Worms, with Guns!

So I had to write a paper for Environmental Toxicology about the effects of firing range soil from a Fort Benning firing range on the survival and growth of earthworms. It was due this morning, so I spent most of my weekend polishing it up to turn it in. Then someone convinced the teacher to move the due date to Wednesday. I just had to get it out of my hands so I could move on to the next assignment I have to do, so I turned it in. I'm not sure if the worms disliked the soil because of toxicants, but they totally all tried to escape. We came into class the whole next week after setting up the experiment to find dried up dead worms all over the floor. This is the stuff that occupies the mind of a biology major.
My senior research project is still plodding along. It has been really slow due to malfunctioning of equipment, contamination, and pretty much clumsiness on my part. I did get some positive results in one experiment, but I still have to repeat it because of some wonky results in one concentration. We were supposed to do that today, but the cells weren't completely ready to be treated today. I'll be so glad to finish this up!
There's only a month and a half until the trip to Tanzania! I'm so excited! I've installed a Swahili app on my phone that sends me a word/phrase of the day. I know how to say "Call the doctor," "I think he has fainted," and "breast." I don't pick which words they send me, I just learn them as they come!
Graduation is looking to happen Spring of 2014. I was going to be finished this December, but I decided to take another run-through of Organic Chemistry 1 so that I could understand 2 come spring. It also looks like Micah (my son) and I will be doing Ochem together! Won't that be fun!
Just wanted to slap another update here. I've given up any kind of regular posting. :)
~Ciao!

A Little Help?

I have been very blessed that I get to go to Tanzania and the money has been provided to pay for the trip through grants, scholarships, and donations. Thanks to everyone who has helped out so far! There are a couple of scholarship applications still in the works, but those will not pay out before my trip actually happens. I have several items I have to purchase and I need to get a medical check-up and some preventative medications to take on the trip. I'm going to list the actual items I need, and maybe someone can loan some of them or maybe make a donation so I can purchase them. I am very excited about this trip, and I hope that everyone is as excited as I am!
Here's the breakdown:

Clothing Packing List
•    2 Long sleeved lightweight shirt for protection from the sun *all clothes should be muted colors, bright colors will scare away some animals or attract others…we don’t want either occurring!
•    1 Sweater / jacket for cold temperatures experienced at night
•    Hat (again sun protection, I also had a wool hat for warmth and gloves and long johns)
•    Bathing suit (if you stay in a lodge/hotel that has a swimming pool and would want to swim) – not required but an option if you want to get into the pool
•    Socks, undergarments (4 or 5 days’ worth, then plan to wash, most places offered clothes washing but you are charged a fee, in some places Maasi men did the laundry so no female undergarments were allowed…as I said, plan to wash in the sink
•    Belt (if preferred)
•    Sandals (flip flops) for wear during safari in the truck, if we stop and walk you will want hiking shoes and socks – the reason for flip flops or sandals is they don’t want you standing on the seats in the safari vehicles with your shoes on
•    Lightweight hiking shoes
•    2 Shorts/zip off pants (two pair) that convert into shorts are best, 3 -4 t-shirts, something to sleep in if preferred (your roommates might prefer!)
•    Sunglasses
•    Reading glasses (if you wear contacts bring glasses as it can be very dusty)
•    Remember: Bring enough clothing for the entire safari as you may not have them washed (most lodges do offer laundry service) *you can always wash clothes in your sink, we did
  
Personal items
•    Sunscreen / Sun block
•    Lip sun block
•    Toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo *soap and shampoo are provided by all lodges, however, bring a small travel bottle then can be used to wash clothes
•    Several Ziploc bags for camera and toiletries (and dirty clothes)
•    Antibacterial hand (or facial) wipes/hand sanitizer and/or baby wipes
•    Ibuprofen and other required medications – make sure they are in original bottles *for Malaria we use Doxycycline a broad spectrum antibiotic, started 1 – 2 days before we leave for Tanzania – also consider controlled release Ambien, anti-diarrhea meds and get a prescription for Cipro (strong general antibiotic)
•    Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots, such as measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc., Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio
•    Bug repellant (Tsetse flies cause sleeping sickness and are bad!) *we used lemon eucalyptus from Forestry Suppliers
•    You will NOT need bed nets

 Other   
•    Camera, 300 mm lens recommended. (bring extra scan disks so you can maintain resolution of each photo *we shot our photos in RAW but that took a lot of room, we each had 5 scan disks!)
•    Extra camera batteries *we will have electricity at each site and in the vehicle so bring rechargeable camera batteries and an adapter
•    Flashlight
•    Binoculars (each of our vehicles has 1~2 binoculars)
•    Locks for baggage
•    Video camera (if you want)
•    Small gifts for Maasai children (if you want)  – maybe chalk or gum or other school supplies
•    Travelers checks or currency *bring currency in small denominations, in some places they would not take a $20 *call your credit card company, let them know you will be using your Visa or American express (not discover) in Tanzania and the Netherlands, give them the dates of your travel
•    Wildlife guides (we can consolidate as weight will quickly become an issue)
•    Small backpack (to use on non-travel days to bring in the truck while on safari – this is also what I will use as carry on for our international flight)
•    Money belt (place to keep your passport) *each lodge had a safe in the closet of each room so you can leave extra cash, airline tickets and passport locked in the room, however, don’t forget them when we depart!) *Keep your passport on you while we are traveling DO NOT PACK YOUR PASSPORT, you will need to show it several times*
•    Snacks *if needed, to be honest we often had packed lunches or breakfasts and they gave us so much food we didn’t need snacks
•    Good Earth will provide bottled water in the trucks; you should carry a couple of bottles with you to your room.  Don’t drink water from the tap.  Only drink bottled liquids, wipe off the mouth piece or use a straw.






So if anyone knows where I can borrow this stuff or get it cheap, I'd love advice. As far as the medical stuff, I do not have health insurance, but I participate in a medical sharing plan called Samaritan Ministries. This means that preventative stuff and anything under a certain amount is covered by us, and anything else is sent to them and shared among the members. So donations in that regard are definitely welcome. Donation button to PayPal is below. Thanks everyone!

I'm going to Tanzania!!!!

So thanks to some VERY generous donations, a grant, and a CRAZY huge scholarship from CIE, my trip is PAID for! I am so thrilled that I get to go, and I am very grateful for all who have helped. We are leaving May 21 and coming back June 1. I can't wait to see all the awesome animals!!! So thank you all for your help, and I will be taking lots of pictures and telling everyone about my adventures in just a couple of months! WOOHOO!

Time is ticking!

So I'm going to Africa! There was some doubt as to whether the trip was going to be on, and I had started planning to go to the next trip in Oxford instead. But they actually lined up enough people to go, so it's back on!
Problem is, I am supposed to pay another $1,000 by this Friday, and I don't quite have that much yet. So if anyone would like to donate, I would appreciate it very much! You can donate by clicking the button below and choosing the amount, and VOILA! I'm going to Tanzania! :) Thanks to everyone who gives, I really appreciate it!

*phew*

So Fall Semester 2012 is OVER. After much nail-biting and craziness, all the grades are posted, and it's mostly good news. I made A's in Ecology, Physics, Biosystematics, and Senior Research Proposal. I made a B in Physics Lab, and I don't want to talk about it. Thankfully, I'm still on the Dean's List for this semester. I learned a valuable lesson about making sure group assignments are turned in, and I won't be depending on anyone but ME to make sure that happens next semester. So I'm going to enjoy a nice break, the Christmas holidays, and a week-long trip to the beach in Florida with my lovely family. :) Have a nice break, everyone. We earned it. (most of us)

I blinked...

... and when I opened my eyes, FINALS was staring me in the face. This semester went so incredibly fast. I have had a seriously great time.  I am enjoying my classes and doing pretty good (except for YOU physics!). I have ten more class days before it's over, and then two days of finals after that. Then I will be (semi-) free until January. I'm taking physics 2 (or 1, depending on how things turn out this time around), organic chem 2, cell and molecular tech, and environmental toxicology. Oh, and I will be doing my senior research presentation too.
I've been working on my senior research project this semester with Dr. Motley. I have had a lot of fun learning how to carry out experiments with cells and viruses and tinctures. I'm researching the antiviral effects of licorice root on hsv1. So far it's been a big fat zero because we initially were using too low of a concentration of glycyrrhizic acid (that's the active antiviral component of licorice root), and it wasn't doing anything. Now, we've been fighting with contaminated cells for two weeks. I am hoping on Saturday when we repeat the experiment AGAIN, it will actually work this time.
I had mentioned in a previous post that I am planning to go to Tanzania on a study abroad trip next May. I did pick the priciest trip possible, I think, but it's with a couple of my favorite instructors, and it's AFRICA! So I have asked some family and friends to help me out with the trip expenses with the promise that I will bring them back a gorilla or maybe some flip-flops or something genuinely Africa-like (hopefully not some strange disease). So if any of my millions of readers would like to contribute to my Go to Tanzania fund, you can click this button:

Pretty nifty, huh? The trip costs $6,200, and I'm supposed to have a $2,000 deposit by December 4. I am applying for a grant, which will be $1,000, so that will bring the December deposit down to $1,000.  Then I will need to pay regular payments of $2,000 on January 18 and February 15. I am also applying for a scholarship, but that won't be given out until after all the payments have to be made. It can be between $500-1,000. This cost includes everything on the trip except for a couple of meals and spending money. So if donations add up to more than I need for the trip and any vaccinations and supplies and other miscellaneous trip-related stuff, I will donate the balance to the charity of my choice. :) Sound good?

If you'd like to find out more about the trip, you can go to Study Abroad page at Columbus State University and read all about it. Thanks so much!!

Ciao,

~Val

What blog?

We are past midterms and approaching advising week. After that is early registration and suddenly all this energy will be directed towards spring semester 2013. 2013?!?!?!  Good grief, I'm getting old. 2013 is the year I turn 40. 40!!!!!
I've decided to take the trip to Tanzania next Maymester if I can raise enough money. It's a $6200 trip, and I have NO idea how I'm going to pay for it. I am really excited about the opportunity. I know I can get some money from CIE from the grants and scholarships, so hopefully I won't have to raise quite that much on my own.
The biosystematics midterm went well, and so far I have an A average for the class. Hopefully I won't screw anything up in the second half. I think I may have bombed the Ecology midterm pretty bad. I don't know why, I understand the material, I just couldn't pull anything up during the test. Before that I was doing pretty good. Hopefully I didn't tank my average too badly.
So things are moving along, and I'm having a really good time being the old chick in college. Hopefully I can do better keeping up with the blog. Ciao!