Week 5: Warming hearts and waiting for peppers
This week started with warmth, though not the literal kind measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit.
On Saturday, I visited my colleague Nusrat at her apartment. She lives close by, and we had bonded over our mutual love for sleep. From the moment I arrived, we started talking. She ordered mutton biryani and grilled chicken, both of which were mouthwatering and delicious.
Somewhere in the afternoon, we walked to a nearby grocery store. Now, I’m one of those people who consider visiting a supermarket a whole cultural experience, so I was very excited. But first, we had to cross 2 roads. That took us 10 whole minutes; the road wasn’t particularly wide, but the traffic was unrelenting. We waited for the perfect moment before darting across together. Once we’d crossed the first road, the second was a lot easier, though it had still taken us a lot more time than anticipated.
When we went inside, the supermarket was packed. So many people everywhere, squeezing through every aisle, moving in all directions. I had never seen a grocery store this crowded; it was filled to the brim. I stuck to Nusrat closely and picked up a few snacks for the week along with some random essentials. This included a toothbrush (I actually forgot to bring my toothbrush and was using one provided by housing), a set of cutlery for one, and a soap dispenser. It’s funny how you never notice some everyday items until they’re gone.
Once we were back at her apartment, she treated me to the most delicious mango ice cream I’ve had in a long time. Mango season had just ended when I arrived, so I’d been disappointed to not taste any mangos from the mango trees on campus, but this made up for it! We had many conversations, both on lighter subjects as well as deeper ones. We talked about food, music, and school, but also privilege, responsibilities, and cultural norms, flowing from one to another without missing a beat. She made me feel so at home that somewhere during the conversations, I curled up on her couch with my feet tucked under me, exactly as I do at home. Later, she ordered butter chicken for dinner, a perfect ending to a perfect day.
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Sunday, when I was walking back from dinner, someone approached me. He asked me if I was Dessiy. I was a little surprised, but after confirming, he told me that he had just returned from the WorldVeg headquarters in Taiwan. There were two other Borlaug-Ruan interns stationed there, and we chatted for a bit. Swaroop was a PhD intern, and it turned out, we had already met briefly in the office, but had never really connected there.
The rest of the week went a bit slower. On Monday, I felt a bit under the weather, I had a sore throat, was constantly sneezing, and had a hint of a headache. Thankfully, it was fixed after a night of good sleep. We also finally got RStudio running, the software needed to perform the GWAS. Now I’m in the second half of my internship, and we’re starting with the data analysis part of the research. We’re just waiting for the last bit of fruit data from the peppers; the fruits are still stubbornly green, but there’s no rushing nature. So for now, we’re still waiting patiently for the last bits of data before starting.
In the meantime, I updated my data sheets, tried out the software, and helped out my colleagues here and there. It wasn’t a particularly fast-paced week (that’s a story for next week!), but it still was good in its own way. Warm conversations, surprise encounters, and patience for the peppers to ripen.
See you next week!
Dessiy
ps: Monsoon season is truly relentless, there’s rain and thunder almost every night. I love the rain, but am also missing the sunset walks before dinner.
