visiting IRRI as a tourist

Val's friends, Natasha and Dwaine, flew to the Philippines for a vacation with Veronica and Melissa, their relatives. Val made a highly organised schedule for them, which I thought was very hectic. But the visitors assured us that they have enough energy to battle through jetlag and the energy-zapping humidity of the Philippines... after Day 1, however, Val and I started crossing off activities on the schedule because these proved to be too hectic for them. 

The one thing that we kept intact in the agenda was the visit to IRRI. Since Val had a meeting scheduled, I brought the visitors to the gene bank after Tita Maripi and Kuya Dehner brought them to the RiceWorld Museum. This was the first time that I had a guided tour of the gene bank facility, in all the 13+ years that I have been at IRRI. We learned about why a gene bank is important, what diversity can be found in rice grains, and how these rice varieties are prepared for long-term storage in the gene bank. We went to both the 5C and the -18C storage facilities. It was quite an experience to be inside these facilities, rather than just seeing them in the IRRI photos often used in slide decks.

After the cold tour, we raided Val's office in the Drilon Hall. When he came back, they just had to have a photo at the IRRI sign just outside the Hall... at noon!

Before I leave, I'll have to take a souvenir shot here.