goes swimming fully dressed, long sleeves and long pants. Most of the women swimming were still wearing head scarves. Then again they weren’t actually swimming, they clung to inner tubes for dear life after the water got 5 feet deep. It was a horribly hot day and I really wanted to go swimming but wasn’t dressed appropriately. Well I guess I was dress socially appropriately but I had no intention of getting my nice clothes wet and dirty.
I discovered I was staying at a hotel, once again feeling bad because it was probably expensive. It is right on the beach of a massive saltwater lake, at least 5 miles wide and many more long. Winter is the tourist season and right now most of the tourist locations are abandoned. It was awkward as I sat in the 30 table cafeteria in the hotel and ate alone. Next at about 2pm I decided to go swimming, I walked down to a very secluded area so I felt fine going in just my shorts. I swam a mile or two up and down the coast seeing many people on their tubes, none more than 100 feet from the beach.
This is the point where my day turned for the worst. I headed up to the room and took a little nap, and discovered the room only has a tiny fan. After I woke up, covered in a fresh layer of mosquito bites, I came down for dinner. I was surprised to find the hotel abandoned, it was about 9pm. (no it is not too late people here eat dinner really late, lunch was at 3pm.) True, I am the only person renting a room but that should mean the service is excellent. After a while I decided to just leave and find food myself. Then I discovered every door is locked, yea what the hell? So I wander around the hotel yelling hello and Salam trying to find anyone to let me out. No luck, I’m getting really hungry now, all I have are bags of skittles. Well eventually I have to climb out a freaking window to get out. After climbing the locked security gate I walked down the road to try and find a restaurant. I found two places that looked promising but when I went in I was pretty much told they don’t serve food. One had a sign with a picture of a dinner plate with food on it.…
Eventually I came to a place where the man took me to a table and gave me a glass of water. I communicated that I wanted to eat fish, I said “Samak” he nodded and said “fish” and made a eating gesture. After sitting there for about 30 minutes I got suspicious, I walked over to investigate. After repeating the message the metaphorical light bulb lit up above his head. I thought to myself, what the hell did you think I meant with I said fish, do you think I wanted to watch them from the deck?!?! After paying far too much money for a damn glass of water and an empty table I stormed off. All that was left was the Egyptian equivalent of an Am/Pm. My dinner consisted of a little bag of Doritos, a bag of skittles, and a water bottle. So now I’m writing this in a very bad mood, oh well. Tonight I hate Egypt and just want to go home and sleep in my own air-conditioned room.
Well today was very divided, it began well but ended horribly. I left Abassa at around 6:20am and drove almost 4 hours, trough Cairo, to a new town. We drove into a large bird reserve while also contained a fish farm. The fish farm seemed normal but I was impressed that all the ponds used paddle wheels. They were not running but I was assured that they run at night. I followed around a group and was impressed by how well everyone watched the fish. They mentioned that yesterday the fish didn’t eat much food, implying a high level of ammonium, so they reduced the amount of feed for the fish tomorrow.
After a short ride we stopped to see the only waterfall in Egypt, a nice 12 foot fall. It was all artificial and worked by a pump but was still nice. I still love how everyone goes swimming fully dressed, long sleeves and long pants. Most of the women swimming were still wearing head scarves. Then again they weren’t actually swimming, they clung to inner tubes for dear life after the water got 5 feet deep. It was a horribly hot day and I really wanted to go swimming but wasn’t dressed appropriately. Well I guess I was dress socially appropriately but I had no intention of getting my nice clothes wet and dirty.
I discovered I was staying at a hotel, once again feeling bad because it was probably expensive. It is right on the beach of a massive saltwater lake, at least 5 miles wide and many more long. Winter is the tourist season and right now most of the tourist locations are abandoned. It was awkward as I sat in the 30 table cafeteria in the hotel and ate alone. Next at about 2pm I decided to go swimming, I walked down to a very secluded area so I felt fine going in just my shorts. I swam a mile or two up and down the coast seeing many people on their tubes, none more than 100 feet from the beach.
This is the point where my day turned for the worst. I headed up to the room and took a little nap, and discovered the room only has a tiny fan. After I woke up, covered in a fresh layer of mosquito bites, I came down for dinner. I was surprised to find the hotel abandoned, it was about 9pm. (no it is not too late people here eat dinner really late, lunch was at 3pm.) True, I am the only person renting a room but that should mean the service is excellent. After a while I decided to just leave and find food myself. Then I discovered every door is locked, yea what the hell? So I wander around the hotel yelling hello and Salam trying to find anyone to let me out. No luck, I’m getting really hungry now, all I have are bags of skittles. Well eventually I have to climb out a freaking window to get out. After climbing the locked security gate I walked down the road to try and find a restaurant. I found two places that looked promising but when I went in I was pretty much told they don’t serve food. One had a sign with a picture of a dinner plate with food on it.…
Eventually I came to a place where the man took me to a table and gave me a glass of water. I communicated that I wanted to eat fish, I said “Samak” he nodded and said “fish” and made a eating gesture. After sitting there for about 30 minutes I got suspicious, I walked over to investigate. After repeating the message the metaphorical light bulb lit up above his head. I thought to myself, what the hell did you think I meant with I said fish, do you think I wanted to watch them from the deck?!?! After paying far too much money for a damn glass of water and an empty table I stormed off. All that was left was the Egyptian equivalent of an Am/Pm. My dinner consisted of a little bag of Doritos, a bag of skittles, and a water bottle. So now I’m writing this in a very bad mood, oh well. Tonight I hate Egypt and just want to go home and sleep in my own air-conditioned room.
Mas Comida
Day 35 June 25 – Mas Comida
I couldn’t sleep last night, I think it has something to do with walking up late and laying around all day. I got up at 4:30am to call home, dad had said to call at 6:30pm; I guess without checking the time difference. I walked across the farm and climbed to the roof of a building. I watched the sunrise then headed back to the room. As I retuned to the room I saw a driver who was waiting for Tim. I went in to make sure he was awake, then said goodbye. He was headed off the see the pyramids.
Tim returned much faster than I expected with food, delicious food. After almost two weeks of frozen chicken, bread, and chips I was thrilled to eat something else. He got some juice, pasta, candy, and other stuff. Best of all he got me a box of skittles, SKITTLES! Too bad I am leaving tomorrow to go to a fry farm, if the food is gone when I return I may have to murder my new roommate.
I couldn’t sleep last night, I think it has something to do with walking up late and laying around all day. I got up at 4:30am to call home, dad had said to call at 6:30pm; I guess without checking the time difference. I walked across the farm and climbed to the roof of a building. I watched the sunrise then headed back to the room. As I retuned to the room I saw a driver who was waiting for Tim. I went in to make sure he was awake, then said goodbye. He was headed off the see the pyramids.
Tim returned much faster than I expected with food, delicious food. After almost two weeks of frozen chicken, bread, and chips I was thrilled to eat something else. He got some juice, pasta, candy, and other stuff. Best of all he got me a box of skittles, SKITTLES! Too bad I am leaving tomorrow to go to a fry farm, if the food is gone when I return I may have to murder my new roommate.
Friday is my Favorite Day
Day 34 June 24 – Friday is my Favorite Day
Friday is my favorite day here in Egypt because it is the beginning of the weekend; it is my day to do absolutely nothing. I think I woke up at around 1PM then moved 20 feet and laid down in front of the TV. A while later Tim came in telling me that he locked his keys in the office…YAY an adventure. Well I was bored so I volunteered to help, got my leatherman, laptop, and headed over. First we checked the windows, not going to work. Then we tried to mess with the handle and door but also no luck. Then I hooked up to the wifi and looked up “picking locks” on youtube. 5 minutes later we had to door open, I love the internet.
I spent the rest of the day screwing around on the internet and listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on audio book. Egypt is pretty boring on the weekends when your stuck at Abassa.
Friday is my favorite day here in Egypt because it is the beginning of the weekend; it is my day to do absolutely nothing. I think I woke up at around 1PM then moved 20 feet and laid down in front of the TV. A while later Tim came in telling me that he locked his keys in the office…YAY an adventure. Well I was bored so I volunteered to help, got my leatherman, laptop, and headed over. First we checked the windows, not going to work. Then we tried to mess with the handle and door but also no luck. Then I hooked up to the wifi and looked up “picking locks” on youtube. 5 minutes later we had to door open, I love the internet.
I spent the rest of the day screwing around on the internet and listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on audio book. Egypt is pretty boring on the weekends when your stuck at Abassa.
Add the Blue Stuff to the Red Stuff
Day 33 June 23 – Add the Blue Stuff to the Red Stuff
Today Tim and I measured the alkalinity of his six ponds, Tim showed me how. We measured the alkalinity by the process of titration. I didn’t have an opportunity to look up what alkalinity was and how it is caused and effects fish, so comments would be helpful. We took a small water sample then added 5 drops of ethyl orange as an indicator. Then we slowly added a different chemical (sorry forgot the name) until the sample turned pink. At that point we write down the amount of mystery chemical it took to turn the sample pink. We then use a formula to find the alkalinity.
The next and final stop with the international students was a demonstration on how to feed fish. Most of it was pretty obvious but I did learn something. I saw the workers adding small amounts of water to power fry food. This causes it to sink in small chunks instead of just sitting on top of the water. Then Tim taught a short class on what he was doing at the six ponds to the rest of the international students. Before Tim could start he was interrupted by the other students getting all worked up about a water snake in one of the ponds.
I have not been impressed by the international students. Not because they don’t know very much about fish or fish farming, which is true, but because they don’t really seem to care. For example, during the floy fish tagging three of the adult women were more interested in using the shiny plastic tabs as jewelry than listening. They used to tabs as forehead decorations and added them to their earrings. They even distracted everyone else by giggling and talking during the presentation. Now I’m all for slacking off in big classes, 50 or more people. But not paying attention in a group of 8 people with the teacher right there is not cool.
The scenery was beautiful this morning; a mist was rising off the rice paddies and ponds. Because of the mist you couldn’t see the ground; you could only see the palm trees and buildings in the distance.
Today Tim and I measured the alkalinity of his six ponds, Tim showed me how. We measured the alkalinity by the process of titration. I didn’t have an opportunity to look up what alkalinity was and how it is caused and effects fish, so comments would be helpful. We took a small water sample then added 5 drops of ethyl orange as an indicator. Then we slowly added a different chemical (sorry forgot the name) until the sample turned pink. At that point we write down the amount of mystery chemical it took to turn the sample pink. We then use a formula to find the alkalinity.
The next and final stop with the international students was a demonstration on how to feed fish. Most of it was pretty obvious but I did learn something. I saw the workers adding small amounts of water to power fry food. This causes it to sink in small chunks instead of just sitting on top of the water. Then Tim taught a short class on what he was doing at the six ponds to the rest of the international students. Before Tim could start he was interrupted by the other students getting all worked up about a water snake in one of the ponds.
I have not been impressed by the international students. Not because they don’t know very much about fish or fish farming, which is true, but because they don’t really seem to care. For example, during the floy fish tagging three of the adult women were more interested in using the shiny plastic tabs as jewelry than listening. They used to tabs as forehead decorations and added them to their earrings. They even distracted everyone else by giggling and talking during the presentation. Now I’m all for slacking off in big classes, 50 or more people. But not paying attention in a group of 8 people with the teacher right there is not cool.
The scenery was beautiful this morning; a mist was rising off the rice paddies and ponds. Because of the mist you couldn’t see the ground; you could only see the palm trees and buildings in the distance.
Ave, Morituri te Salutant!
Day 32 June 22 – Ave, Morituri te Salutant!
Well today’s big event was a post-mortem investigation of a fish, well I guess it was pre-mortem until we killed the fish. Anyway, first we examined to fish’s exterior; we looked at the gills, skin, eyes, and fins. We make sure that the eyes were not bulging out or retracted into the skull. I also looked for bloody spots on the skin, a sure sign of infection.
Next we cut a big hole in the side of fish so we could see the guts. We checked to make sure everything was the correct size and color. I also saw the little heart of the fish still beating. I was poking around when I accidentally ripped the spleen open. The spleen was full of nasty green liquid which got all over my sleeve. I asked the teacher to show me where the pituitary gland of the Tilapia was, I had only seen it in a Catfish. PETA would not have appreciated my activities over the last few days, I dissected a fish just to see what was inside, and performed minor surgery for practice. While yes, they were under anesthesia it was obvious they could still feel what was going on. Almost makes me feel bad for them. Then again, their sole purpose to exist is to die so I can eat them.
After taking a group picture with the other students from the international group I worked with Tim. We walked out to the six ponds Tim is using to experiment with different stocking densities of Tilapia. Periodically throughout the week he measures pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, temperature, hardness, phosphorus, ammonium, and mortalities. Today we measured dissolved oxygen and temperature levels of the six ponds.
Dad told me a while ago that algae in the ocean is a major contributor to the creation of global oxygen. I also learned in my marine bio class that while algae is found in every ocean around the world, sometimes it is very densely concentrated. This is known as an algae bloom. When the conditions are just right there can be an explosion of algae growth; this creates vast amounts of oxygen and sequesters large amounts of CO2 on the bottom of the ocean. I wanted to see this in the real world so when I noticed that a corner of a pond had turned dark green from an algae bloom I had to investigate. Most of the ponds we tested had a dissolved oxygen level of about 12 (ppm I assume), The algae bloom area had a dissolved oxygen level of 19ppm. That is a 58 percent increase in dissolved oxygen caused by the concentration of algae.
Today’s movie is Gladiator! Ave, Morituri te Salutant! I wonder if this is what the fish thought as they saw their impending death.
Well today’s big event was a post-mortem investigation of a fish, well I guess it was pre-mortem until we killed the fish. Anyway, first we examined to fish’s exterior; we looked at the gills, skin, eyes, and fins. We make sure that the eyes were not bulging out or retracted into the skull. I also looked for bloody spots on the skin, a sure sign of infection.
Next we cut a big hole in the side of fish so we could see the guts. We checked to make sure everything was the correct size and color. I also saw the little heart of the fish still beating. I was poking around when I accidentally ripped the spleen open. The spleen was full of nasty green liquid which got all over my sleeve. I asked the teacher to show me where the pituitary gland of the Tilapia was, I had only seen it in a Catfish. PETA would not have appreciated my activities over the last few days, I dissected a fish just to see what was inside, and performed minor surgery for practice. While yes, they were under anesthesia it was obvious they could still feel what was going on. Almost makes me feel bad for them. Then again, their sole purpose to exist is to die so I can eat them.
After taking a group picture with the other students from the international group I worked with Tim. We walked out to the six ponds Tim is using to experiment with different stocking densities of Tilapia. Periodically throughout the week he measures pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, temperature, hardness, phosphorus, ammonium, and mortalities. Today we measured dissolved oxygen and temperature levels of the six ponds.
Dad told me a while ago that algae in the ocean is a major contributor to the creation of global oxygen. I also learned in my marine bio class that while algae is found in every ocean around the world, sometimes it is very densely concentrated. This is known as an algae bloom. When the conditions are just right there can be an explosion of algae growth; this creates vast amounts of oxygen and sequesters large amounts of CO2 on the bottom of the ocean. I wanted to see this in the real world so when I noticed that a corner of a pond had turned dark green from an algae bloom I had to investigate. Most of the ponds we tested had a dissolved oxygen level of about 12 (ppm I assume), The algae bloom area had a dissolved oxygen level of 19ppm. That is a 58 percent increase in dissolved oxygen caused by the concentration of algae.
Today’s movie is Gladiator! Ave, Morituri te Salutant! I wonder if this is what the fish thought as they saw their impending death.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Sweeny Todd
Day 31 June 21 – Sweeny Todd
I got a call this morning on the home phone, this is how I discovered we had a home phone. It was Dr. Gamal inviting me to join his international group of students for their week long training program. This is the program my roommate Tim has been working with for the last few days. I said ok and headed out with Tim as he checked the pH and Ammonia levels of the six ponds left to his care. Measuring pH was easy, just stick this thingy into the water and press the pH button, easy. The Ammonia test was slightly more involved. Take two test tubes and fill them with 5ml of water. In one tube place 2 drops of Nesler Reagent which will change the color of the water based on the amount of ammonia in the water. Then place the tubes in the plastic device which has lenses you look though until the colors of the water match. Then record the number the device shows, this is the ammonia measured in ppm.
Next was a demonstration of how to remove the pituitary gland from the brain of a catfish. Been there, done that; let somebody else get covered in catfish slime and blood.
Then there was a very interesting class on tagging fish. Tagging fish is important in a research environment because sometimes it is necessary to be able to differentiate between groups of fish in the same pond. There are a few methods of tagging fish, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.
Fin Clipping – This method is simple and very non-invasive, you simple cut a simple pattern into the dorsal fin. The results of this method do not last long because the cuts simply grow back. Another problem with this method is it can only differentiate between a few groups, it is not useful to separate individual fish. This method would be useful if you need to distinguish between fish that had and had not been given a treatment. But both groups would have to be cut anyway otherwise the operation would influence some fish and not the others.
Brand – Another simple method of marking fish is branding them like cattle. Simply use a modified soldering iron to burn simple marks into the fish’s skin. Because the brand only works directly on skin, only scaleless fish can be used, like catfish. Like fin clipping this method only has a few possible combinations, the more burns the more invasive. Anesthetics are necessary to make the branding process easy and reduce the trauma on the fish.
RFID – This method is very interesting; it uses small radio chips to identify fish. A worker uses a large needle to make an incision and push in a transmitter about the size of a small pill. If the transmitter can fit inside of the fish’s abdominal cavity then the scientists can make it work. This method is great because it is able to differentiate between specific fish, each transmitter has a unique code. This method also requires the use of anesthetics. This method is invasive and has a small mortality rate. It is expensive to buy the transmitters but they can be reused many times.
Flowey – This method uses a needle, string, and numbered tag to identify fish. This is another method that can be used to identify specific fish. The needle is disinfected then poked through the fish between the lateral line and the dorsal fin. Then you pull the string through but leaving enough length for the fish to grow. Before a knot is tied a plastic tab must be put on the string to keep it from being pulled though the fish. While this method is cheap it is also very invasive, unlike RFID, the tags impede to movement of the fish.
After work I was bored and hungry so I decided to head into Abassa, the nearest town. It is about two miles away but when it is so hot I prefer to take a tuk tuk taxi, and it only costs 50 cents. I walked through town buying bags of chips, tam-may-aah, and bread. That is about all the food in town that is worth buying. As I was getting ready to get a tuk tuk back to The World Fish Center I saw a barber shop. I walked in pointed to my hair and the kid walking by who had a short hair cut. It doesn’t look great; there are funny little likes in hair. While I was in the chair I had the random urge to get a shave with the old straight edge razor. After communicating my desire I began to get nervous, I just watched Sweeny Todd. Well my worry was misplaced, he did an excellent job. The best part was the cost, a haircut and shave cost 2$, how cool is that! I took a taxi home and watched Black Hawk Down on TV, awesome.
I got a call this morning on the home phone, this is how I discovered we had a home phone. It was Dr. Gamal inviting me to join his international group of students for their week long training program. This is the program my roommate Tim has been working with for the last few days. I said ok and headed out with Tim as he checked the pH and Ammonia levels of the six ponds left to his care. Measuring pH was easy, just stick this thingy into the water and press the pH button, easy. The Ammonia test was slightly more involved. Take two test tubes and fill them with 5ml of water. In one tube place 2 drops of Nesler Reagent which will change the color of the water based on the amount of ammonia in the water. Then place the tubes in the plastic device which has lenses you look though until the colors of the water match. Then record the number the device shows, this is the ammonia measured in ppm.
Next was a demonstration of how to remove the pituitary gland from the brain of a catfish. Been there, done that; let somebody else get covered in catfish slime and blood.
Then there was a very interesting class on tagging fish. Tagging fish is important in a research environment because sometimes it is necessary to be able to differentiate between groups of fish in the same pond. There are a few methods of tagging fish, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.
Fin Clipping – This method is simple and very non-invasive, you simple cut a simple pattern into the dorsal fin. The results of this method do not last long because the cuts simply grow back. Another problem with this method is it can only differentiate between a few groups, it is not useful to separate individual fish. This method would be useful if you need to distinguish between fish that had and had not been given a treatment. But both groups would have to be cut anyway otherwise the operation would influence some fish and not the others.
Brand – Another simple method of marking fish is branding them like cattle. Simply use a modified soldering iron to burn simple marks into the fish’s skin. Because the brand only works directly on skin, only scaleless fish can be used, like catfish. Like fin clipping this method only has a few possible combinations, the more burns the more invasive. Anesthetics are necessary to make the branding process easy and reduce the trauma on the fish.
RFID – This method is very interesting; it uses small radio chips to identify fish. A worker uses a large needle to make an incision and push in a transmitter about the size of a small pill. If the transmitter can fit inside of the fish’s abdominal cavity then the scientists can make it work. This method is great because it is able to differentiate between specific fish, each transmitter has a unique code. This method also requires the use of anesthetics. This method is invasive and has a small mortality rate. It is expensive to buy the transmitters but they can be reused many times.
Flowey – This method uses a needle, string, and numbered tag to identify fish. This is another method that can be used to identify specific fish. The needle is disinfected then poked through the fish between the lateral line and the dorsal fin. Then you pull the string through but leaving enough length for the fish to grow. Before a knot is tied a plastic tab must be put on the string to keep it from being pulled though the fish. While this method is cheap it is also very invasive, unlike RFID, the tags impede to movement of the fish.
After work I was bored and hungry so I decided to head into Abassa, the nearest town. It is about two miles away but when it is so hot I prefer to take a tuk tuk taxi, and it only costs 50 cents. I walked through town buying bags of chips, tam-may-aah, and bread. That is about all the food in town that is worth buying. As I was getting ready to get a tuk tuk back to The World Fish Center I saw a barber shop. I walked in pointed to my hair and the kid walking by who had a short hair cut. It doesn’t look great; there are funny little likes in hair. While I was in the chair I had the random urge to get a shave with the old straight edge razor. After communicating my desire I began to get nervous, I just watched Sweeny Todd. Well my worry was misplaced, he did an excellent job. The best part was the cost, a haircut and shave cost 2$, how cool is that! I took a taxi home and watched Black Hawk Down on TV, awesome.
Zagazig
Day 30 June 20 – Zagazig
To be honest I realize why the scientists here are not paid the big bucks, they really don’t seem to work that hard. They seem to do a little work then go sit in the office and drink tea and Turkish coffee for hours. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sitting around and chit chatting, but nothing seems to be getting done. They are at work from around 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. They take at least 40 minutes for the prayer and prayer preparation, they pray twice during the working hours. Another 50 minutes is spent eating lunch and walking to the cafeteria. This leaves a four hour work day, and it is wishful in the extreme to imagine they work those whole four hours.
After a while I headed off to see a new lab, a branch of the genetics department. I was given a quick explanation of a method in which a geneticist can change something inside the egg. They can change fish into ha-bloids or tetra-bloids. To be honest I was pretty much as confused as your probably are right now. I asked “What is the benefit of having a tetra-bloid?” the response was “Yes, Yes, very good.” Here is that language barrier again. I didn’t stay long because I was so confused I wasn’t learning anything. But he did mention that he had an easier way to make YY SuperMales. Three scientist then gathered around me and each tried to draw their own diagram (at the same time) to try and explain how they would do it. I saved the paper because I thought it was funny because it was so confusing.
Well just before I was going to start walking home my friend Ahmed asked me if I wanted to come to Zagazig with him. I hesitantly agreed and drove to Abassa to get some stuff to spend the night. It turns out Zagazig is the third most populous city in Egypt, according to Ahmed. He says the city has over three million citizens and it sure was crowded. Now I have been to the three most populous cities; Cairo, Alexandria, and Zagazig. We then drove the half hour to Ahmed’s home; there I met his niece and sister. Ahmed is twenty five, his first sister is twenty; they live at home with their oldest sister, her daughter, and the grandparents. The whole three hours I was there I never saw the oldest sister or the grandparents, but they were home. I was purposely separated from them, no idea why. We had lunch there and talked about many things including the Iraq war and Israel.
After sunset I left with Ahmed to meet with some of the other scientists from CLAR for a night on the town. We drove around and saw some of the sights, then parked to walk around. After a short walk we stopped to get some fries, unfortunately it took them 30 minutes to cook fries. While we were waiting somebody, a young teenage girl, got hit by a car. It was not very serious but she was defiantly crying, her friends helped carry her away. I knew it was going to happen, it was only a matter of time, somebody was going to get hit.
After a few more hours of wandering and looking around we headed back to Ahmed’s aunts old house. The house was empty but I was ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately there was no AC and no fans. It wasn’t as hot as Tucson is right now, heat wave; sucks for you. Well I got into my shorts and just lay in bed, miserable and sweating just sitting there. Well I used Uncle Chris’s excellent method of laying a wet towel over yourself; once again Penny’s bandana was invaluable. Early the next morning we took the bus from Zagazig straight to CLAR.
During the conversation with Ahmed, and his sister we talked about how Muslims are treated in the US. I was surprised to discover that they thought Americans completely ostracize Muslims. I admitted at right after 9/11 that was true, but I don’t think that is still is. I can only speak form my experience but I have never, with my own eyes or ears, seen a Muslim being mistreated because of their religion or dress. I explained that I knew of three Muslims in my high school. Ahmed asked if I became friends with any of those three and I said no. He took this as proof that Americans ostracize Muslims. I unhappily defended myself by explaining that there were three thousand people at my school and I wasn’t friends with the vast majority of them. I also pointed out that if I feared Muslims I wouldn’t come to a Muslim country alone for two months. They remain unconvinced.
To be honest I realize why the scientists here are not paid the big bucks, they really don’t seem to work that hard. They seem to do a little work then go sit in the office and drink tea and Turkish coffee for hours. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sitting around and chit chatting, but nothing seems to be getting done. They are at work from around 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. They take at least 40 minutes for the prayer and prayer preparation, they pray twice during the working hours. Another 50 minutes is spent eating lunch and walking to the cafeteria. This leaves a four hour work day, and it is wishful in the extreme to imagine they work those whole four hours.
After a while I headed off to see a new lab, a branch of the genetics department. I was given a quick explanation of a method in which a geneticist can change something inside the egg. They can change fish into ha-bloids or tetra-bloids. To be honest I was pretty much as confused as your probably are right now. I asked “What is the benefit of having a tetra-bloid?” the response was “Yes, Yes, very good.” Here is that language barrier again. I didn’t stay long because I was so confused I wasn’t learning anything. But he did mention that he had an easier way to make YY SuperMales. Three scientist then gathered around me and each tried to draw their own diagram (at the same time) to try and explain how they would do it. I saved the paper because I thought it was funny because it was so confusing.
Well just before I was going to start walking home my friend Ahmed asked me if I wanted to come to Zagazig with him. I hesitantly agreed and drove to Abassa to get some stuff to spend the night. It turns out Zagazig is the third most populous city in Egypt, according to Ahmed. He says the city has over three million citizens and it sure was crowded. Now I have been to the three most populous cities; Cairo, Alexandria, and Zagazig. We then drove the half hour to Ahmed’s home; there I met his niece and sister. Ahmed is twenty five, his first sister is twenty; they live at home with their oldest sister, her daughter, and the grandparents. The whole three hours I was there I never saw the oldest sister or the grandparents, but they were home. I was purposely separated from them, no idea why. We had lunch there and talked about many things including the Iraq war and Israel.
After sunset I left with Ahmed to meet with some of the other scientists from CLAR for a night on the town. We drove around and saw some of the sights, then parked to walk around. After a short walk we stopped to get some fries, unfortunately it took them 30 minutes to cook fries. While we were waiting somebody, a young teenage girl, got hit by a car. It was not very serious but she was defiantly crying, her friends helped carry her away. I knew it was going to happen, it was only a matter of time, somebody was going to get hit.
After a few more hours of wandering and looking around we headed back to Ahmed’s aunts old house. The house was empty but I was ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately there was no AC and no fans. It wasn’t as hot as Tucson is right now, heat wave; sucks for you. Well I got into my shorts and just lay in bed, miserable and sweating just sitting there. Well I used Uncle Chris’s excellent method of laying a wet towel over yourself; once again Penny’s bandana was invaluable. Early the next morning we took the bus from Zagazig straight to CLAR.
During the conversation with Ahmed, and his sister we talked about how Muslims are treated in the US. I was surprised to discover that they thought Americans completely ostracize Muslims. I admitted at right after 9/11 that was true, but I don’t think that is still is. I can only speak form my experience but I have never, with my own eyes or ears, seen a Muslim being mistreated because of their religion or dress. I explained that I knew of three Muslims in my high school. Ahmed asked if I became friends with any of those three and I said no. He took this as proof that Americans ostracize Muslims. I unhappily defended myself by explaining that there were three thousand people at my school and I wasn’t friends with the vast majority of them. I also pointed out that if I feared Muslims I wouldn’t come to a Muslim country alone for two months. They remain unconvinced.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Useless
Day 29 June 19 – Useless
Today was gloriously useless, I woke up at 2:30PM (might be a new personal record.) I spent the day messing around of facebook.com and watching movies. I watched Pluto Nash and Anchorman. Both of the movies were pretty stupid but my movie selection is somewhat limited. I discovered I have a next-door neighbor, a black French woman about 35, she doesn’t speak any English.
I am so tired of bread and frozen chicken.
I have had the same conversation with about three Egyptians about the election. He asked me if I supported Obama or John McCain? When I told him Obama he makes a strange face and says “but he’s African?” I thought it was strange that an African would seem surprised that I supported an African. Sorry Opa, but McCain? Not a chance.
Today was gloriously useless, I woke up at 2:30PM (might be a new personal record.) I spent the day messing around of facebook.com and watching movies. I watched Pluto Nash and Anchorman. Both of the movies were pretty stupid but my movie selection is somewhat limited. I discovered I have a next-door neighbor, a black French woman about 35, she doesn’t speak any English.
I am so tired of bread and frozen chicken.
I have had the same conversation with about three Egyptians about the election. He asked me if I supported Obama or John McCain? When I told him Obama he makes a strange face and says “but he’s African?” I thought it was strange that an African would seem surprised that I supported an African. Sorry Opa, but McCain? Not a chance.
It's Good For You
Day 28 June 18 – It’s Good For You
Today I spent the day at the Nutrition Department laboratories; there are three of them at Abassa. One is a lab for making experimental fish foods, one is a wet lab for testing the fish food on tanks of Tilapia, and the third is a lab used to analyze the chemical makeup of foods.
Here is part of what I learned today..
1Kg of Tilapia Fingerlings Feed consists of
140g Fish Meal (ground up dried less valuable fish)
365g Soy Bean (provides plant protein)
165g Wheat Bran (ground up- adds mass to the food, filler)
195g Ground Corn (provides plant protein)
20g Cod Liver Oil (provides amino acids)
20g Corn Oil (also provides amino acids)
10g Vitamins (C K E D are the major vitamins)
20g Mineral Mix (Fe Cu Mg)
25g Cellulose (makes it all stick together)
40g Starch (also helps it stick together)
*This mixture is 35% protein
*Fish meal can be 75% replaced with dried chicken parts at 1/7th the price
*Adult fish are given 25% protein in their food.
The fish pellets are made by a quick and simple process. First, all the pieces are ground up until they resemble a powder. Then each ingredient is precisely weighed and added to a large pan. Once all the ingredients are added, everything is poured into a large industrial blender/beater. The “cook” then adds the correct amount of water to make the food just sticky enough that it will hold its shape. Then the mixture is scooped into a giant machine that spits out fish pellets. The pellets are still very soft so they must be dried in an oven for approximately one hour before the food can be given to the fish.
The water content of the food is also important. The perfect amount of water is between 9 and 10 percent of the foods weight. If the food has too much water it will mold and made the fish sick. If it is too dry the food will be too hard, making it hard for the fish to eat. If it is so hard it will also sink, most fish food is eaten at the surface; some of the food that sinks in wasted.
After another good discussion about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan I headed home. I laid around with nothing to do for a few hours until I found Gladiator on TV. After everyone goes home this place is pretty boring, especially with no internet.
Today I spent the day at the Nutrition Department laboratories; there are three of them at Abassa. One is a lab for making experimental fish foods, one is a wet lab for testing the fish food on tanks of Tilapia, and the third is a lab used to analyze the chemical makeup of foods.
Here is part of what I learned today..
1Kg of Tilapia Fingerlings Feed consists of
140g Fish Meal (ground up dried less valuable fish)
365g Soy Bean (provides plant protein)
165g Wheat Bran (ground up- adds mass to the food, filler)
195g Ground Corn (provides plant protein)
20g Cod Liver Oil (provides amino acids)
20g Corn Oil (also provides amino acids)
10g Vitamins (C K E D are the major vitamins)
20g Mineral Mix (Fe Cu Mg)
25g Cellulose (makes it all stick together)
40g Starch (also helps it stick together)
*This mixture is 35% protein
*Fish meal can be 75% replaced with dried chicken parts at 1/7th the price
*Adult fish are given 25% protein in their food.
The fish pellets are made by a quick and simple process. First, all the pieces are ground up until they resemble a powder. Then each ingredient is precisely weighed and added to a large pan. Once all the ingredients are added, everything is poured into a large industrial blender/beater. The “cook” then adds the correct amount of water to make the food just sticky enough that it will hold its shape. Then the mixture is scooped into a giant machine that spits out fish pellets. The pellets are still very soft so they must be dried in an oven for approximately one hour before the food can be given to the fish.
The water content of the food is also important. The perfect amount of water is between 9 and 10 percent of the foods weight. If the food has too much water it will mold and made the fish sick. If it is too dry the food will be too hard, making it hard for the fish to eat. If it is so hard it will also sink, most fish food is eaten at the surface; some of the food that sinks in wasted.
After another good discussion about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan I headed home. I laid around with nothing to do for a few hours until I found Gladiator on TV. After everyone goes home this place is pretty boring, especially with no internet.
Egypt is Paradise for Parasites
Day 27 June 17 – Egypt is Paradise for Parasites
Today was my third day with the people from The Fish Diseases Laboratory. I sat down first with Sofia who was messing with a bag of blood and guts. She told me she was examining the entrails of dead fish to discover what was causing the lumps, hemorrhaging, and discoloration of the intestines. This was done by using small medical scissors to cut open and examine what is inside of the intestines, especially if there are any parasites. So let me clarify, there is fish poop inside fish intestines, outside of the intestine is slimy and covered in fish blood and guts. I joined in the fun and also tried to cut the toothpick think intestines open lengthwise, not easy. Then I would smear whatever is inside onto my hand to see if I could see any little parasites. After 4 hours of work we found 5, actually she found 5; all I found was fish poop.
The lady on the other side of the table was examining another type of fish for a similar condition, a different species of worm. This parasitic infestation was much more severe, her method was to cut open the intestine and put everything in a Petri dish. Then she would use a small paint brush to pick up the worms. I would estimate she found about 500, she said this was not a severe infestation, it can get much worse.
At about 11AM one of the women closed the door, the windows, and turned off the fans. The room quickly became miserable, then she turned on a giant Bunsen burner… I asked what she was doing and she didn’t immediately answer, only when she put the cover back on the Petri dish did she respond. It turns out she was testing a tissue sample for bacterial diseases. (I’m not sure I completely understand this so please leave comments if you can clarify) This is done by taking a small tissue sample from the possibly infected fish and placing it in saline solution. Then the scientist must make a medium for each disease that might be present in the sample. The medium is a mixture that encourages the growth of the bacteria of the disease while inhibiting growth of anything else. So when the scientist smears a tiny bit of the sample on the medium, if anything grows you know the specific disease is present. The reason the fans had to be turned off was so that the medium would not be infected by any other bacteria in the air. The Bunsen burner was used to sterilize everything that comes in contact with the medium.
We finished the work at around 2PM and I headed back to my room. On the way back I had a discussion with a scientist about Israel. He believed that Israel started the Yom Kippur war with the intention of simply killing Muslims. I think that is ridiculous, I don’t know if Israel was right or wrong but I don’t believe that was their intention. I also disagree on the point that Palestinians are without blame. I think both sides are wrong.
Today was my third day with the people from The Fish Diseases Laboratory. I sat down first with Sofia who was messing with a bag of blood and guts. She told me she was examining the entrails of dead fish to discover what was causing the lumps, hemorrhaging, and discoloration of the intestines. This was done by using small medical scissors to cut open and examine what is inside of the intestines, especially if there are any parasites. So let me clarify, there is fish poop inside fish intestines, outside of the intestine is slimy and covered in fish blood and guts. I joined in the fun and also tried to cut the toothpick think intestines open lengthwise, not easy. Then I would smear whatever is inside onto my hand to see if I could see any little parasites. After 4 hours of work we found 5, actually she found 5; all I found was fish poop.
The lady on the other side of the table was examining another type of fish for a similar condition, a different species of worm. This parasitic infestation was much more severe, her method was to cut open the intestine and put everything in a Petri dish. Then she would use a small paint brush to pick up the worms. I would estimate she found about 500, she said this was not a severe infestation, it can get much worse.
At about 11AM one of the women closed the door, the windows, and turned off the fans. The room quickly became miserable, then she turned on a giant Bunsen burner… I asked what she was doing and she didn’t immediately answer, only when she put the cover back on the Petri dish did she respond. It turns out she was testing a tissue sample for bacterial diseases. (I’m not sure I completely understand this so please leave comments if you can clarify) This is done by taking a small tissue sample from the possibly infected fish and placing it in saline solution. Then the scientist must make a medium for each disease that might be present in the sample. The medium is a mixture that encourages the growth of the bacteria of the disease while inhibiting growth of anything else. So when the scientist smears a tiny bit of the sample on the medium, if anything grows you know the specific disease is present. The reason the fans had to be turned off was so that the medium would not be infected by any other bacteria in the air. The Bunsen burner was used to sterilize everything that comes in contact with the medium.
We finished the work at around 2PM and I headed back to my room. On the way back I had a discussion with a scientist about Israel. He believed that Israel started the Yom Kippur war with the intention of simply killing Muslims. I think that is ridiculous, I don’t know if Israel was right or wrong but I don’t believe that was their intention. I also disagree on the point that Palestinians are without blame. I think both sides are wrong.
Monday, June 23, 2008
ACTG
Day 26 June 16 – ACTG
Ok so today I worked with the genetic machine I looked at yesterday. Well the man who taught me was very nice and patient with my lack of Arabic, but we had communication issues. Most language barriers can be overcome with drawings, hand signals, or help from others; complex explanations of genetic procedures are not one of those things that can be overcome. I think the name of the machine was the PBR, PCR, or something like that. I was trying to organize my explanation of the machine and the process involved but realized my understanding was laughable, I didn’t even understand the damn name….
I feel really bad when people here buy me stuff, even if it is customary. Went into the village after work and I asked what a food item was. He insisted on buying it for me, despite my best efforts. Now the thing cost 12 pounds, a little over 2$. Now two dollars is nothing to me for lunch, it's a bargain. Then again it is one eighth of his monthly pay. It is annoying but I guess if the tables were turned i would be doing the same thing for him in the US.
When I come hope I promise to figure out what the machine did and how it works. For my own reference, look up master mix and lycera.
By the way ATCG are base pairs, I think. They are abbreviations for the four chemicals that make up DNA. Hey any scientists reading this, any help would be appreciated, or anyone with WIKIpedia and time to kill.
Ok so today I worked with the genetic machine I looked at yesterday. Well the man who taught me was very nice and patient with my lack of Arabic, but we had communication issues. Most language barriers can be overcome with drawings, hand signals, or help from others; complex explanations of genetic procedures are not one of those things that can be overcome. I think the name of the machine was the PBR, PCR, or something like that. I was trying to organize my explanation of the machine and the process involved but realized my understanding was laughable, I didn’t even understand the damn name….
I feel really bad when people here buy me stuff, even if it is customary. Went into the village after work and I asked what a food item was. He insisted on buying it for me, despite my best efforts. Now the thing cost 12 pounds, a little over 2$. Now two dollars is nothing to me for lunch, it's a bargain. Then again it is one eighth of his monthly pay. It is annoying but I guess if the tables were turned i would be doing the same thing for him in the US.
When I come hope I promise to figure out what the machine did and how it works. For my own reference, look up master mix and lycera.
By the way ATCG are base pairs, I think. They are abbreviations for the four chemicals that make up DNA. Hey any scientists reading this, any help would be appreciated, or anyone with WIKIpedia and time to kill.
Abassa, Mi Casa
Day 25 June 15 – Abassa, Mi Casa
I left early with Dr. Elghobasy to head back to Abassa, I had not been back for almost two weeks. We stopped to pick up some food on the way there. I returned to my room to put away my food and found that I had a roommate; the evidence was his dirty dishes.
I was then taken to the Infectious Diseases Laboratory to spend the day. There I learned that there are two categories of diseases, infectious and deficiencies. Infectious diseases include Fungal, Bacterial, and Parasitic. Deficiencies, an example would be a vitamin C deficiency.
I was shown an example of a fungal infection in the laboratory next door. Fungal infections are usually secondary infection, meaning they get this because they are already sick. The fish can easily get these diseases due to improper handling. If the slime is scraped off of a fish, the animal becomes much more susceptible to infection. This can occur when fingerlings are moved from pond to pond or anytime fish are moved with nets. The fish I saw looked like it has cotton balls growing off of its sides, under the fungus was an open wound. The fish’s fins were also rotting and looked terrible. We scraped off a small piece of the cotton ball and examined it under a microscope.
Then I left with a geneticist to look at a machine used to compare genetic material. I think the name was the PBR machine. The geneticist told me that the basic purpose of the machine was to compare two pieces of genetic material and tell if a certain strain is present in both samples. I am looking forward to working with this machine tomorrow.
I feel bad for the lower level of scientists here, even with a masters degree they still make 100 pounds a month, yea 20$, that sucks. They work for this small amount of money in the hope that they will move up the ladder where they can make much more money. Most of them also have side jobs; one owns her own veterinary clinic, another has an internet shop. Only after then asking many times did I actually tell them that at Pizza Hut I earn their months pay in three hours.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Pictures!!
I Guess Egypt isn't so bad ;)
Dirty Disgusting animals, I nearly got flung off every time the thing would stand up or sit down. They are crazy tall.
As I expected most of the pictures of the show didn't turn out well. This one looks pretty good.
TIme Fears the Pyramids
Day 24 June 14 – Time Fears the Pyramids
Today is the big day, I’m going to see the pyramids.
I left at 1:30 to take the bus ride to the pyramids. Now unlike buses in the US you don’t have to be at a bus stop to be picked up or let off. Now because of this little fact the trip took ten times as long as it should have. Lazy people would make the bus driver stop 50 feet after the previous person so they wouldn’t have to walk so far. I guess you get what you pay for, the hour bus trip cost 50 cents in USD. Before long I could see the pyramids rising above the buildings…
The pyramids were amazing, I was not disappointed. After the 5$ entry fee, I had access to the 6 pyramids and the sphinx. There are the three major pyramids and three tiny ones. The stones are amazingly large and it boggles the mind to imagine people moving them under people and animal power only. It was an amazing sight to see and I will never forget it, a high point in my life.
But this amazing place was also marred by people looking for a quick, unearned buck. The first was quickly after the front gate, “ticket” said a poorly dressed man, I ignored him until he said “hey I’m with the government.” Of course I didn’t believe him but I also didn’t want to press my luck. So I showed him my ticket but refused to relinquish it when he tried to take it from me. I walked past him to look at some of the tombs when he followed me and started guiding me. Now this guy is already on my bad side for claiming to be with the government, so I attempted to wave him off and said no thanks. When he ignores these, really getting on my nerves at this point, I stopped looked him right in the eyes and say “STOP, Go Away, Leave me alone.” That did the trick.
As I passed between the first and second pyramid a police officer waves me over. He tells me to go part way up the pyramid and he will take my picture. Now I know he is going to ask for money and I can live with it if he takes a picture. But when his friend comes over and also asks for Baksheesh, I unhappily say “you didn’t do anything.” Well that didn’t make him very happy, and he starts angrily taking in Arabic, but he had a big gun and I didn’t so I gave him a pound to leave me alone. After waving off many camel rides I decide to head out into the desert to take some pictures. I also craved a moment with out people bugging me.
This is where I really enjoyed myself, nobody bothering me; just me and the pyramids. It was just like in the movies, sand dunes as far as the eye can see, nobody in front of me. I made a big circle all the way around the pyramids, about three miles, taking lots of great pictures. The best part was on the top of a hill, I could see all six pyramids, the Sphnix, and the city of Cairo. I put the camera down on a big rock and did a bunch of timer shots, put the camera down then jump in front of it and smile. I sat and looked around for almost two hours on top of that hill.
On the way out I feared, for the first time, I was going to either be robbed or get in a fight. Ironically, by the police. I am starting to get the typical rapper’s outlook on the local police. As I’m leaving the pyramid area, at or near closing time, an officer orders me over. He points at his friend and demands that I give him Baksheesh. First I pretend like I don’t know what he is talking about. Then claim not to have any money, growing more and more angry all the time. When ever I would try to walk away he would yell and tell me to stop. I have no intention of being forced to give anybody money. First, I’m not getting robbed; Second, all I have is a 50 pound note and hundreds, neither of which he is getting. Well eventually the officer starts saying “Give him money,” well I just flat out said No. He was furious and started yelling at me, I thought that would be a good time to leave. So after flatly refusing him I just walked away, I ignored his order to stop. He followed me for a while but didn’t speak to me again. That was the only time I’ve really been worried about my safety here in Egypt.
Next I pulled the classic tourist trick, take your money out of your wallet and put it in another pocket. Then when someone asks for money you can show them your empty wallet. Knowing that I would have to pass many other police checkpoints I thought this was wise. But the rest of the day was free of armed men demanding money, but plenty of unarmed people did. I planned on going to the Sound and Light Show so I made my way toward the Sphinx.
The Sound and Light Show started at 8:30 so I had two hours to kill, so I took the long way to the Sphinx. I went down a small market street in the right direction. This time it was kids on bikes that wanted my money. They would ride next to me ask where I’m from, my name, then say “you give me money.” I think if I gave everyone money that asked for it today I wouldn’t have the two pounds for the bus ride home. Well eventually the streets got narrower and I became less sure of where I was going. Well as I was looking at a funny camel with designs cut into its hair a man asked me if I wanted a ride. Since I thought I was lost I thought this would be a great way to get unlost (probably not a word). Two birds with one stone, get to ride a camel and figure out how to get to the sphinx. Foolishly, I expected this man to own the camel; instead he says “follow me I take you better place” which I’m sure means his friend. Well he takes me down a few houses to a different camel. After asking the man about 5 times to actually tell me the price for a ride to the sphinx we settled on 20 pounds.(5$) I expected the camel guy, a kid my age, to walk in front of the camel and guide it while I sat on the saddle, like everyone else I saw. No… he told me to move back then hopped up there with me… I laughed when 20 feet later we see the Sphinx, I guess I was going the right direction.
Well I still had and hour and a half to blow so I told the kid to take me on a longer trip. I was glad I did this because 30 minutes later we were riding in the dunes up to a vista where we could see everything. There I saw the sunset over the pyramids and Cairo, something I will never forget.
At 8PM we returned right outside of the sphinx to the father and camel owner. First he was saying 130 pounds (26$) and I laughed and said no way. I talked him down to 70 (14$), a good price considering he was going to charge me 20 pounds for a 5 minute ride at first. Well I hurried over to the line for the Sound and Light Show.
As I have been in Egypt I have found that people here are not big on waiting in line. They don’t stay in their lines in cars, in line at the subway, and definitely not in line to buy tickets to the show. But this was different, they had velvet ropes and everything, everyone was waiting in line except the guy who cut right in front of me at the front of the line. As nicely as can be done I pushed him out of the way and told him to wait his damn turn.
The Sound and Light Show begins after dark, it is a light and laser show that showcases the sphinx and pyramids. There is also some history but mostly it’s a light show. The commentary was way overdone but it was entertaining, not sure it was worth 75 pounds (15$) but still cool.
I couldn’t find the bus I was supposed to take home so I took a quick taxi ride to the closest subway station. The Egyptian people redeemed themselves in my eyes when I was lost. I couldn’t find an English subway map and asked the subway guy for help. He didn’t understand but the person behind me told me to just follow him. He took me half way home and took me all the way to my next connection and made sure I got on the right train.
It was an amazing day here in Egypt, I got the see the best and worst Egypt has to offer.
Camels are disgusting animals.
Sound and Light Show is expensive.
Egyptian cops suck
Baksheesh is Bull$hit
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tourist
Day 23 June 13 – Tourist
Most of the places I’ve been over the last two weeks were very un-touristy. But back in Cairo it is a whole different story. Shop keepers yell at you to get your attention, little kids ask your name, where you’re from, then tell you to give them money. The most annoying is the taxi drivers, as I’m walking along they slow down beside me and lay on their horn until I look at them. The one that really pushed me over the edge was a guy who comes up stops right in front of me so I have to stop. Then reaches down grabs my hand, shakes it, and doesn’t let go. Now I’m already not liking this person and when after I try to pull my hand away, twice he continues to hold my hand tighter. So, angrily, I shove him away and tell him to do something very profane to himself.
Well after that episode I walked around the markets for a few hours seeing the people and what they are selling. I was surprised to see that the majority of street vendors sell car stuff. Like aftermarket horns, probably because they overuse the ones they have. I couldn’t believe the amount of car stuff they were selling, anyone need new windshield wipers or sparkplugs?
Well after about four hours of wandering around, and failing to find the movie theater I was looking for, I headed home.
My favorite tourist moment was when some kid about 12 years old starts walking with me. He starts chit-chatting, he was too friendly; my spider/tourist sense was tingling. As I expected he says, oh look here is my family bazaar please my friend come in, come in. Well I was already shopping so why not. I go in to find tourist stuff, little statues, little pyramids, papyrus pictures. Well let me describe the store owner, anything I looked at got a full description, I was the center of his world. So after about 5 minutes of him telling me how good of a deal I was getting I said, ”No thanks, have a nice day.” He looked utterly crestfallen; he looked like Cesar would have as he muttered “Et Tu Brutus?” As I left I heard him quietly, sadly ask, “what happened my friend?” I thought that was a classic tourist moment.
Some Egyptians have aftermarket hors that mimic police sirens, that would get you thrown in prison so fast back home.
I think every Egyptian merchant has learned how to say “hello my friend. British? American? Australian? Come see my Bazar?”
Sorry no pictures today
Going to the Pyramids tomorrow, Boom Shakalaka!
Most of the places I’ve been over the last two weeks were very un-touristy. But back in Cairo it is a whole different story. Shop keepers yell at you to get your attention, little kids ask your name, where you’re from, then tell you to give them money. The most annoying is the taxi drivers, as I’m walking along they slow down beside me and lay on their horn until I look at them. The one that really pushed me over the edge was a guy who comes up stops right in front of me so I have to stop. Then reaches down grabs my hand, shakes it, and doesn’t let go. Now I’m already not liking this person and when after I try to pull my hand away, twice he continues to hold my hand tighter. So, angrily, I shove him away and tell him to do something very profane to himself.
Well after that episode I walked around the markets for a few hours seeing the people and what they are selling. I was surprised to see that the majority of street vendors sell car stuff. Like aftermarket horns, probably because they overuse the ones they have. I couldn’t believe the amount of car stuff they were selling, anyone need new windshield wipers or sparkplugs?
Well after about four hours of wandering around, and failing to find the movie theater I was looking for, I headed home.
My favorite tourist moment was when some kid about 12 years old starts walking with me. He starts chit-chatting, he was too friendly; my spider/tourist sense was tingling. As I expected he says, oh look here is my family bazaar please my friend come in, come in. Well I was already shopping so why not. I go in to find tourist stuff, little statues, little pyramids, papyrus pictures. Well let me describe the store owner, anything I looked at got a full description, I was the center of his world. So after about 5 minutes of him telling me how good of a deal I was getting I said, ”No thanks, have a nice day.” He looked utterly crestfallen; he looked like Cesar would have as he muttered “Et Tu Brutus?” As I left I heard him quietly, sadly ask, “what happened my friend?” I thought that was a classic tourist moment.
Some Egyptians have aftermarket hors that mimic police sirens, that would get you thrown in prison so fast back home.
I think every Egyptian merchant has learned how to say “hello my friend. British? American? Australian? Come see my Bazar?”
Sorry no pictures today
Going to the Pyramids tomorrow, Boom Shakalaka!
If They Say It Can’t Be Done, Do It
Day 22 June 12 – If They Say It Can’t Be Done, Do It
Today was my last day at Cafrashey, I was sad to go and say goodbye to Dr. Ishmail. I got up relatively early and watched another fingerling sale; that is the third time this week. Dr. Ishmail was feeling sick today so he stayed in his room most of the day. Ahmed ran the show again today because Dr. Mohamed was gone and Dr. Ishmail incapacitated.
After the fingerling sale, during a break, I played football (soccer) with the workers. I’m in good enough shape to keep up easily but I havn’t played in years are I was awful. I made one goal while allowing about 5 or 6. Also, Egpyt is, as you can imagine, pretty damn hot. I was drenched and nasty after the ten minute game.
The next order of business was harvesting an old brood stock. Mothers and fathers are used three times then given a year break. Once they can no longer produce, like these fish, they are sold for food. These were big fish, each full adult size. The fish are harvested from a very muddy pit, this was the first time I decided to “just watch.” I was leaving soon and didn’t feel like doing all the work to get clean, cleaning really is a process when nobody has outdoor hoses.
Well the time had finally come for my thank you lunch of steak and soda. I quickly found that this was not going to be as easy as I thought. No coal, cook was not informed and used some of the meat, timing was bad. Well after about 30 minutes I recognized that all of these problems were in people’s heads. All I had to do to make it happen was, as Nike said, “Just Do It.”
With a little help from Dr. Ishmail, who made a brief balcony visit, I cooked everything. Everything went great and I think the workers appreciated it. I said thank you to Dr. Ishmail but was sorry that Dr. Mohamed was no there for me to thank also.
Then I took the ride into Cairo to go back to the home of Dr. Elghobashy and family. Once there I spent the last few hours of the day taking full advantage of the Elghobahys’ all you can eat high speed internet.
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