Jiken Jikan, and home visits

I think one word could easily summate the events of the past week and a half. Stress. Work has been truly incredibly hard, but I got through it, which is certainly something. It was decided last week that from now on I’ll be in charge of sample preparation for our experiments. This corresponded to a lot of time spent looking through a microscope at very small things. The joys of a PhD.

Our chosen targets were three-fold. The plankton Microcystis aeruinosa which is a major water pest in japan and therefore an interesting target. Next was condensed chromosome and finally the yeast Sacchromyces cerevisea everyones favourite yeast (it’s bakers and brewers yeast).

So I spent more or less the whole weekend practicing viewing and fixing samples to the thin, I’m talking 30nm thin, silicon slides that we use in imaging experiments. Whilst the process is theoretically straightforward it is of course practically very difficult. Micromanipulation is something I’ve always struggled with due to my innate clumsiness. I’m ok when I concentrate but it can be quite draining.

With that in mind I was very nervous by the time the beamtime actually started on Tuesday and the pressure was mounting. After about 8 hours of set up I departed the beamline to prepare samples whilst everyone else was aligning the equipment. We mainly focused on the plankton as a collaborator had given it to us and we were keen to get some new results.

I worked really hard but for some reason we just couldn’t see anything. The background from the samples buffer solution was just too great and we couldn’t see anything clearly. What didn’t help this was the fact myself and Daewoong where really struggling to figure out what was plankton and what was bubbles. Either way we needed to get rid of that buffer. I had a brainwave and using a handy centrifuge we’d found on the beamline I pelleted the cells, poured off the buffer and re-suspended in water.

We loaded another membrane and managed to get a couple of datasets though the samples seemed a bit small. Things weren’t looking too good after day to and it seemed like my first sample prep experience would be a failure. I worked my bum off for the next day and prepared a large number of chromosome samples. Unfortunately fatigue seemed to have set in as we were suddenly getting funny circles in our diffraction patterns, likely just the grease used to seal the membranes.

So 65 hours out of 72 spent awake, about 20 miles cycled between the ring and the lab where the microscope was located and not much to show for it. A massive disappointment but I had definitely learned a lot. It has also helped me feel more integrated within the group and I think everyone has a bit more respect for me now.

Suffice to say though it nearly killed me and actually made me a bit ill. “Mimi ga itai” (my ears hurt). I must have been looking pretty rough on Friday as Dr. Park insisted on taking me to the hospital. We went along after we’d had some ‘shabu shabu’ at a nearby restaurant with the rest of the lab group. This meal essentially involves dipping very thin slice of meat and vegetables into a boiling hot broth. It cook in a few minutes and is a pretty fun way of eating. A classic example of the communal ways of eating in Japan and “oishikatta” (it was tasty).

I was very thankful to have Dr. Park along at the hospital actually as I wouldn’t have been able to get past the initial forms. I live in quite a remote area so there is not very much English about. The doctor also did not speak very much English but I got the gist and Dr. Park helped to fill in the gaps. I was given a crazy nasal spray, wish I could have got a picture it was a bizarre experience, and about 4 kinds of medicine. It was a nice first experience of the Japanese medical service and I feel much better now.

Right work and my moaning out of the way I did get up to a few other things whilst not working my bum off. The Sunday before we started at the beam I went with Arnaud and Chihiro to a friend’s house in Himeji for dinner. She had kindly agreed to let me kip on her floor as getting back up the mountain is difficult late at night.

So onwards to Uchi no Emily we went. We popped into a conbini on the way to pick up some drinks and Arnaud’s keen eyes noticed a special promotion on a kind of Japanese alcopop. They came with a pair of silicon lips apparently molded from the lips of Japanese female Idols, pop stars, movie stars or models e.t.c. Bizarre I know but the premise was that you could feel as though you were kissing the idol whilst you drank. Even weirder right?

The dinner was delicious a kind of pseudo-Chilean chicken stew with rice cooked by Luis, funnily enough from Chile.  The whole night was a great laugh with great people and helped me to feel a bit more normal. Also in attendance were Gerard and his partner Kumiko whom I'd met previously, Damian, Hiroko and Joshua.

The conversation flitted all over the place but from what I seem to remember a large portion was devoted to talking about how to say particularly rude things in other languages. A very worthwhile topic of conversation of course. Actually due to the highly international nature of these gatherings language seems to be a recurring theme. Not a problem with me to be honest it always makes for good craic.

There were too many highlights to really pick one although Hiroko’s reactions to Joshua and Luis’s vulgarities. She is either very naïve or extremely candid. Either way she pulled some awesome facial expressions. We also had fun demonstrating our party tricks. I managed to shock and amaze a few with my weird body, hurray for stretchy skin, but I couldn’t compete with all the magic tricks Luis had learnt, I guess you need something to keep the kids attention.

It was a great night and I got a good night kip on Emily’s floor to boot. I really need to get a futon at some point I think. It was also cool seeing inside someone else’s house and realizing just how rubbishly small my flat is. Actually it's not that small really but not very well spaced.

Ok jump forward to the Saturday after experiments. I was still feeling a bit rubbish but I’d been invited, alongside Arnaud and Sam, to Gerard and Kumiko’s apartment for lunch, with a short hike in Aboshi beforehand. Well I was exhausted but it beat being stuck inside so I dragged myself out of bed and to the Bus.

The ‘hike’ itself was nothing really, more a stroll up one of the many mountains (read hills) in the local area. There was a nice Buddhist shrine at the top, which made for good photo fodder. To be honest I was totally shattered so it was a good thing really.

In fact I spent a good portion of our walk around Aboshi whining about how tired I was, though after the week I’d just had I feel it was justified. In saying that I did manage to take in a bit of the local area. It seems Aboshi is almost as out in the countryside as our home. There were many rice paddies across the district and it was very flat, not many apartment blocks either.

We got back to Gerrard’s apartment at around 1 o’clock where Kumiko was waiting for us having cooked a “oishii-sou” (tasty looking) Thai curry. Also joining us for lunch where Yuka and Oliver, Yuka was a good friend of Kumiko and Gerard’s and Oliver was visiting her from France.

Wherever I go I seem to be surrounded by French speakers so I guess I need to start learning the language again. Gerard is very into the French language and a keen student, taking every opportunity to cha with Arnaud and Sam it seems. Also Arnaud and Sam delight in introducing me as French so maybe I’d better learn a few key phrases.

Once again a lot of the conversation was focused on of course language. In particular this time the development of regional dialects. I’m particularly interested in Japanese dialects actually. It’s interesting as the Japanese lexicon is limited by the fact there are only 50 unique sounds used to compose words, meaning a lot of homophones. What this means is that dialects in Japan are characterized by the major differences in grammar and word placement where in English accent is much more important.

I was fairly overwhelmed to be honest. I was very tired and as conversations tended to jump between being held in Japanese and French I was constantly struggling to understand. It was kind of fun but not when I was so exhausted. Still I was very happy for the company and Gerard and Kumiko were lovely hosts.

Alongside the curry Oliver had brought some ‘confit de cunard’ to the great excitement of both Sam and Arnaud. This is preserved duck meat simmered in its own fat and, I’m told, is classic French comfort food. I must admit I wasn’t really old though it could have been the old anxieties about high fat food skewing my perception. Though in honesty I’m just not a big fan of duck really. After that Yuka had brought some taiyaki for dessert. Now these things are delcious. One contained anko and brown sugar the other “goma” (black sesame seed) paste and walnuts. “Umaa” they were very tasty.

Soon it was time to return home, Kumiko had to head to the gym to work and it was rapidly getting close to time of the last bus sadly. We washed the dishes and said our goodbyes. It was a nice day all in all and I’d happily go again, it’s nice to get off the mountain from time to time. Can’t wait for my “natsu yasumi” (summer vacation). I have ten days off and should get some good exploring done with the “ryoushin” (parents 

Mata ne minna.

P.S. I realise the last photo is random but how could I not include a pick of a sports drink called thorpedo?