Through the eyes of a geologist

As I begin my journey on the shuttle to Phoenix to join my mum and sister in New York, this is the first opportunity where I do not have a list of university commitments to fulfil and I have spare time... It may be a few months too late, but I'd like to begin with the end of September, when my UoL friends, Grace and Zeinab, joined me in Tucson for ten days. As keen geologists, it would be impossible for these ladies to be in AZ and not visit the one and only Grand Canyon.  We thought we’re only going to do this once, let's go all out and book a Mustang! It sounded perfect at the time, but for three leggy people, it wasn't as enjoyable as hoped. The scenery on the five hour journey was fantastic and it was incredible to notice how it changed with altitude as we climbed to 8000ft at times.  Having packed light due to the camping gear taking up the majority of the boot space, we arrived in Tusayan and set up camp before sunset, eagerly awaiting the once in a lifetime opportuni

Today was incredibly challenging! We began en route at 9am, with three litres of water in my rucksack I thought I was more than prepared. How wrong could I be. Today was an incredibly hot, in fact it was exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, added to the climbing altitude, many some of us very ill quickly and soon abandoned the hike. Although the day wasn't completely unsuccessful, as I got to experience was the true arid Arizona is like. A few hours within the trek, the scenery was fantastic, something I would only dream about on a pre-printed postcard.  Consequently, I will return at some point during the year to complete the hike and go cliff diving. Certainly something to tick off my bucketlist. Blooming cactus Refreshing So many beautiful butterflies around Catalinas Scenery on route 

Having only been in Tucson, Arizona for a mere two weeks, it has become apparent to me the importance of extra-curricular activities, in particular sports on campus. From this observation, I hope to integrate into the community through attending sporting games and fixtures, to get the complete UofA Wildcat fan experience. When I walked around campus for the first time, I was astounded by the scale and amount of sporting buildings: baseball, football, just to name a few. The paths on campus were reminders of the UofA’s success: lamposts with flags praising the success of sporting teams were just the beginning. My first reaction to the facilities on campus alone, reinforced why USA does so well in the Olympics. The extent of the facilities available: an Olympic sized swimming pool, climbing walls, 3 gyms, sand volleyball pitches, were vast and just incredible in comparison to those we have available at Leicester. I would like to research further for my next blog, to see the extent o

I am going to share with you my experience so far of an American university. It’s hard to put into words just how different the culture is in but it is incredibly obvious having only been a witness for five school days.   Let’s begin with my classes. I’m not taught in any lecture theatres, instead a classroom, similar to being taught at A-level or GCSE in the UK. Class size tends to be of less than 30, and on many occasions, you have your own chair which has a personal desk. It’s a great experience to be one-on-one with a lecturer, but on the other hand I’m out of practise when it comes to class participation and consequently shy away from suggesting my ideas. I hope this is something that comes with time, as I become confident in my new surroundings. As a result of this, discussion happens in most classes and your prior knowledge is forever being challenged. It is vital to stay on the ball as lecturers ask questions and actively ask students their understanding of a defini

I have just returned from a four day trip to San Diego with other exchange international students who like me, are beginning at the UofA this fall. One word… Amazing! I signed up for this trip over a month ago. I knew it’s something I wouldn't normally do and the past few days have certainly ticked off a few numbers off my bucket list. Consequently, I have met people from all over the world: Australia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Japan and Singapore to name a few and have had the most awesome time too! After a long 6/7 hour road trip, which I rather enjoyed due to the dynamic scenery, we arrived at Lake Jennings in the evening where we began to set up camp. The campsite itself is situated at the top of a hill, to one side overlooking the lake and to the other, a bustling civilisation. It was a perfect spot to see the sun set and despite civilisation, the sky was dark enough to see handfuls of stars, and I even saw a shooting star (!!!!!). I have had loads of first

My new blog post is being written from Tucson, AZ, as I begin my year abroad studying at UofA. After a sixteen hour journey including a stop at Detroit, I was more than glad to finally arrive in Tucson late Thursday night. Journey from Phoenix to Tucson Orientation begins on Tuesday which I am looking forward to. It's slightly daunting, but knowing that everybody at international orientation are in a similar boat, it doesn't seem too bad. I am currently in the 'honeymoon' period of my big move and extremely excited as to what my year brings, which I hope to portray through this blog. I'm still adjusting to the time difference and the heat, which is nothing I have experienced so far. As challenging as this year may be, it will most certainly be character building. So stay posted!

I have been following the continuous debate over the importance of fieldwork within geology and its application into a degree. Having just returned from independently mapping in the Isle of Man for my third-year mapping project, I am all for it. I have the opportunity to thrive in a new environment, and be able to look back through the ups and downs, through the sunburn and rain, and know that the amount of effort put into my fieldwork was worth it when I hand it in to be marked. Unlike other subjects, geology requires 3D thinking – something that doesn’t come naturally to many people, especially myself. So when the opportunity of fieldwork comes around, I am more than excited to see what those textbook examples were actually trying to describe. In April, I visited Holy Island in Anglesey, and underwent a taught structural field course. Had this trip occurred before my structural exam I had in January, I feel as though I would have passed with flying colours. Everything was

On 23rd March, along with the PCSB members, I visited Cheddar Gorge on an informal day trip exploring the caves and observing the surrounding geology. The first cave we visited of the day had exceptional stalagmites and stalagtites. Gough's Cave formed half a million years ago, where the stalagmites and stalagtites began forming 250,000 years ago as a result of calcium enriched water percolating through the above rock. The geology walk was great - as you climbed the steps at the beginning of the walk to the viewing tower, you was able to 'climb' through history through the changing environment. The Gorge was formed as a result of glacial melt creating currents of which weathered the limestone, revealing today's topography:  Cliff-top Gorge Walk As you can see from the photo below, you are able to view spectacular scenery. It's well worth the visit, it was interesting from a geologist's point of view, but I can imagine it attracts people of al

From April 28 - May 2, I am taking the Live Below The Line challenge in support of Send a Cow . Join thousands of people living on just £1 a day for five days. Fight extreme poverty. Transform lives. www.livebelowtheline.org/uk Donate online:  https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/jomiles

The most recent Geoscientist published for February 2014, included a double-paged spread featuring reader’s letters.  The topic in hand from many readers was the role of fieldwork mapping which came about after Desmond Donovan questioned whether it was needed in the UK at all. Isle of Arran fieldwork group In agreeance with Andy Howard, who made the relevant point that mapping is actually a skill – despite the fact that it produces new up-to-date geologically relevant maps, is that it allows for an undergraduate like me, to question why a geologist interpreted a geological structure the way they did. It allows me to critically analyse someone else’s interpretation when I’m in the field and not to be afraid if I had a different view. Ultimately, as field maps are replaced and areas are becoming more detailed, the skill of mapping should be encouraged as the new map itself is just a by-product of one’s learning. The principles of fieldwork mapping I have learnt within