Long day and early morning coming...

In lieu of a real blog post, here's what we did today: bus, gate, up hill walk, gun cannon, security, Why are you keeping my passport?, US Embassy, Mountain Dew, Thanks for giving my passport back!, humidity, bus, shopping mall, Which Wich, new dress, lion head tank-top, Vice Minister of Commerce, broken bus, new bus, fresh shirt, Uber, climate change is a real thing, sangria, best Tataki Tuna EVER, thanks Gary & Ann, tied cherry stems, the honorable chicken statue, make-out alley, Uber, black jack, Balboa, minus $20, and finally buenas noches mi amigos! 

Day 1 - Panama

Today was our first day in Panama. We arrived in the wee hours of Sunday morning in time to unpack and try to sleep for a few minutes. I think the time change from Japan to Panama got to us. There are a few differences between the two countries. For example, the Panama hotel is significantly nicer with larger rooms, soft beds, and beautiful views of the bay. On the other hand, the bathroom facilities are not quite to par with Japan. The Japanese just have us beat on that front and there's not much more to say about that. We had some free time Sunday morning to either catch up on sleep from out 30+ hours of travel from Panama or site see or attend church. A nice group of is decided to attend catholic mass at Iglesia del Carmen, a nearby and historical church. We got mildly lost due to no street signs but Mr. Easter flexed his Spanish skills and got us to the right spot. We were even on time. I guess it was God's will! We grabbed a quick lunch after and then boarded the bus to the Panama Canal. We watched a barge with containers pass through the Miradkores Locks and learned about the history of the Panama Canal construction. Our tour guide for the week, Kenny, is well versed on the historical context of the canal as well as the American occupancy and later departure. We had a traditional Panamanian dinner at a cute restaurant in the Casco Viejo area before taking in all that the Panamanian night life had to offer. Here's to a great week in Panama! 

 

 

 

I don't even know what day it is?!?!?

Since I last slept in a bed a lot has happened and I have no idea how many hours ago that was! We got up early and a bit hungover from a goodbye Japan all you can drink dinner the night before. I think that was Friday night and also one of our classmates Birthdays! Happy 29th to Katie! Ok maybe she is "only about 5 more minutes" older than that. A few of us girls went out exploring, sans map, for some last minute souvenir shopping. It was a great success! I managed to bring home a gift for my mother (star themed of course), chop sticks, a Japanese fashion magazine for Jess, and more KitKats! We didn't even get lost. Final packing was done at the hotel and we were off to the farmers market before going to the airport. We had a 9 hour flight from Japan to Denver. I was able to sleep for about 4 hours in a drug induced coma. A few of us decided to ship our goodies home from Denver via USPS to ensure plenty of room for Panama goodies in our luggage. I'm in the market for a Panama Jack Hat! During our layover in the US the most purchased items were: Pizza Hut pizza, fountain pops - mostly Mountain Dew or Diet Coke, and Dramamine. Since I'm such a savvy traveler I was able to wash my face, brush my teeth, apply more deodorant and change my underpants at the airport. It was pretty close to a shower but I'm still rocking the greasy ponytail hair. Our flight from Denver to Panama was about 6 hours, most of which I slept. It was 86° and after midnight when we arrived. Off to the hotel to get some real sleep in a real bed. Total time without a bed approximately 30 hours. Oh. Is that all? No problem. 

If you remember my previous post about the superior Japanese toilets; this is how we were welcomed to Panama... 

 

 

 

Day 6 - Eggs!!!

As a chicken farmer and an Eggs-pert, I was very Egg-xcited about our trip to the Egg washing and grading facility today in Japan! The tour did not disappoint! The Japanese eat eggs raw quite often so they put a large emphasis on quality and freshness. And they eat a lot of eggs: 320 eggs per person per year. In no more than three days, eggs are laid, washed, graded, packaged, and delivered to the consumer. In the US that process can take up to 30 days but we don't eat raw eggs so no worries. The shelf life of an egg that will be cooked can be up to 4 months if properly stored. The shelf life of an egg to be eaten raw is only 14 days and that is how their cartons are date stamped. 

This washing and grading facility gets their eggs from 6 local farms who own the facility as a cooperative. The facility cleans and packages 80,000 eggs per hour or 600,000 eggs per day. The hens lay eggs for this facility for two years. After that they either go for lower quality meat (chicken nuggets) or to another farm where they continue to lay eggs. These hens are less productive and lay larger eggs that are less desirable for consumers.

The whole washing and grading process is fully automated and done by robots. There are a few check point where workers pull out broken eggs but the majority of the quality check is done by machine. During one step, a machine hits the egg shell in kind of a drumming method to check for hairline cracks; eggs that have small cracks sound different when drummed than those that do not. Another check spot candles the eggs to look for abnormal yolk color or small blood spots inside the egg. If one has an abnormality it is automatically rejected. About 10% of the eggs that go through are rejected and used for either liquid eggs or fertilizer depending on the severity of the reject. The eggs are weight and separated by weight for packaging. From the time the eggs are washed to when they are fully packages takes only 3 to 5 minutes. 

Marc Bremer Son blew our hosts' minds with this fun fact: if you feed laying hens white corn they lay eggs with clear yolks. I have now sourced some white corn from Steve Huls Son to creat premium, value added eggs on our farm! I'm about to bust into the Japanese egg market! Think I can keep up with demand with our 8 ladies? 

 

 

 

 

Day 5 - Touristy Things

We started our day at the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. We heard from one of the men that helped to negotiate the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal. He had a few incites for us on Japanese Agriculture but most covered what we have heard from others. Their country is an aging population. They have a challenge getting young people to come back to the farm because it is hard work and incomes are not very high. There is a need to consolidate their small farms but have a hard time doing this because of local governments and a lack of infrastructure to help sellers and buyers to come to a deal. Their products are highly subsidized by the Japanese government so they can not compete with global markets. Because of this, they are now focusing on premium products and value added products. 

The most interesting discussion for me was about women in the work place. Gender roles are still quite strict in Japan. Women only do specific "female" jobs. When they begin to have children they quit working. It is more cost effective for them to stay home with their children than to pay for child care. Once their children go to school they do not typically go back to work because they have missed out on many years of working and earning seniority at a company. 

We did some touristy things the rest of the day when we walked around a Buddhist Temple and Pagoda as well as going to the top of Tokyo Tower. We also walked around a supermarket checking out their meats and veggies. Another great day in the books here in Japan!  

 

 

 

 

Day 4 - Farm Tours!

Today was farm tour day! We traveled three hours north of Tokyo to visit a Wagyu beef farm, dairy farm, tomato farm, and strawberry farm. The weather was quite cold hovering around 32°. It even snowed some while we were at the beef and dairy farms. 

The continuing theme we got from all of these farmers was their focus on the consumer's needs. They will always produce what the consumer wants. The second was that they focus on premium products, such as, high quality and high fat Wagyu Beef, that also come with premium prices. They can charge the equivalent of $26 per gallon of milk because the dairy cows that produce it eat only non-gmo feed and apparently consumers want that and will pay for it. We taste tested the tomatoes and strawberries and my goodness, the strawberries were amazing! Strawberry season is from September to March and are grown inside greenhouses. They focus on high quality, perfect taste, and uniformed size and consumers are willing to pay around $12 for six strawberries. In Japan, they live very simply with few material goods which allows them more disposable income that they spend in consumable goods like food. Their mentality is very different from Americans who demand cheap and fast food products and spend more money on stuff. Some photos for your pleasure. 

 

 

 

 

Day Three - Japan

I have not really told you all about what we have been up to here in Japan so for today's blog I'll summarize the last two days of speakers and tours. As you know, this is an agriculture based study tour of Japan. We have heard from US Embassy Attachés discussing a variety of topics including trade with Japan, Japanese economy and agriculture production. Someone from the meat export council and soybean export experts also spoke to us. Our welcome dinner was on a small cruise boat in the Tokyo Bay. We ate a traditional Japanese meal, drank beer, and sang karaoke. The skyline was quite beautiful. We toured a soybean crushing facility that is fully integrated: located on the bay for easy import and unloading. They crush, refine oils, process oil, package, and distribute soybean oil to consumers to be used for cooking. We also toured a tofu plant that is also fully integrated. They engineer, design, and use their own automated equipment. They developed their own packaging and fill it with freshly made tofu all at the same location. We got free samples for an afternoon snack. Not the best thing I've ever eaten, but not too bad either. We rode the bullet train traveling about 180mph and rode the Tokyo subway during evening rush hour. I bought wasabi flavored KitKats and a few other unrecognizable treats at a truck stop. I think the jet leg is now really setting in as the class seemed a bit lethargic all day today. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the beer last night.  Today we are off to see a Waygu Beef and Dairy Farm! Some photos below for your pleasure. 

 

 

 

 

Japanese Toilets

After only 24 hours in Japan one thing is perfectly clear. The toilets are awesome. They come in a variety of sizes and shape and with many... MANY options. Yes you heard me, options and features like if you were customizing a Jeep or picking toppings at a salad bar. Buttons for spraying different parts. A variety of water pressures like mild or powerful - yikes. There are two things that are blowing my mind! One. Heated Seats, yup warm to the touch and extremely comfortable. We went to an outdoor shrine and the weather is nice but a bit on the chilly side, only 50°. Went to the bathroom expecting a cold seat but were pleasantly surprised by a warm, comforting seat! It was awesome. I know in the US you can get heated seats at home but please, let's make it a public amenity! Now, I know, who wants to sit on a public toilet seat? I get it. Don't worry. In Japan they have sanitizer inside the stalls to clean the seats before you sit down. Second. There is a button you can push that will make the toilet flushing noise without actually flushing. So, you know, when Kirk- plunk happens, you can mask the noise with a fake flushing. Embarrassment averted. Thank you Japan!

 

 

 

Hello Tokyo!

We arrived safely in Tokyo at 4ish Sunday afternoon local time. Effectively 1 in the morning home time. We are 15 hours ahead of you all back in the states. The flight was relatively fine for being crammed into a tiny seat for 13 hours. I watched Lost in Translation - a Bill Murray movie set in Japan. It's free on Amazon Prime. I suggest watching it. Great movie and lots of beautiful shots of the city of Tokyo. I was able to sleep about a couple hours on the plane thanks to Melatonin! We were fed a few times - the usual mediocre airplane food. 

Our tour guide for the duration of the Tokyo leg, Kutzumi Niwa, met us at the airport and directed us to the bus. On our way to the hotel we took a tunnel that goes underwater below the Tokyo Bay. It seemed to go forever and I was thankful I was sitting toward the front of the bus. We checked in quickly, brushed our teeth and headed down for a buffet dinner. Lots of interesting choices for dinner. All my favorite things were deep fried like pork loin, shrimp, and little slices of pumpkin. They also had amazing desserts complete with strawberry fondu. I can not eat like that the whole trip but some comfort food was just right after a long day of travel. The girls made a quick walk around the corner to the 7-11 to check things out and get some cash out of the ATM. All went well. Check out some of the neat things at the 7-11 below. Yes that's a hotdog, in a bun, with ketchup, in a sealed package ready to be warmed or I guess eaten at room temperature?!?!  Also sake flavored KitKats?!?! 

 

 

 

The Zika Virus

The second leg of our trip is to the beautiful, warm, tropical, Central American county of Panama. With that comes it's challenges, mostly mosquito bite transmitted diseases and also the combination of high humidity, high temperatures, and black suits... smellllllllly. Many of these diseases have been around for longer than the states have been united. Malaria, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, and of course the one most recently in the news, the ZIKA VIRUS! Our program director, thankfully, had the local health department and a physician in to talk to us about the zika virus, prevention, and concerns. I'm a bit disappointed; I was prepared to tackle this topic with the class complete with flip charts and diagrams but they brought free condoms soo... I guess they win. Thought I would share a few things that we learned about it.

Zika virus is spread mostly through mosquito bites but can also be spread through sexual contact. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the virus. Most people who contract the virus show no physical signs of it but if you do you may have a fever, joint pain, and red eyes; mostly you feel like crap. The virus typically runs though your system in a week to ten days. If in good health, you will get over it and be just fine.

The big concern is that women who are pregnant or may become  pregnant and contract the zika virus have a higher risk of having a child with birth defects, specifically microcephaly. Microcephaly causes babies to be born with regular body size and face size but small backs of heads and under developed brains. If you are in the Baby Making part of your life pay attention!

• DO NOT travel to infected areas if you are prego. 
• DO NOT get prego for at least two weeks after being in an infected area. 
• DO NOT get your wife, girlfriend, significant other, or random girl prego for at least one month after traveling to an infected area.
• DO NOT get bitten by a mosquito when you get back home... you could bring this virus to the mother land. 

Let me explain. The virus stays in your blood for about two weeks after being infected. You may not know you have been infected as most people are asymptomatic. The virus stays in semen for longer than in blood, but it is unknown how long. The health department suggested first talking to your own physician. There is very little research on this virus and much is unknown. Over the next few months more and more will be discovered.

Upon return, you will only be tested for zika if you present two of the four symptoms plus travel to an infected area. Test results can take a long time to get back, 5 weeks and counting. The health department is really no help in that area.

If you don't have a concern of getting prego or care about giving a virus to your significant other then, by all means, have a pleasant welcome home party in the sack. I'm talking to you Sharkey.

Ugh Chopsticks

We have been encouraged to really dive into the culture while on this trip. This means using chopsticks... not an inherent skill of mine. Confession... I have packed a plastic fork in my purse.

I guess I should have listened to Miss. Markovich in second grade when she tried to correct the way I hold a pencil. It's not like most people... I sort of hold it with my whole hand rather than between three fingers. This creates a challenge when trying to hold chopsticks properly. I can't do it.

I decided I would practice this week by eating most of my meals with chopsticks. Somehow I have managed to muddle though and get most of the food pieces to my face without dropping too much on my shirt. I'm looking forward to eating sushi with my fingers and drinking soup right out of the bowl in Japan.

I think I'll treat this new challenge as a sort of diet plan. While practicing, I have found that I typically get frustrated or bored with eating far before I finish my meal. That's one way to tackle portion control. I'll keep you all updated on how/if my skills improve. It's unlikely.

Yes, you can pack for two weeks in a carry-on bag. Here’s how I did it.

There has been much discussion in my class about my ability to pack for our international trip in just a carry-on bag. Three years ago, I traveled to China with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. A month before the trip Uncle Tom, softly encouraged (required) me to pack in just a carry-on.  I thought he was nuts and started packing immediately, wondering if it was even possible. After some research (there are tons of blogs out there discussing this very topic) I made it happen. It was fine. And now I won’t travel internationally any other way. The last thing I want to worry about while exploring a new place, new culture, and new cuisine is lugging around a gigantic suitcase or two. The minimalism requires you to pack strategically and use pieces of clothing in multiple outfits. Word to the wise though, do not pack too many dry-fit shirts. Uncle Tom learned the hard way that those are actually not very breathable and make you the stinky kid on the bus.

Here goes. I take one approved carry-on suitcase that is hard sided with four spinner wheels as well as one Vera Bradley backpack that slips over the handle of my rolling suitcase. I wear my bulkiest clothes on the plane which will include, jeans, long sleeved black shirt, black blazer, black rain coat, scarf/blanket, and tall black boots. All of which are comfortable and perfect for the 14 hour plane ride to Japan.

The following are inside my backpack that will serve as my personal item:

• Purse including: necessities, passport, mini iPad, & ear buds
•  Complete outfit: shirt, pants, socks, & underpants
•  Make up bag which includes: powder foundation,brushes, eye liner, mascara, eye shadow, contacts, and hair comb
• Quart bag of liquids – shampoo, conditioner,tooth paste, hair product, sun screen, liquid foundation, body wash, hairspray, & Downy Wrinkle Release
•  Empty Trevis water bottle
• Baseball hat for bad hair days
• Neck pillow
• Fuzzy socks
• Snacks including: protein bar, trail mix, fruit snacks, lifesavers, starburst, chocolate
• First aid kit including: Band-Aids and variety of medication for cold & flu & allergies
• Sunglasses
• Hand sanitizer
•  Prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses

My goal with my personal item is that if need be, I could survive out of it for a few days. Often, once you get to the gate the airline will ask you to check your carry-on bag. If it’s out of my sight, it may never come back! I’m prepared for that possibility.

Next is my actual suitcase. I will preface with the fact that we will be gone for a full 14 days. Three of which are travel days. Additionally we have a specific dress code. A few days we have to dress in full suits, other days we can pair a suit jacket with other colored pants or dresses, and the remaining of the days are some combination of dark pants and khakis. Jeans are only to be worn on travel days. Also, our trip will include a few farm visits so we have to pack our own Tyvek suits. I have packed and repacked my suitcase at least FOUR TIMES. We leave in T-3 Days and it’s likely I will repack at least once more.

Inside my roller suitcase I have the following:

• 16 pairs of my least favorite underpants – ready to be trashed (or sold, I hear there is a market for them in Japan) after use
• Black tank top
•  Two white tank tops
• Two T-Shirts
• Sleep shorts
• Sports Bra
• Three Bras – one of which is my least favorite to be trashed after use
•  Bathing suit
• Cover Up
• Tyvek Suit
• One bag of odds and ends including phone charges, power adapter, more drugs/prescriptions, deodorant, etc…
• Two dresses
• One black and white sweater – to be trashed/donated after use
•  Six sleeveless shirts – some polo style some not
• One short sleeved top
•  One button up top (one more in my personal bag)
• One Polo
• One black belt (one more being worn)
• Two pairs of black pants (one more in my personal bag)
• One pair of khaki pants
•  One pair of black leggings
• One dress jackets (one more being worn)
• Two pairs of black flats – one will be trashed after use
• Black sandals – these sandals have been on every international adventure thus far!
• Seven pairs of black socks – some of which I will trash after use
• Three pairs of no-show socks
• Pantyhose – to be trashed after use
• Black tights – to be trashed after use
• Packable duffle bag, in case I come home with more than I leave with
• Three bags of sweet corn seed for farmer gifts

A few more notes… we are not traveling to any desolate places that I won’t be able to do a little bit of shopping if necessary. All of my clothing pieces are mix and match-able with black as the base color. I would bet I could make up at least 20 outfits from the items I’ve packed, so technically I could purge a few things. I’ve made great use of packing cubs and zip lock bags to keep things organized and flat.

This seems like a momentous task but think about it. Lots of these items I’ve packed you have to have if you go for just one night or fourteen nights so pairing down a few clothing items is all that’s necessary to fit into this tiny bag. I challenge all of you to at least give it a try. I promise you won’t be mad you did it. 

JaPanama or Bust

The traveling continues! I have truly missed traveling, seeing new places, and experiencing new cultures. I can not be more excited about this up coming trip. As you know, I'm rounding out the second year of the Illinois Agriculture Leadership Program and that means two weeks of international travel studying agriculture! Our class of thirty will be spending about a week in both Japan and Panama, thus we have dubbed the trip "JaPanama". The itenerary boast embassy visits, cultural exploration, and farm tours complete with Tyvek suits! With all the hype and possibility we are not without our concerns... The Zika virus is alarming and we have been told about the Japanese delicacy: raw horse meat. Here's to hoping we can identify everything we eat and avoid mosquito bites!  Let us all remember, the difference between and ordeal and an adventure is ATTITUDE!

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