Journey to Kyoto

It was my dream before to go to Kyoto to see and experience the traditional Japanese culture at its finest. I thought it was impossible with the little resources that I have. But I realized that there was a way, but it would be a very difficult one: applying for the Monbukagakusho (MEXT) scholarship.

And I successfully got in. It took me courage to send e-mails to Japanese professors as my research background was far from my research interest. But a professor has accepted despite that and he was even kind enough to make the study plan (because we were nearing the submission deadline). I am now currently undertaking my Master’s in Kyoto University with animal virus as my research study. My labmates are all Japanese with me as their first and currently only foreign student in the lab. Still, they were very kind to me and would initiate English conversations even when they’re having difficulty speaking it.

I remember that I used to be ask, “Why did you want to study to Kyoto”? And I would always answer simply, “Because it’s like hitting two birds in one stone”. Aside from experiencing the Japanese traditional culture, I also would like to build up my career as a researcher. And nothing is better than going to one of the best universities in Asia, or even the world, which is Kyoto University.

The first two weeks was a long nerve-wrecking adjustment period. I had to finish a lot of paperwork while attending the orientations and the first day of classes. But now, thankfully, I have settled down. I currently live in a nice cozy apartment near Shimogamo-jinja.

And so my journey to Kyoto begins.

Kamogawa or Kamo River in Kyoto

Ryu Ramen & Curry

My friends and I dined out in UP Town Center months ago during the most stressful moments of our college life. We chose to eat in Ryu Ramen & Curry since we like eating and discovering Japanese food. And besides, we heard some positive reviews about it.

And so we entered the restaurant. We were the only customers that time since it was an odd afternoon hour. My friends were on a tight budget so they ordered katsudon, gyoza and fried rice. Meanwhile, I was able to save some money for this dine-out so I ordered their best-seller ramen, Tantanmen.

It was good although I’d say that miso ramen is my least favorite among the ramen versions (shio and shoyu). The taste reminds me of laksa from Singapore. I like the spicy kick though. Maybe next time, I will order the shoyu version. Still, we did not enjoy our dine-out as much as we did in Suzu Kin. We felt that they’re food are overpriced. And so that ends out Japanese food trip to Ryu Ramen & Curry. Next time, we’ll try the Little Tokyo in Makati!

 

Fern Gametophyte

The fern gametophyte stage starts from the unicellular haploid spore until the formation of the multicellular prothallus containing the antheridia and archegonia. In our experiment, we germinated  Christella spores in tissue culture medium and observed them weekly. They are very pretty to look at especially under the microscope. The stages of fern gametophyte development for Christella are spore, formation of rhizoid and prothallial initial, protonema stage, spatulate stage, heart stage, and lastly the mature prothallus. Then if fertilization takes place, a growing sporophyte could be seen from the heart of the prothallus. Here are some photos I’ve taken mostly under microscope. I do not have pictures for the first three stages though.

There were only a few prothallus germinated in my Petri dishes so they were really big like miniature lettuces! After this semester break, maybe I’ll pay a visit to our tissue culture room hoping they are still there.

My Study Habits

Now I realized that I tend to be distracted in studying because of the internet. Our dorm is in the wifi zone, however my laptop disconnects often especially during the study time of 7-11 PM. And during  those urgent times when I have business in yahoo messenger, it just signs out even before I can send a file or a message. It’s really annoying, and my attention goes to reconnecting the internet instead of my homework. And I could not watch youtube or imeem videos completely; every now and then I have to repeat the streaming of  the videos.

That’s why I thought of changing my study time to 2-5 AM and when I tried it, it was  perfect. This is what I do now:

• I take a bath as early as 7 PM, then I wait for some time until my hair is dry then I immediately go to sleep. Then I wake up by 2/3 AM with my cellphone alarm clock. The internet’s really fast and reliable during this time that I can watch videos without reloading and waiting a lot. And I can do my homework and review lessons a lot faster because it’s peacefully quiet. Though the only con is, everybody’s already offline during this time especially my teachers, so I have to do all the important instant messaging during the early evening. But generally, it’s quite okay for me. I can also now eat breakfast very early, unlike before which I used to wake up late that I tend to skip meals. But it looks like  it won’t be a problem anymore.

I really wanted to improve my study habits so that I can work very efficiently. I am the type of student which can’t just study continuously but also need some break/entertainment by watching anime once in a while. I will continue this practice as long as it benefits me most.