“The left door,” I was told as I instinctively went to open the right door of the car. I had just left the plane, after almost 11 hours, and it hit me: I wasn’t in Tucson anymore! I was in Japan! As we drove from Narita Airport to Tsukuba (about an hour from Tokyo), I noticed how every piece of land was being used -- either a house or a rice field or a vegetable patch. One moment, I would see a 7-11 and think that everything was just the same as it was on the other side of the Pacific, and the next minute, I would realize it wasn’t. It was about 5:00 pm on Tuesday, but to me it was 1:00 am. So began my BRAVO! experience…

BRAVO! (Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open!), a program directed by Carol Bender at the University of Arizona, sends undergraduates with research experience to foreign labs. These students are generally part of the related program UBRP (Undergraduate Biology Research Program) and have written a project proposal that must be accepted by the BRAVO! committee.

My name is Brooke LaFlamme. The BRAVO! program and the Markow lab in Tucson sent me to Japan this summer to study symbioses between bacteria and Drosophila (“fruit flies”). My project was to identify which bacteria are transmitted from mother to offspring among wild-caught flies in Japan. I worked in Dr. Takema Fukatsu’s lab at a national research institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), in Tsukuba. This is part of a project between the Markow lab (headed by Therese Markow) and the Moran lab (headed by Nancy Moran) at the University of Arizona.

Although I worked all summer, it felt like a vacation to me. I experienced something new everywhere I traveled in Japan. For example, Tucson has no train system, so riding the trains in Japan is definitely different (and a little bit scary at first!). Even going to the grocery store the first time was a shock. Most of the items in the store were unrecognizable to me, and I couldn’t read the labels! I ended up buying some yogurt and potato chips. At least they looked safe.

Since then, I’ve eaten quite a lot of things that I never would have considered at home. I stopped asking, ”What is in this?” Since, the answer always made me hesitate to try it.
Because of my project’s emphasis on using “wild-caught” flies, I got the chance to travel to the coolest places in Japan. My first trip was to the southern islands of Tanegashima and Yakushima where I was treated to a giant raw-seafood feast for three nights. Japanese people are serious about food, so everything was gourmet. I stayed in little bed-and-breakfast type places and experienced the Japanese lifestyle: tatami mats and sleeping on a futon on the floor. I must say, though, that I could do without the Japanese-style toilets. I also traveled to Matsuyama, where I visited a public bath (Onsen), and Sapporo, home of the famous beer and even more famous Hokkaido University.

Life in the lab was also different. Not only did I have to learn where everything was located, but I also had to get used to a different atmosphere, not to mention working in the lab until 10:00 pm sometimes!

I loved working in the lab and doing fieldwork, but the best part of my BRAVO! experience was getting out and seeing the sights. It is impossible to go anywhere in Japan and not be amazed. Whether it is the natural beauty of Hokkaido or Yakushima or the neon and asphalt jungle of Tokyo, there was always something to see or do. My weekends were usually spent walking around Tokyo trying to find good restaurants, shops, and generally just seeing how lost I could get and still be able to find a subway station that would take me somewhere recognizable.

Now, I am back in Tucson and back to work and school. The project in Japan did not end just because I left, but I feel I accomplished a lot this summer. I discovered some interesting cases of symbiosis in a few Drosophila species and learned various problem-solving techniques from people in the Japanese lab. Even though I had to deal with quite a few technical problems, I have learned a lot about my own strengths and weaknesses, and how I adapt to new situations. I think this is the heart of what BRAVO! is all about.

Through this experience, I have become a little more independent and aware of the world than I was in May. I have a different perspective on my own country and way of life since being in Japan. I am sure that my college career would not have been complete without BRAVO! I encourage all biology students to give it a try.

Brooke A. LaFlamme, UBRPer in Dr. Therese Marklow’s lab, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology