Travelling and Quarantining
This first blog post will most likely be shorter than my future posts. We flew from O’hare to Doha, 8 hour layover, then a flight to Manilla. Much of the time on the plane was spent either sleeping or watching shows. The Doha airport was big and had interesting architecture. Also it was interesting many ads featured soccer players similar to how adds in the United States will feature football or basketball players. Then once we landed we were dropped off at IRRI to sleep. The next day we began an orientation to learn some Filipino phrases and etiquette and ended the day by going to a buffet with good food including chicken adobe.
Then the IRRI people split off from the rest of the group and began a week long quarantine. Not much happened during this time. We did go shopping twice at the southern mall/grocery store. In many ways it was similar to an American grocery store but with some minor differences. Snacks were divided into imported and local, milk was not refrigerated, and guards would check your receipt before you left. In addition, before you entered the shopping area there were a couple of small food/snack places. There I tried a shawarma place and a seasoned French fry place, both of which were tasty. Besides shopping, during my quarantine I was given some readings relating to what I will be doing during my internship. Once my internship starts, I will get into more detail about what I’m doing. Today (Monday), was supposed to be my first day, but due to delays and miscommunications I was unable to start working, but I did move out of my quarantine dorm into my dorm for the next two months. Tomorrow I finally get to start my internship which I am excited for.