Astro GCSU: 50 million years of asteroid<<20 minutes of Indian Food


Greetings blog, it’s Taja! Today was an action-packed but dull day, filled with tedious tasks and
pockets of excitement. Our asteroid—2012 FN62—will not hit Earth, unfortunately. After working
for 10 hours on this SWRI project, I went back to the dorms ready to get 10 hours of rest.
Predictably, my stomach had other plans. The nutritious meal I had for dinner (pasta and rice)
could not quell my stomach rumbling “CHICKEN POT PIE.” So, I mindlessly wandered to the
participant freezer, unboxed the sad green carton package, and shoved it in the microwave.
Well chicken pot bye, the pie came out burnt on the edges and uncooked in the middle—how
appetizing! Fortunately, some hungry participants in the hive were excited to dig in, and I sat
back as Jasmine microwaved Divya’s frozen Baingan Bharta (eggplant curry). Like moths to a
flame, the Indians of the hive began swarming around the source of the fragrant and familiar
scent. As we dug in, Sanjana officially declared our suite 95 percent Indian (while I’m ethnically
only half, my suitemates have worked tirelessly to culture me—thanks Sanjana, Sai, and
Divya!). Soon enough, ten people surrounded the singular plate, eagerly dipping naan into the
flavorful sauce. And, just as we were about to run out, Divya told us there was one more! You
should’ve seen the speed at which we prepared our second course—Sanjana microwaved her
rice, Kal softened the burnt naan with wet paper towels, Divya stirred at the next plate, and
everyone else sucked their teeth in preparation as Bollywood music played in the background.
And although the first round was better (they say hunger is the best sauce), those twenty
minutes in the kitchen became less and less about the food, and more about the bond we
shared.

-Taja