Natsu da! Matsuri da! I missed Aya’s natsu matsuri (= summer festival) at the daycare this year. I was in China then. This happens to be one of their major activities, so I’m so sorry to have missed it. Inspite of my initial misgivings, I did have fun last year when I attended it for the first time. And it even rained then, so most of the activities were confined indoors.

Fortunately, Aya’s Tatay and Lola were there to participate in the event, and gladly took pictures and videos so I could at least see what I’d missed. 😉

Here are some of the photos they took:

Aya and Lola pose outside with Aya’s classmates (the two girls). The other adults are parents of one of the girls.

Aya proudly wore her new yukata (= light Japanese kimono, traditionally worn during summer) which I bought for her before I left. It’s red – but of course! I’ll make her wear it again when we attend the “real” summer festival organized by the city of Tsukuba this coming August 25/26.

Actually, somebody suggested that I buy a similar outfit for myself – although I’m sure it would be much more expensive than children’s! But I also heard that there are some cheap ones being sold by Uniqlo nowadays. So hmm, I’m definitely considering it. Anybody out there who wants to lend me their yukata for a day? 😀

Here’s Aya giving the “peace” sign while watching the parade. Thank goodness for the good weather! At least now they could perform the activities outside.

I’ll post the video next time.

Bahay Kubo Research is getting revitalized.

After years of languishing on the Internet, the site is rejuvenated with a new design, new sections, and get this, a blog. Eh? Filipinos blogging about science? You got that right!

I invite you to hop on over to BKR and check out the site. As of now the blog itself has nothing much – but we sure hope that that will change soon enough. And please help spread the word to Filipinos who are into science and technology, research and development, academe or industry, to join us in this new portal. There is so much we can learn from each other. This medium is an excellent place to start spreading and promoting our ideas.

Ipakita ang galing ng Pinoy sa agham!

Almost everyday, Aya brings something home from the daycare. Kids from her class always do – may it be colored illustrations, works of origami, or anything they picked up from the park like stones and stuffs. They call them omiyage, which means souvenir. They bring home their omiyage to show their parents like prized possessions.

When we picked up Aya from the daycare yesterday, she proudly held two plastics – one was holding a colored liquid (mizu iro = colored water), and the other a collection of cast-off skins of cicadas. She told us that they call them semi no nukegara in Japanese. Semi = cicada, nukegara = cast-off or shed skin

Cicadas? Eww.

Aya’s little omiyage is a collection of shed skins of cicadas. Shudder!

There’s one subject in science that I kinda dislike, and that’s Biology. I hate tinkering around remains of things that used to be alive. I shudder at the sight of frogs and cats giving you a lifelike stare whilst swimming in formaldehyde. My cousin, when she was still a medical intern at a hospital, once showed me a picture of their class dissecting a human corpse on a table. The thought of dissecting a human made me sick. I swore that I’d never become a medical doctor, ever.

I digress.

Anyway, what amused me to no end was the fact that Aya would actually pick up a cicada’s skin, when she would jump up in fear of small insects that would occasionally visit us at home. Anyway, I jumped at the opportunity to explain to her that some insects shed off their old skins. It’s almost the same as changing old clothes as we humans do. But hey, I do know some people who would love to shed off their old skin in a heartbeat, given the possibility, haha. 😀

Well howdydo! Ever wondered why aliens in sci-fi flicks are almost always designed with insect-like attributes?

I was really looking forward to watching the latest animated movie from Pixar, Ratatouille, at Cineplex here in Tsukuba. I know that the movie opening was on July 28 – yesterday. But when I checked out the schedules, to my dismay I found that there are no English-subtitled (字幕版) versions, only the Japanese-dubbed (日本語吹替版) version.

Curiously, the title of Ratatouille (rat-a-too-ee) here has been changed to “Remy’s Delicious Restaurant” (レミーのおいしいレストラン). I won’t blame the producers for changing to title to something more digestible – what the heck does “ratatouille” mean, anyway? You can watch the trailer here.

I had so much fun watching “The Incredibles,” I wanted to see this new offering from the same director, Brad Bird. A rat who wants to be a chef? It’s so far out, so out of this world. But Pixar has a knack for pulling off otherworldly, impossible stories like these.

In Japan, not all animated movies are shown in both dubbed and subtitled versions. Most, if not all, Disney-produced movies are exclusively shown in the dubbed version. It definitely caters to the younger Japanese generation, but it invariably leaves out foreigners like me who still love wholesome entertainment and will forever be children at heart. 😉 As far as I can remember, only Finding Nemo was shown in both original and dubbed versions. That was the only Disney-animated movie that I was able to watch at the movie theatre. As for the rest, I had no choice but to wait for the DVD to come out.

Sigh. Looks like I have to wait for Ratatouille on DVD instead.

Has anyone else seen it already? Any thoughts? Was it as good as the earlier Pixar movies (with the exception of Cars, of course). But don’t give out any spoilers. 🙂

“Now shut up and eat your garbage!”

Update, 31 July 2007: Many thanks to Egay for the info about the meaning of “ratatouille.” Only then did I look it up in the dictionary and found that it refers to “a vegetable stew, usually made with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and onions, seasoned with herbs and garlic.” Hmm, what do you know?!! Egay, at least you got the zucchini part. 🙂

Hainan is known as the “Hawaii” of China. Haikou, also known as the Coconut City, is a major port of the island, and has a domestic airport for flights connecting to various major cities in China like Guangzhong and Beijing. As soon as I arrived at Haikou, the sights and scents welcomed me as if I was returning home. Really!

Quite interestingly, within my short stay of three days in that island, I was able to sample native “Filipino” dishes like adobo, lechon kawali, and even the intricate kare-kare. Of course there are also other dishes available, but those dishes caught my attention because of their familiar taste. Not exactly cooked the way we Filipinos cook them, but the resemblance is still striking. And if you’re wondering if the said kare-kare dish was served with bagoong(shrimp paste), the answer is a resounding yes. However, as with the dishes, the bagoong was a bit different from the ones we have in the Philippines. It was not too salty, and even had a spicy tinge to it.

More than the food, though, was the fabulous opportunity to have a glimpse of the sea. I love the sea. Everyday, from the balcony of my room, I would stand outside and take in the breathtaking view before me.

Sunsets were spectacular. Here is a photo I took one afternoon:

That black thing, which at first glance would instantly remind you of the Loch Ness monster, is just a fishing boat. Sorry to disappoint you. 🙂

Everyday I was busy attending lectures and talks, but on my last day there, I made it a point to go out and walk along the shoreline. It has been years since I last did something like that. So with the waves lapping at my feet, I took a morning stroll on the beach.

The whole place was peaceful and serene. The sand, although they claim it to be “white sand,” didn’t entirely look white to me at all. It looked reddish, in fact. At low tide, the sea appeared tame and shy, with a few rivulets claiming the shore here and there.

Along the way I chanced upon a fisherman with his first catch of the day. How simple life would be, if all we did everyday was catch fish, just enough for us to consume in a day? No more angst about the complications of life.

Of course, I left my mark on the shore, even if I knew that the sea would later reclaim that part of the shore and erase what I wrote there, never to be seen ever again.

But isn’t that the way life goes? We leave our mark, even if we know that time will erase all traces of our efforts. The only time we can claim, the one that is truly ours, is the present.

As a blogger, have you ever experienced days when there is simply no excitement to blog anymore? Have you ever felt or thought – Enough of this crap. I don’t need to do it anymore. It’s just a waste of time. Who would want to read my posts anyway?

And to paraphrase the title of one of Richard Feynman’s books: Why would anyone care about what I think?

And indeed, on the same vein, why would anyone care what I had for lunch? Why should my life be interesting to others?

I’ve mulled on these thoughts for days on end. And I realized that If I would continue blogging at all, then I must blog about ideas that I am passionate about.

Ideas that can give others a refreshing view of things.

Ideas that inspire.

Ideas that can move others to change the way they see the world, or change themselves.

Ideas that will be drive me to change for the better.

I’m not saying that these are the things that bloggers should write about. I’m just saying that this is the direction that I would like my blog to head to. Transformation will take a long process, but the time to start is NOW.

I’m passionate about my role as a parent and my work as a researcher. I’m passionate about making a difference in other people’s lives.

Enough of self-promotion. Ideas are here to stay.

Here is part two of the series.

Q: Did you have a chance to work as a research assistant?
Not as an RA, but as a graduate student. The only difference between an RA and a graduate student? The grad student does not get paid. The work is usually performed as part of the graduate thesis.

Q: Did you attend any special programs or schools that nurtured your interest in science?
The special science class in high school which I attended was the only one I could cite as one of those institutions that nurtured my interest in science.

Q: If you had children, would you send them to science schools?
Right now it is too early to tell, but I would if I found out later on that my daughter had a strong inclination towards science. Right now I am doing everything I can to expose her to science, such as by conducting home experiments with her at home. I have bought her several science books – too early for her age, I guess – in order to spark her early interest in the subject.

It would bring me greatest joy if my daughter would consider a scientific career in the future, but I would not stand in her way should she decide to pursue a completely different career. I want what every parent wants for his/her child – for them to grow up and be the best persons they could be, in whatever area or field of expertise.

Q: Of all the science projects you have worked on, which one gives you pride?
My continuing work on superconducting thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition. It’s a very difficult work to produce an excellent thin film that fulfills the required properties for a specific application. Optimization of several parameters, which eventually dictate the final film properties, takes a lot of patience and hard work. After several years of working on the system, I was able to produce high quality films which would take ourselves one step closer to our goal of using these materials for practical applications in the “real world.”

Q: What subjects or skills did you find useful in your scientific pursuit?
Communication skills – both written and oral – are highly important. I can’t overemphasize this enough. A good scientist needs to be able to communicate his or her results to others, or a particular audience. If you can’t do this properly, then your effort is wasted. How else will they know of your results? If you can’t write, then consider a different career. There’s lots of writing required in science, and half of the time you will spend writing research proposals, technical papers, reports, books, and other materials. One also needs to develop good public speaking skills, to confidently stand before an audience and present results in a concise and logical manner. I remember something that happened when I attended a conference not too long ago. There was a guy who at the beginning of his presentation began to stutter, and everytime he tried to say a word he sounded as if he would choke on it. Finally he hyperventilated in front of a shocked audience. He just couldn’t go on. Clearly embarrassed, he had no choice but to get down from the stage and let his colleague finish the presentation for him. This case clearly illustrates the need for scientists to learn how to speak in front of an audience in a prepared and confident manner.

As a student I used to rehearse my “speech” several times before a presentation. But trust me, in time it gets easier. Now I can make presentations on the spot without having to rehearse beforehand. It takes practice.

Q: What advice can you give to the Filipino youth who are inclined to science?
Pursuing a scientific career, either in the Philippines or elsewhere in the world, is a very fulfilling job. I wish I could say that it is fulfilling not only intellectually but also economically, but clearly this is dependent on one’s location. Nevertheless I would like to believe that all scientists are “citizens of the world,” and the problems that they tackle, even if local, could have significant ramifications on the lives of human beings on a global scale. Choose a subject that you are passionate about, and be consistent. Passion will keep you going even when the going gets tough.

Q: What advice can you give to science teachers?
Never stop striving to learn more and improve your skills. Knowledge is dynamic; it is continually growing.

Never give up on children, especially those who express a strong desire to learn about science. Never take their poverty as a reason not to teach them science. Be an instrument in diffusing strongly held fallacies, beliefs, and superstitions.

I found this interesting article from the DOST website, entitled “The Making of a Scientist.” It’s interesting for me because 1) it featured Filipino scientists, and 2) the said scientists were all women, and 3) I personally know one of them. Dr. Maricor Soriano, one of our former colleagues when we were still at National Institute of Physics, also happens to be a very good personal friend of ours, and of course Baggy’s former labmate at the Instrumentation Physics Lab. 🙂

Among other things, the article made me realize how important it is for scientists to let other people have a glimpse into what made them into what they are today. I realized that there may be someone out there who may even be inspired to take up science as a career.

It’s not a dead end, nor just an exclusive path for the ultra-genius. I think some of you may still be harboring the notion that science is reserved for the highly intellectual but emotionless individuals. Those who care not for anything else except the noble pursuit of knowledge. Well, it may be true for some, but not for all. I know several Filipino scientists who came from humble beginnings, people just like you and me. They just took the path less traveled.

Let me now give you a glimpse into my life, by answering the same questions as found in that DOST article:

Q: When did you start getting interested in science?

The earliest would be when I was in elementary. I had a natural curiosity for everything. Brownouts/blackouts (unexpected power interruptions) were common in our area, so we would light candles inside our house. It made me often wonder why the moths were attracted to the flame, even if they would die if they got too close. Or why my shadow became bigger as I drew near the flame, and smaller as I move farther away. I wondered why there were floods in our area, why there was a high tide and a low tide. It was the answers to those simple questions that drew me to learn more about things and how they worked. I wanted answers.

Q: Who influenced you to be a scientist?

My dad. He wanted me excel not only academically, but to rise above the rest. He didn’t want me to just take up any mediocre course that would enable me to rake in the big “bucks” but would not fulfill me intellectually and emotionally. He wanted me to choose for myself something that in my heart I really wanted to study. From early on he would say things like it was his dream for me to work at NASA someday, or be someone famous like Albert Einstein. 🙂

And guess what, I chose Physics. It was my first choice when I applied for the UPCAT exam. My dad applauded my choice, although it must have been such an obscure subject for him. He trusted my decision.

Q: How was your interest in science nurtured?

I went to a public elementary school which was pretty competitive in science fairs and interschool science competitions (science quizzes and the like). So early on I had an exposure to science-related activities. As early as Grade Five I experienced how to make an investigatory project in science. I didn’t go to a science high school (more on this later) but I was able to qualify for a science class in another public high school. And although the training there was probably not as excellent as those found in some of the bigger-name science high schools, it nurtured my interest in science. I consistently participated in science fairs and quizzes. My teachers in that small high school provided the right stimuli for me to eventually choose science as a future career.

In our annual yearbook, I wrote there that someday I would like to be a “research physicist.” Yeah, I was that geeky. Well, what else could I say? Be careful what you wish for, lol! 😀

To be continued…

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to blog anymore while I was in Hainan. I was too busy attending lectures and minding my preparation for my own presentation. The said presentation went very well, thank you very much. 🙂 I was hoping to find fellow Pinoys or Pinays there, but I wasn’t able to find anyone. In the program I found that there was supposed to be a presentation from a Filipino, but apparently the paper was withdrawn. Too bad. Too few Filipino scientists, I tell you. Too few. We need to reinforce our numbers! How else can we show the world what we’re capable of?

But I digress.

The only Filipinos I saw in Hainan, quite curiously, were a couple who called themselves “Surfers Band from Philippines” who performed every night at the hotel lobby/restaurant bar. They were pretty good. Syempre. 🙂 In retrospect, maybe there were even hotel staff there who were actually Pinoys, but I couldn’t tell them apart from the Chinese staff. The people there resembled Filipinos, honest! Hainan is the island at the southernmost tip of China mainland, and it is located almost on the same latitude as the Philippines. More than one person actually asked me if I would be going home to the Philippines, knowing how near it was to our location. Politely, I told them that my family is in Japan. 🙂

Anyway, I am home sweet home. Back to the grind. My husband tells me that our little girl behaved extremely well, that she could eat on her own without being spoonfed (yeah, what a brat), and has even begun bathing herself without assistance. It seemed as if she acted like a big girl all of a sudden in my absence.

But within 24 hours of my arrival, guess what, she was immediately back to her old self, relying on good ol’ Mom for tender-loving care and assistance. All of a sudden she “forgot” how to eat by herself, or bathe herself. Oh well. Hey, I don’t mind at all. 😀

It’s simply great to be home.

Beijing touchdown: July 12, 2007.

First impression: Construction, construction, and construction everywhere. Looks like the city is really getting prepped up for the Olympics next year. In fact there is a subway under construction right at the Beijing airport, and this is supposed to be finished in time for the Olympics.

In a word? Beijing is HUGE.

Huge, as in eight-lane freeways, tall skyscrapers, the spacious Tian’anmen square, the massive Forbidden City, and the sheer length and grandiosity of the Great Wall. Beijing is all that, and more.

And then there’s people. People – tourists and locals alike – they flock to Beijing like a swarm of bugs attracted by the scents and sights of the city. Thanks to my Chinese companions, I was able to experience some of the things that I would probably never have the heart to try alone. Here are some of them, plus a few of my observations:

• Riding the subway
  • Subways here are quite manageable, particularly if you’re already used to subway systems as in Japan.
  • Tickets are sold at the window, manned by persons. Apparently magnetic tickets have yet to make an appearance here. The tickets are also handed over to persons guarding the entrance gates. In my opinion, the subway in Seoul is more advanced in comparison. At least they had a vending machine for tickets there.
  • I couldn’t quite figure out how much the necessary fare was. I did not see any fare tables. But maybe I just missed them?
  • At the platform, there were no waiting lines of people. Everybody just sort of flocked to the door and squeezed into whatever space available.
  • There was a guard at the platform who made sure that everybody stayed behind the yellow line. He barked orders at anyone who dared to lean over too far. Feisty.

• Riding the bus
  • This appears to be the most convenient and cheapest form of transportation here. Imagine paying a minimum of 1 yuan!
  • Buses are crowded, anytime of the day. Hardly surprising, eh?
  • I got the biggest shock of my life when riding the bus. I was sitting, and there was this girl standing over me, holding onto a rail while the bus was moving. Nothing particularly unusual until my gaze caught her exposed hairy armpit in all its black glory. I have never, and I mean NEVER, seen a woman with hairy armpits before. And here I thought all Asian women shaved their armpits. Wrong! How’s that for culture shock?

• Eating
  
  • By now I’ve sampled quite a number of hitherto unknown dishes, and thanks to the sheer resiliency of my digestive system, I seem to be doing fine. 🙂 I’ve been properly warned about drinking water, so I stick to bottled mineral water only.
    
  • Peking duck – my sister calls this “rubber ducky” because of how shiny they look, and indeed how “rubbery” they taste – this is true at least for some of the Chinese restaurants in Japan where we tried it. Fortunately, I found out that it is not how a genuine Peking duck should be. The meat is rather soft, and the soup made from Peking duck is quite delectable. Quack! 🙂

A few other observations:

• Vehicles drive within their designated lanes. I think the traffic enforcers in Metro Manila would do wise to impose this traffic rule. If they can do it, why couldn’t we?
• All taxis and buses I’d ridden drove within reasonable speed. They seem quite disciplined when it comes to speeding.
• On the other hand, there are still traffic jams here – but not as bad as the ones I’d experienced in Metro Manila.
• I haven’t seen the sun entirely for the last two days that I’ve been here. Fog or smog, I couldn’t tell the difference. Heh.

I’m set to go to Hainan island tomorrow. My newfound friend says it’s cleaner there. Hainan is semi-tropical, and is famous for beach resorts. It will be an entirely different adventure there. So…stay tuned! 🙂