Euro Days!

It’s Friday, and that (mostly) ends the first week of this trip. Things started off slowly, but now the research is starting to pick up. Next week is a tour of the Netherlands with a policy/law viewpoint regarding water, and I think it will be nice to be exposed to a different viewpoint on water.

After spending time at IHE, it was time for some food shopping. Mari and I stopped at C1000 in town. That grocery store is awesome. It’s the largest one we’ve found so far, so that makes it good for finding specific or hard-to-find items. You can only get so much at Aldi. It also seems that there’s a promotion going on where 100 store items are priced at 1 EUR. (International bargain-hunting!)

The produce department at C1000 was interesting. Each fruit or vegetable was labeled with a number. After observing other shoppers (which is the best way to find out what to do), it turns out that you bag your produce of choice, then take it over to an open register where it’s weighed. If you’re happy with how much is there, then you click a button to print out a barcode for your item. You can also find out where the credit card only lines are through the same stop-and-observe technique.


"Do what now?"



Price by number

Speaking of food, I found stroopwafels on day 1. Family back home asks if I’ve come across butterletter (botterletter?), but not yet. I got so excited when I remembered about chocolate letters, but that’s a holiday tradition that isn’t readily available during the summer. (Luckily there are plenty of other forms of chocolate around.)

I also stopped at Halfords to scope out bike lights. The ones on my bike aren’t working, so I decided on a retrofit solution (maybe not the first one this bike has seen). Now I should be ready for safe night-riding… for those few hours when the sun isn’t out.

Spot the working rear light. (Hint: It's not the brightest light in the frame.)

-Caryssa

Research Beginnings and Cooking Adventures

I met with my advisor, Diederik Rousseau, yesterday and we discussed my research project for the summer.  

Me and Dr. Diederik Rousseau

I will be working with a vertical wetlands system from a manufacture in the Netherlands.  The wetlands are called Live Panels and produced by a company named Mobilane (http://www.mobilane.nl/).  The company does not manufacture the panels for wastewater treatment specifically but hopefully my research this summer will show that the panels are in fact effective at treating grey water.  We haven’t received the panels yet but I can’t wait to go get them looking at the website they look fantastic.

I also did a little experimenting with unfamiliar vegetables today.  I bought these snijobonen at the grocery store the other day and have been trying to figure out the best way to cook them.  

Dutch String Beans, delicious boiled with salt, pepper, and butter

They are essentially green beans but they are the largest green bean I have ever seen.  I tried pan frying them earlier in the week but I wasn’t very happy with the result.  Today I boiled them and then they tasted very much like the green beans I’m used to.   

Suzie

fietsen stories at Delft, Netherlands

It's been 4 days after we arrived at the Netherlands. Everything is so far so good. We got adapted with the life in Deflt very quickly. The Netherlands is quite different from the US. Everybody uses bike here to commute everyday. We've seen thousands of bikes on the street. Dutch people look so happy when they bike. We saw a lot of beautiful Dutch ladies singing (it seems like church songs to me :D )  while they are biking. This is  we never have a chance to see in the US or at least I've never seen that in Tampa.
We stay in Mina which is about 20-25min walk to Unesco-IHE. It seems fun to walk here. You don't have to worry much about the traffic or accident because there are always pavements which are designed for walkers. However, walking takes quite a bit of time, especially if we want to go shopping or explore the city. So we decided to buy bicycles. We asked around IHE students to see if anywhere we can get bikes which are cheap and good :D. I hasn't mentioned that right after we arrived at Unesco- IHE, we have met a lot of IHE staffs, students. They are all very nice, friendly and always willing to help  us on doing research (i.e. lab, IHE) ( I will mention about the research in next blog) and on getting used to with life in Delft. So a day after we arrived at Delft, we went to a bike shop which was recommended buy an IHE student (Saul). All the bikes were in quite good condition and quite expensive price :D ( around 85-120 Euro). So Caryssa and I decided to do research a little bit before buying it. But the other fours decided to get one from the shop. Anton, my roomate, got the most expensive bike which is 115 Euro and also a lock from the seller which brought him the anxious feeling for few days ("->). The reason is because we heard from people here in IHE that " never buy a lock from the one who sells you the bike". So yeah, Anton couldn't sleep for few day because he's worried about that his bike can be stolen anytime :)).

Anton  looks so happy with his fiets

Anyway, he was still so much happy with his fiets (bicycle in Dutch). The next day, I got my fiets from a student at IHE with a quite cheap price compared to the regular price for bike here. Even my fiets costs only 30 Euro which is much lower than Anton's bike but for most of us ( maybe except Anton, sorry Anton) we agreed that my fiet is the fanciest among of ours. And there is a rumor around the Mina that if I leave my bike outside the building , nobody wants to take it (T.T, poor my fiets) (>.<). Caryssa was the last one in our group to own a fiets. She was introduced to a Canadian student who wanted to sell her fiets before coming back to Canada. However , the student said she could only give Caryssa her bike on the next day which was right before she got to the train to the airport and she took 25 Euro from Caryssa for deposit (the bike costs 50 Euro). So we made a joke that, she would go to the airport with Caryssa's 25 euro and without leaving the bike to Caryssa (-____-). The joke made Caryssa worry quite a bit though ;)) ( sorry Caryssa). Caryssa was getting more nervous because she didn't see the Canadian girl at the appointment time. However, finally, luckily, 10 minutes later, the girl showed up. What a relief for Caryssa. ( :)) ). Anyway, we all owned fietsen just 4 day after arriving at the Netherlands which is great. We are ready to conquer the Netherlands and other European Countries by our fietsen.

Anh

More Adventures!

Yesterday, we went to the Thursday marketplace, boasting tons of shops selling everything from cheese to fiets locks. We passed by craft stores, costume shops, jewelry stores, and an endless amount of cafes and restaurants. Being the first time we've seen sunshine this week, we very much enjoyed our afternoon.

Literature reviews are typical for the first week of research, and this week certainly has its share of reading and note-taking. There is much to read before we begin full days of research, so I'm off to study!
------
Anton

Meetings and Mustaches

Yesterday I met with the professor and graduate student that I will be working with: Dr. Maria Kennedy and Assiyeh will be my mentors for the summer and my project will focus on foulant characterization and pretreatment for seawater desalination. I'm super excited. Everyone at IHE is very welcoming.

Today we went to the market in the plaza and found many bargains. Afterwards we found our way to the local costume shop.

-MIG

Fiets!

Today I purchased a bicycle (fiets) through Anh’s many connections. Now I can ride with the rest of the group, but I found that my lights don’t work. I’ll have to find a replacement or fix it over the next few days. Night rides are difficult without them.


On the way back from IHE I got a little lost, but I think that can be the best way to learn your surroundings. Besides, if all else fails there’s GPS or mobile-downloaded maps!

I have been looking into the concepts of critical infrastructure and trying to put down detailed research plans for the rest of the summer for my mentors.

Myself, Ellen, and Edwin @ Dura Vermeer

Tonight we’ve decided to plan some weekend itineraries to reward ourselves for working during the week. I look forward to the adventures.

-Caryssa

I want to be wherever this guy is.  This was taken from some wallpaper at the hardware store we found while exploring Delft and going to the open market this afternoon.

Also, I will get an introduction to the IC tomorrow!  I'm excited because I know learning this technology will be a very powerful tool for me in the future.

It's a small world afterall!

It's amazing to think that just in the last three days, I've met people from all around the world. This includes (but is not limited to) people from Austria, Canada, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Sudan, The Netherlands, United States, and Vietnam. 

Image Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmV6vxF5ciGYTPcMZiDsk8pZys5-JkKLRHa4A0OEbC8esDOaM0j-s4MgXICGdm_evEUa43U5ZusPKjcll-J5DU7EYg1DUp78TvEOj0W0W9bN17I9Yjng6Zm2VYx5gdw1_SciP5NTEQNrx7/s1600/free-vector-world-map.gif

Explorations

We found the roof!! After 15 minutes of exploration and a bit of confusion, we found the escape hatch leading to the roof. We didn't stay long because apparently the roof is especially prone to the high winds... However, we found the ping-pong room in the process. I am proud to announce that I was victorious over three different people from three different cultures - very proud moments..

Having a few hours off from working, we ventured into Delft. There are striking similarities between our cultures, yet several things are just...different. For instance, we saw a wild swan today in the middle of a crowded area - trying to take someone sandwich. The sheer size of this dude was unsettling, because I think it could take sandwiches by force if it wanted to. Notice that he towers over the two foot bench - that's a big bird.

Of all the buildings, the Nieuwe Kerk fascinates me the most. It's history is quite intriguing, as its been nearly destroyed twice in its long history. Built in the 1300s, it's survived and holds daily tours and Sunday services. It's quite a sight (although it was built a little bit crooked). We will be off to the Thursday market later today!

-----

Anton

Take Offs and Landings

So, I meant to post pictures sooner, but a little thing like forgetting the usb cable that connects my camera to my computer was preventing me from doing so. Good thing, Suzie brought hers. So, without further a-do, my first photo blog post... 

Sunday May, 16 6:35pm: Waiting at the gate in Philadelphia on board flight 798 service from Philadelphia to Amsterdam. 

 In flight. 

Monday May, 17 8:40am: Final descent into Amsterdam. 

Commuting

Today I traveled to Dura Vermeer in Hoofddorp, a construction and infrastructure company. The office building is about 40 minutes from Delft by train, and I learned that commuting an hour or so to work is common in the Netherlands. Sounds similar to the US, except for the modal choice breakdown for transportation.

A growing Hoofddorp (near train station)

Another common feature seems to be shared workspaces, where desks or workstations are available for whoever is working in the building that day. It’s a great idea, especially when so many people seems to split their time between different jobs, and I assume it can also allow for networking and brainstorming with your neighbors.

I appreciate the opportunity to work with both the UNESCO-IHE and Dura Vermeer. I believe that between commuting to Hoofddorp and visiting additional water sites, I should be an expert at the train system in no time and ready to undertake longer travel adventures.

-Caryssa

Lab time

Today I began working with Marco Pinna a student from Italy working on horizontal wetlands.  I am shadowing him to learn the techniques I will use for the vertical wetlands.  It was interesting to see the methodology for lab work in the Netherlands is similar to the methods at USF for some tests but different for others.  For example we worked on ammonia testing which they do basically from scratch mixing and combining all the reagents.  In the USF labs we typically use Hach or Orbecco test kits.  We also learned how to do BOD and the methods for this are basically identical to how we do it at USF.

We also wandered around Delft a bit on our way to an upscale grocery store to gather some supplies.  There were lots of shops and restaurants, can’t wait to go back and visit a pastry shop, some of the pastries looked quite tasty.

Suzie

Waking Up a New Country

Things are finally starting to come together after two days of travel. I am proud to announce that I have found a fiets (bicycle)! Looks can be deceiving, as this rustbucket rides like a dream! My commute time is a fraction of what it was, and the city is now wide open for exploration!

I have finally met Mike Acheampong, a PhD originally from Ghana. He will be assisting me in completing a portion of his research relating to the capacity of the biomaterial in question (crushed coconut shell) to absorb copper in goldmine wastewater. I am testing for the severity of reduced efficiency in cyclical absorption and desorption processes. Hopefully the coconut shell will be able to undergo several cycles without losing much efficiency in absorbing copper.

More soon - off to explore the city!

--
Anton D Dapcic

Start of Day Three

It's the start of day three here in Delft. I am seated at the ground floor of the UNESCO-IHE building surrounded by fellow USF-ers. We are all silently typing away on our laptops, catching up on emails, blogging, and working on our literature review for our experiments. I have a stack of papers to read thanks to my mentor here at Delft, Denys Villa-Gomez. 

 

Denys is a PhD student working with Dr. Piet Len's Environmental Biotechnology Research Group. Her research topic is removing heavy metals from wastewater using a sulfate-reducing inverse fluidized bed bioreactor. Words can't describe how excited I am to be working on this project! I start working in the lab this afternoon and will be spending most of the morning and early afternoon working on my literature review. 

Hope this blog finds you well!

Kristen Andre

Summer Bike Adventures

After lab training and lab tours yesterday, we decided to go bike shopping. Ahn's friend, Saul, suggested we go to a local used bike shop. We ended up buying 4 bikes which came with a 3 month guarantee as well as an option to sell them back at the end of the summer at half the price. My bike has pretty cool features that my bike back at home lacks. It came with a front and back light which is powered by generator attached to the wheels as they spin. Also, it has a back tire lock with a key as well as a cool bell that reminds me of the sound of ice cream carts. Now I feel like I belong! We put our bikes to good use and Caryssa and I took a trip out to IKEA which served as an awesome tour of Delft. We traveled past some cannons, under graffitied bridges, and through a shopping plaza. Luckily, we had Caryssa's phone maps to guide us or else I doubt we would have made it. (pictures of our bikes coming soon)

-MIG

The 2011 team has arrived

After long flights and a layover at Philly, the 2011 IRES team arrived at Delft, tired but excited.

Team members and topics are:

Kristen Andre (BSc) will be working on bioprecipitation of metal from wastewater using a sulfate-reducing inverse fluidized bed bioreactor

Caryssa Joustra (PhD) will be working on water resiliency of smart emergency shelters

Anh Do (PhD) will be working on treatment of leachate from gypsum wastes using sulfate reducing bacteria in bioreactors (UASB and AnMBR)

Anton Dapcic (BSc) will be working on sorption/desorption of copper on biosorbent (coconut shell) for treatment of gold mining wastewater in Ghana

Suzie Boxman (PhD) will be working on vertical wetland (vegetative walls) for domestic wastewater treatment

Mari Gonzalez (PhD) will be working on foulant characterization and pretreatment for seawater desalination

 

After dragging luggage through train stations, road construction and brick-lined walkways (really bad for those little wheels on luggage), the team arrived and checked in at UNESCO-IHE.

 

More to come…

 

dhy

 

A Delicious Mistake

I met with Berry and Ellen today, two people I will be working with this summer. I am very excited to begin working on a project related to emergency shelters with regards to flood and water resiliency. Tomorrow I’ll be traveling to Dura Vermeer.

In the meantime, I learned that you can’t always choose food based on the packaging...

Despite appearances, not spoiled milk.

Turns out that is not chocolate milk, but a chocolate pudding in a milk carton.

Tonight was also my first taste of the town center. Mari and I undertook an adventure to the local Ikea. to pick up some miscellanous items.  The trip took longer than expected, but 15 minutes turns out to be plenty of time for shopping. (Thank you Kristen for letting me borrow the bike!).

No car required for serious Ikea shoppers.

I can't wait to see more of Delft.

exciting feeling !!!

Right now, I'm blogging at Tampa airport. I didn't have time to do that because I was so busy with wrapping up my research project in the lab and  packing stuffs for the 3 months trip. This would be very exiting trip for my life. It's gonna be the first time for me in Western Europe where I have dream to visit since I was a kid. But it's strange that I'm starting feeling missing something, maybe the life in US which I get so used to with....The boarding time... is coming, I need to goooo....now. One more sentence I want to say is ....again I'm so excited for the trip and really look for the opportunity to do research with some world famous professors at Unesco IHE.

I shouldn't have gotten to the airport three hours early...

It's always tough to say goodbye to friends and family, but what an opportunity! Never did I expect, as an undergraduate, to be gifted with such a spectacular journey to not only better my knowledge of water quality, but also to satisfy my travel-bug in the process. My current mental picture of the Netherlands includes a 7 ft. tall Dutchman leaning on a windmill in a field of tulips, but I'm sure that this country has much, much more to offer!

I cannot wait for the challenges of research, the thrill of meeting others as interested in this craft as I, and the ability to draw on this experience for motivation and knowledge in my future endeavors. This trip will strengthen my laboratory-related abilities, my knowledge of the field, and possibly will spark an interest in a long-term project relating to my research this summer.

I am as excited as ever, and anticipating a thrilling journey. The only question left is:

Will I be the first to try raw herring?

--
Anton Dapcic

Pre-departure

By Caryssa

Trip preparation is off to a rough start, but I am optimistic that everything will be ready for tomorrow’s departure. The internet at home seems to be disconnected, so this post comes via mobile hotspot. In summary, technology is great.

However…

Technology can’t protect us from everything as I found out this past week. A simple leak has stopped the flow of running water for a few days, but it has not stopped my packing efforts (although maybe delayed them). It is crazy how something that simple can take away what most of us take for granted – a seemingly infinite water supply. Simple tasks like washing hands or teeth become a chore, and there’s never enough bottled water. And only now do I realize how much water really goes into flushing a toilet. (Pulling a handle doesn’t quite give you the full effect like carrying a fully-loaded bucket of water from your neighbor’s hose does.)

Some of us suffered less than others:

This exercise-in-water-management coincides well with this upcoming trip. Access to clean water and sanitation are important human needs, and major disasters (or tiny leaks) can disrupt that access, despite current technologies in place. I hope to learn more about these relationships over the course of the summer, as well as gain new viewpoints on managing water. The Netherlands seems like the best place to do this from the country’s long connected history with water.

I expect a lot of walking (and maybe some bike riding), which should be a nice change from the long car trips I usually have to make. I am a little concerned about the food because cheese is one of my least favorite things, but I hear there are some amazing meals around. I am thankful to everyone who has made this trip possible, and look forward to expanding my knowledge, learning about new cultures, and potentially tracking down some family members.

Let me pack my wooden shoes

I depart for the Netherlands tomorrow morning, but there are still a few things that I'm worried about...mainly, where will I find tortillas?!? Besides that, I have a few other bases covered....yes, I packed a few cooking spices (let's see what customs allows). A baby tear fell from my eye when I heard there would be no oven in our kitchens, but I think we'll find some creative ways to bake.

I am very excited to be working with Dr. Maria Kennedy. My project will likely be focused on optimizing coagulation/ultrafiltration pretreatment for RO desalination. This will be a productive and engaging summer filled with exploring, eating new foods, and an overall culturally-rich experience. I've never been to Europe so I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be able to do research abroad at IHE.

Overall, I am looking forward to biking (it's embraced much more than in US), coffee!!! (the netherlands is 5th on the list of coffee consumption per capita), and discovering the differences in culture between the Netherlands and the US (I think life will be a little more laid back). Also, some much needed cool weather will be appreciated, and I will hopefully no longer have a tan in the shape of a bookbag. Farewell, and my next post will be from across the ocean!!

Thank you Dr. Yeh, UNESCO-IHE, and NSF-IRES!!

-MIG

Getting Ready

By Suzie

                As I’m finishing up packing (okay really starting to pack) I’m definitely wondering what life will really be like in the Netherlands.  I’m expecting it to be much colder than I’m used to so I’m brining plenty of warm clothing.  Hopefully not too much warm clothing because I know it will get warmer during our stay.  You can read about the weather all you want but it is still difficult to know what it will truly be like until you’re actually there.

                Besides the weather I’m also curious about the public transportation.  I have just returned from a trip to Washington D.C. where I solely relied on public transportation.  I’m interested to compare what the Netherlands and surrounding Europe’s transportation to my experiences in D.C.  I imagine that it will be much more extensive and reliable than in Washington.  But, I also expect that the hours will be different.  In D.C. the trains run until at least 11pm and I do not expect the same in Europe so trips will need to be planned much more carefully.

                I am very excited to begin researching vertical wetlands and their potential applications.  I do not know too much about them yet but I am familiar with using plants to treat wastewater through my research on aquaponics. 

                I’m excited with a dash of nervous and I should really get to that packing…

Post-Delft checklist

By ALPS

One week after coming back from Delft and I barely believe I was there for 12 weeks. Before leaving to the Netherlands, I made a checklist of all the things I had pending before the trip. I think It'd be good to make a new list accounting for the most relevant things we achieved during this experience. Let's see how this goes:

1) Build a Gl-AnMBR and bring it to full operation (COMPLETE)
2) Get in touch with your most geeky side at the Delta works (COMPLETE... and AWESOME!!)
3) Assess how UNESCO-IHE educates hundreds of people from around the world to solve water related problems in their respective countries (COMPLETE)
4) Work with Dr. Piet Lens and Dr. Amit Kumar (COMPLETE and many THANKS)
5) Visit NORIT, TU-Delft, Saxion University, Wageningen University, TU-Delft and KWR (COMPLETE)
6) Get in touch with your most feminine side in Keukenhof (The Tulip's garden) (COMPLETE)
7) Fall from your bike at least twice (COMPLETE and COMPLETE)
8) Travel around EU during the available weekends (you need a whole year to do this)
9) Try Belgian waffles (COMPLETE)
10) Try Belgian chocolate (COMPLETE, COMPLETE, COMPLETE... AND COMPLETE)
11) Try Belgian beer (incomplete)
12) Try the typical delicacy "haring" fish (COMPLETE and not repeating this)
13) Try Dutch stroopwafles (COMPLETE)
14) Eat Ethiopian, Iranian, Italian, Belgian, French and Venezuelan delicious food (COOOOOMPLETE)
15) Gaining 8 lbs after items 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14 (COMPLETE)
16) Meet amazing people without whom this experience hadn't been the same (COMPLETE)

I can't thank enough USF, NSF, UNESCO-IHE and specially Dr. Daniel Yeh for this incredible opportunity. The IRES program offers to students the possibility to expand their horizons in terms of research and life experience. Living in another country with a complete different culture, language and set of mind improves your aptitudes as a tolerant human. As a water engineer, you are able to realize that water quality and availability in the developed and developing world require prompt and effectiveness solutions. Idealization of those solution puts us apart from the the real objective of making them as sustainable as possible.

...The End...

0

On our last full day available in the Netherlands, De and I walked around to some local shops to buy goodies for our loved ones while induldging in some of our favorite foods including fried fish and mussles (left), french fries and mini spring rolls from daily wok. We walked through the market for the last time and even ran into some friends. It was, in my opinion, the best way to spend our last day in Holland. 

I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to study in the Netherlands provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and organized by the University of South Florida and Dr. Yeh.  Prior to this summer I had only worked in the labs at USF and I feel that traveling to IHE and working in the labs there taught me a lot about myself as a researcher and as an individual. I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to live abroad for a period of time, something that I may never have been able to do otherwise. 


I hope that one day I may pass through Delft again, and until then I will always remember the calm and uplifting spirt of life in the Netherlands.


Here is to hoping that I sleep past 4 am tomorrow! (De you were right! :-) )

Chloroconclusion

Algae grown on shakers
Won just like the Lakers.
The ones in light
Put up a fight,
But algae in dark are fakers.

Optimization of productivity of Chlorococcus sp. using response surface methodology....

After many problems with the beginning of our experiment, we were able to obtain some useful and conclusive results! Take that Acid Fairy!

It appears that my species does not grow well in continuous dark conditions, but is able to use acetate for growth....... however, it doesn't like ammonia much... which leaves room for further research....

Overall, this experience has been wonderful... everything from the labwork to experiencing European culture; I have definitely learned quite a bit and have many new ideas to take home with me, including lab methods as well as preparing new culinary dishes from around the world. The last month has been very very busy and I can't believe how fast the end came. I will be reflecting on this experience for quite some time and truly appreciate the opportunity to study in the Netherlands.

Although I don't feel quite ready to go home, as I have a lot more lab work I would like to work on, the weather is getting colder here which is making Florida look much more inviting. Also, my Dutch assimilation was confirmed today when I rode two large boxes of things to mail home on the back of my bicycle without falling. Although I still can't ride without hands, riding with two boxes balanced on the back, holding them with one hand still felt like an accomplishment.

Good bye, South Holland

by Laurel
It has been very useful this summer to experience  such things in the lab as to learn how to do things "old school." For example: destructing duckweed plant material via boiling in concentrated nitric acid, and then adding hydrogen peroxide in order to oxidize the carbon and finally analyzing the resulting liquid for zinc concentration. Old school methods make you understand better what is happening in the reaction. Also pipetting with glass pipettes brings images of the past. Growing the duckweed for my experiments was also a new experience, and it gave me an introduction to working with aquatic plants in my field, environmental engineering.

I love the small town of Delft, and its historic center. Also, the Netherlands is in an ideal location in Europe for traveling in both Eastern and Western Europe. Train and air travel are very easy with the public transit system the Netherlands has. Also bike travel is very safe and it is very easy to bike into and out of a city (much unlike the US). 

I will hopefully be leaving for Dominican Republic in no less than 3 weeks, and I will see where my research takes me from there.

My advice for the future team is to enjoy life in South Holland, enjoy the food such as stroop waffels and belgian frites and belgian chocolate.... And make sure to go to your favorite European country... I didn't go to mine (Spain).

Thank you to IHE and NSF for the support that made the IRES program possible.

Thank God for this Holland Experience.....I lost 7 pounds!!!

It was so nice being here for approximately three months. As Audrey said in her recent blog, people here actually bike and walk a lot. For the first time in a long while there were many people biking and walking and drivers were in the minority, very unlike in Tampa and the US in general. As promised, I have not biked a single day (since I do not think I could remember how to and I did not want to get run over by expert cyclists here) and I walked to and from our hostel and IHE every day except Sunday. This is about two miles round trip. This together great will power to resist all the Milkshakes that Ana has coninually tried to get to indulge in has led to me loosing 7lbs...........I know it is not a lot for most people but for those like me, with near zero metabolism, it certainly is. Hopefully I can keep this walking activity going back in the US ........at least 100lbs more pounds to go.....wishful thinking *sigh*sigh*sigh*

KT

So many pieces

A few weeks ago my mom and step dad were here in the Netherlands. I went and met them and we traveled just north of Amsterdam to a city called Alkmaar. Here, they recreate the cheese auctions that used to take place in the town in front of what is now a cheese museum.  It was a lot of fun to see all of the big rounds of cheese being carried out and weighed. Although I believe I read that the cheese is no longer actually auctioned like this, it was interesting to see.

If you can't make it to Alkmaar don't worry though, you can always see the recreation of the Alkmaar cheese auction at Madurodam (mini holland)! 

 If you love small things, like I do!, then mini-holland is definitely for you. Just a tram ride away from the Den Haag Centraal Station awaits a fantastic journey into some of the most recognizable areas of the Netherlands. De, a group of our newly found friends, and I finally got around to going only a couple weeks ago and wished we had gone earlier. Visiting gives insight on some of the largest points of interest and can even help you decide what you would like to see in actual stature.

There are model train stations, tulip gardens and even concerts that play real music. There are theaters (from which you can hear plays like Mary Poppins), a little schipol complete with airplanes, and wooden shoe factories that, for only 1 euro, will deliver a pair of shoes on a small truck for you to take home. 

 There are tiny bikes, small streets and the Dam Square in Amsterdam. This year everything was also decorated with orange in celebration of the world cup. 

And the best thing about little holland is........................................................................................................

YOU GET TO FEEL LIKE A GIANT!!!!!!!!

So, we are beginning to near the end of our time here in the Netherlands. I have been very busy trying to get all of the stuff we need to do done while enjoying the country in the time that remains. We do final presentations for IHE on Wednesday, which has been quite a challenge to get together. I look forward to catching up on my sleep when I return home since staying up until 1am and waking up at 8am has become a habit. The alarm on my phone has also given up on me, probably because it is so tired of being ignored. I will miss a lot of things about the Netherlands and Europe in general like the public transportation systems, the bicycles and mostly my new friends. Especially the ones who share their apple juice boxes with De and I when we go shopping in the Hague!

Pressure's On!!

by De

We are now entering the final 7 days we have left here in the Netherlands!  I can't decide if the time went by fast or slow.. but now the pressure is definitely on!  Not only is there a lot to do to finish up our goals in the lab, but we have found ourselves struggling to see everything we had hoped to see in Europe.  We have been here about 11 weeks now, and until last week I had not even done the "must see" things here in Delft!  So, Audrey and I spent a quick afternoon at the New Church in the city center.  The church itself has so much history.  The Oranje Royal Family is all buried at this church, the stained glass windows are gorgeous, and then there is the tower of the church.  Without a warning of what we were about to embark on, Audrey and I paid our token and began the journey to climb the tower to the top of the church.  Little did we know, 365 steps later, we would make it!  There were points along the way where you could go outside onto a very small ledge/ balcony and have a gorgeous view of the city.  Each time we thought "there can't be more steps, could there?!" But, we did it! We made it to the top!  We counted the steps on the way down to see if we were just wimps or if we had really climbed to the top of Mt. Everest or something!  365 steps was right, our legs were definitely still shaking once we reached the bottom again! But I'm so glad we decided to do it!

 
This week is crazy busy trying to put all of our data together from our time in the lab and put it into presentation form.  We are also working on writing a paper about our experiments in the lab.  This is the first time that I've had to anything like this, so I am quite nervous (especially for the presentation next week!)

Packing up all the stuff we brought here (along with everythinggg we've acquired since we've been here) is going to be a difficult feat in itself!

The Dutch team lost the world cup to Spain. But they played dirty in my opinion, and I was cheering for Spain, so I wasn't disappointed. It is a little strange to be without futbol now, but it is okay because there is much to do before we leave Nederland.

The lab is busy; I am working on more duckweed experiments as well as preparing a final report, presentation, etc. I am getting better at the experimental methods which is good, since experiments take rather a long time, and getting better at the method means that I am faster than I was when I first started. Of course, I also am familiar with all the materials I will need, which also helps a lot.

I am off biking this weekend if the weather cooperates; this time to Arnherm area.

Laurel

The Infamous Dutch Wooden Shoe

By De

Up until now, the history and purpose of the Dutch wooden shoe was just a mystery.  We had heard different theories and made our own assumptions.  BUT, this week I was lucky enough to visit a cheese farm where they harvested cheese, as well as carved the infamous wooden shoes.  Not only do the wooden shoes have one purpose, but many purposes!

The plain wooden shoe was traditionally used for farming or gardening

The yellow wooden shoe (the most widely known shoe) was traditionally used for working

The red wooden shoe was used as a dancing shoe

The blue and white wooden shoes were considered "Sunday best".  The white worn by females and the blue worn by males on Sundays.

And lastly, the crazy cow wooden shoes, typically used as an irresistible souvenir for many tourists that visit this establishment!

This is a quick video of the machine that is used to carve the inside of the shoe.  In the past, when the wooden shoes were cut and molded into their traditional shape, everything was done by hand and took hours upon hours to make just one shoe.  Now, they use machines like this one to produce the wooden shoes in just  matter of minutes!

Time flies

by Laurel
There are so many interesting things going on in the Netherlands in summer. Did you know, for instance, that the Tour de France time trials were right here in Rotterdam, the Netherlands? I didn't either, but the time trials are here, and then the riders ride to Belguim for the start of the race. We attempted to catch a glimpse of Lance, but alas, it was raining and we have an addiction to futbol, so we had to watch the Germany Argentina game instead of staying around for the real time trials after the warm up for the time trials, which is what we saw.

The Netherlands turns orange during the world cup. The color of national pride is because of William of Orange, although the Dutch flag is red, white, and blue. There are orange streamers everywhere, and orange jerseys on everyone.

I am  leaving for Peace Corps service in slightly over one month. Peace Corps preparation includes more paperwork, officially, but it also includes speaking Spanish with my Latin friends and trying to improve my grammar which has gone down hill in the past 3 years.

As for research, I am always thinking about what I could be doing better during my experiments. My duckweed finally seems to be growing happily without problems because it is getting fresh twice a week the nutrient supplies it needs.

Tomfoolery

Dear Blog reader,
Please take a long look at the "old" church, located in Delft, pictured below...

If you thought that this church is outrageously crooked, please raise your hand.

If you partook in this short exercise and did indeed raise your hand, this just goes to show that there are some mistakes that even an attempt at optical illusions cannot fix. During our second week in Delft, our group took a canal tour that boated us down the old canal. As part of this tour, small tidbits of the towns history and present were bestowed to us. One of the things discussed on this tour was this church, its tilted tower and the things they did to try to fool us into thinking that it wasn't as crooked as it is. Please see their solution below.

Now, if we weren't even tricked by the woman they hired, I feel safe to say that optical illusion has failed them.

The Acid Fairy

The Acid Fairy has killed my algae. Each day I left the lab and the algae seemed to be growing happily inside their cozy bottles. Each day I would return and the bottles would be turning more and more acidic. The only logical explanation was that someone was putting acid in my bottles. Sabotaging my experiment right under my nose!

Or.... it's science.... this same phenomenon of batch algae tests going acidic has been reported in other published studies, but not really explained.... so the next step in our experiment is to try to determine what's happening. We have a few possible scenarios: the bottles are contaminated (which some surely are) with bacteria, bacteria who produce fatty acids as a byproduct, the algae are using the glucose we added and producing carbon dioxide, or there is a fatty woman in a ballet costume adding fatty acids to our bottles at night.

Tomorrow we will get to the bottom of this. we are being trained on gas chromatography, which will allow us to test for the presence of fatty acids. we may also look at the other bacteria growing in some of the bottles to see if we can identify it..... but i think i already know what it is..... Acid Fairy!

we've also started a mini-batch test to get a better idea of what happened. we inoculated nine bottles with algae and different combinations of nutrients, glucose, and buffer. however, we are not sampling to keep them sterile to see if the same bacteria invades the experiment.....

we should hopefully have a better understanding of what's happening inside the bottle microcosm by the end of the week.... or at least have a better idea of where to set our traps....

Hup Holland Hup!

by De

So much has happened lately and I've been slacking on keeping everyone updated! The world cup has... BEGUN!! and thank goodness I'm in a country that likes soccer!! I've played since I was little and it's a lot of fun to see the Dutch get very patriotic for their team! The first game was on a Monday and this little city of Delft went completely ORANGE! The crazy outfits and ways that people were showing their team spirit made everyone be in such a great mood! (not to mention Holland is undefeated thus far..!)

Another bright note from the last week is that my mom came to visit me! Her and a friend from home came and stayed in Delft and instantly fell in love with the lifestyle over here! (I'm kind of surprised they made their flight home) I had a lot of fun seeing some friendly faces from back home and miss them already!

But on a more professional note.. things in the lab are definitely moving along.  Our SAT columns are getting closer and closer to being considered ripened as we speak.  There are small hiccups along the way, but for the most part everything has been very productive and a learning process on a daily basis!  We have characterized the columns twice now (once for pathogen removal and the second time for nutrient removal).  Through this process we now have a more exact idea about what is going on in the columns as the waste water runs through them.

More to come later for sure! Tot ziens!

New things through lists.

By Laurel
New things I am doing in the lab recently...
-Grinding plants with a pestel and mortar: haven't done this since 10th grade biology or something....
-Learning how to use the Atomic Adsorption Spectrometer
-Using my Biological Processes background to figure out where to get "primary effluent" with a concentration of ~30(+) mg/L NH4-N from at the local wastewater treatment plant

This week has been very busy for me, but with any sort of luck, help from lab staff, and hard work, I hope to have results by Friday!! I am really excited to see how they turn out. Even if I lost mass of my heavy metal, zinc. This excitement is why I am one of those crazy scientists....

New things I did this past weekend...
-Rode my bike from the Netherlands into Belgium, without even really noticing a border sign wherever I crossed the border
-Began to realize how to recognize a terrible map when I first see the map
-Strolled through a forest and viewed art sculptures in the forest: pretty amazing
-Ate Belgian frites with a ton of mayonnaise on top (and I hate U.S. mayonnaise....)
-Discovered salsa dancing in Delft

This summer is going by in a flash, as expected. I am trying to reconcile the fast-pace of events here in Europe with the knowledge that in Two month's time, I will be in a very different world, at a much slower pace, in the Peace Corps. Alone on long rides, just me and the bike (which is absolutely a great bike in my opinion), I can just focus on finding my way from point A to point B, at whichever speed I choose. Sometimes I feel like flying down the open bike road, and sometimes I get tired. I can say that biking is a sport I truly enjoy doing alone.

I also have to say that I love Delft. I love it more than any town I have been through by bike in the Netherlands. I would call it quaint, picturesque, laid back, small....

Introducing my mentor at UNESCO-IHE....Mrs. Valentine Uwamariya

Born in Rwanda, Mrs. Valentine Uwamariya graduated with her Bachelors (Chemistry) in 1999 with distinction from the National University of Rwanda. From June 2000, she has been working as assistant lecturer at the same university, in the Chemistry department. In 2003, she joined the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa where she obtained a Master of Science (Electrochemistry) in 2005 with distinction. In the same year she has been promoted to the grade of lecturer. Currently, she is a part time PhD student at UNESCO-IHE, Institute for water Education, in Water Supply and Sanitation Department. She works under the supervision of Prof. Gary Amy and Dr. Branislav Petrusevski. For her PhD her research is focused on "Adsorptive Removal of Heavy Metals from Groundwater by Iron (hydr)oxides-based Media."

KT

Gl-AnMBR under Dutch conditions: an interdisciplinary approach between engineers and wizards

By: ALPS

One of the most gratifying activities that you can do in Delft, and in the Netherlands in general, is biking. Right after work last Friday Ivy, Laurel and I took a bike ride to a beautiful park in Delft called "Delftse Hout". This park is right at the edge of the city limits and comprehends hectares of gorgeous land surrounding a lake. Biking in this park was a great pleasure. It was so pleasant that we forgot about the park limits and continued biking north up to the Hague's outer area. So many pretty spots in the way, sheeps, faissans, a wind mill, other lakes. No wonder why people around here don't really know about stress. How can you be stressed out with a landscape like this?. Of course, we are in summer time and it's a completely different story during winter.

 (Outer area of the Hague... preeeeetty!)

By now you might think all we do here is eating and traveling, but there is another activity that occupies the remaining 10% of the time (I'm just kidding Dr. Yeh). A major part of my research at IHE is to build a similar membrane set up as the one I have at USF and to run it under different operational conditions... Dutch conditions. So far, I've been successful on building the set up but the work is just starting. You see, Dutch conditions are a little rough in the edges. I was very spoiled back at the USF lab where I had all the supplies I could possibly think of to make my configuration more efficient. Under Dutch conditions however, I have to work with what is available since there is a major constrain of time in the research program. I have to say that lately I've been missing my lab more than ever, but at the same time I think I've become better at pulling rabbits out of hats and converting water into wine. I also want to acknowledge the very helpful IHE lab staff without which I couldn't have become the aprentice magician I am now. Being this said, I'm ready to test my set up, which is a great achievement since I only have 8 more weeks to go (WOW!).