GETTING MY HANDS DIRTY
August 22, 2010
During my last semester, I wanted to find a Microbial Ecologist at Columbia who could perhaps act as a mentor to me during my Senior thesis year, but according to my advisor, there was only one specialist in that field in the entire academic system, and she was actually at Barnard. It’s kind of hard to believe that at a school as large as Columbia, all the microbiologists would be working in the medical field, but it’s true. So I was pretty excited and nervous when I walked into Dr. Krista McGuire’s office one afternoon to talk to her about her work. I felt like I kind of had a lot riding on that conversation, because if she wasn’t willing to teach me about Microbial Ecology, then I didn’t know who would. But to my relief, Krista turned out to be a really friendly and encouraging woman, and very graciously invited me to join her on her research trip in Malaysia where she studies microbes in rainforest soil. Taking the trip meant turning down a chunk of touring (right during festival season) and summer school, but there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity.
That was many months ago, and since I’ve spent the greater part of this summer touring with Au Revoir Simone, the research trip was pretty far from my mind, (aside the occasional doctor’s visit to get all my inoculations in order). The ladies and I traveled all over Europe, collaborated with Air, then came back to the US for a handful of dates on the West and East coasts. When we returned home last week, it dawned on me that I had about three days to prepare for a two and half week trip to one of the hottest, wettest places on Earth, and I didn’t even own hiking boots. A small fortune later, (why is tech gear SO expensive!?) I had amassed a wardrobe of insecticide-laced, wicking, breathing, anti-microbial outfits, down to the matching bras and panties. Plus a hat with mosquito netting, a headlamp (which made me think of Animal Collective), and a toiletry bag stuffed with boxes of medication I hope to never open like Cipro and Plan B (seems highly unnecessary, but my doctor insisted). And now, finally and kind of unbelievably, I’m on a fifteen hour flight to Hong Kong, with a short layover before arriving in Kuala Lumpur.
The girls and I have played shows in Southeast Asia before, in fact, we were in Singapore not too long ago, but for such an experienced traveler as I am at this point, there is something about traveling as a student that is totally out of my comfort zone, and makes me feel like a kid again. For one thing, and I realize how this sounds, I’m not wearing a dress on this flight. I usually pride myself on traveling stylishly, mainly because I’ve noticed that people are generally nicer and more helpful to well-dressed travelers, and I’ll take any additional kindness I can get at an airport. I haven’t been getting much love dressed like Dora the Explorer. When I get off this plane, there will be no sweet man waiting for me with a card that reads “Au Revoir Simone” to help me with my luggage and whisk me away in an air conditioned van to my nice hotel, which I’m not even expected to know the name of because ‘it’s taken care of’, and where I would usually first take a long bath and then lounge around in a robe for a few hours. When I land in Kuala Lumpur, my first stop is the hostel (I still don’t know how I’m getting there) where I’ll be sharing bunk beds with the other research students. While in the rainforest, not only will my hair and makeup not be done, but also I’ve been assured that I will be covered in leeches. Fungus may grow wherever it feels inclined to do so. It’s a gross fact. Have you ever watched “Survivor Man?” A friend of mine actually had a spider lay eggs in his arm. In his ARM!
I realize I sound spoiled, and I guess that’s the point. During the early years of the band, our traveling style left a lot to be desired. I slept on floors, sometimes even three at a time to one bed, and sometimes as many as six people in one hotel room. I hauled our gear from train to train in Japan, and on the London underground, and up six floors in European hostels. Typical fears ranged from theft to bed bugs. I’m pretty sure many people would have quit touring under some of the conditions we often found ourselves in, but it was a labor of love, so all the headache was worth it. And though there are still times (like touring the US) when we have to slum it a little, at this point in our careers we’re very grateful that our standards have been permitted to rise. We travel like ladies now.
In the academic world, I’m starting from scratch again. It’s a disconcerting feeling to have at 30. But there’s also a pretty great flip side—for one thing, I have three blissfully free days ahead of me in KL before we leave for the rainforest, without any photoshoots, interviews, or in-stores on my schedule. I can’t remember the last time I traveled somewhere and didn’t have an itinerary, someone telling me when to wake up and when to eat. There isn’t even one piece of musical equipment in my luggage. The only gear Krista requested me to bring was 5 boxes of latex gloves, for what purpose I can only imagine. I guess my headlamp counts as ‘gear,’ too. Either way, I’m not carrying a keyboard, which is both weird and liberating.
Anyway, I’m not really that prissy and I’m having some fun at my expense here, but I guess I’m feeling some of the growing pains of this new life I’m trying to wiggle into. And, Deet-exposure notwithstanding, I think this trip is going to be really good for me. I can’t wait to check all the little, damning boxes “Yes” on my Customs forms when I return to the States. “Yes,” I have played with some exotic dirt!
