Jenny: So Many New Friends

I met some new friends today! During the poster sessions, I went up to a girl from Beijing whose project was on analyzing the chemicals that make cucumbers and bitter melons bitter. We bonded over our favorite types of fruit: watermelon! From there, we started to talk about different foods all across China, especially those from my mom’s home town of Hami. To my surprise, she told me that she likes the Naan that the WeiWuEr people make in Hami for breakfast; I felt like we were immediately good friends! I found out that she has also been to DunHuang, my favorite place in China. I also met a group of guys who were researching methods for pest control; when I told them about my project on bacteriophages, they introduced me to another girl who did research on bacteriophages; she was from Denmark! We talked a lot about who phages have been unexplored and overshadowed by antibiotics. I am glad to be able to stay in contact with everyone through Facebook and WeChat. I feel so fortunate to have met so many amazing people today!