Through the eyes of a geologist

With the Spring semester shortly underway, I am hoping for an even greater year of success. Aim high and shoot for the stars. Since classes have only been on a week or so, I am just learning of the fieldwork I am due to undertake which sounds incredibly exciting. Numerous weekends away for Volcanology and Economic Mineral Deposits should be very interesting and new to me. I'll be sure to keep you updated as my first one is only a week or two away. I have not long been introduced to our new house mate who is Mexican. She's been introducing me to homemade dishes such as tamales which were slightly unusual however yummy. I hope 2015 is the year of new things!

Among family affairs, I was able to spend a considerable time travelling and sightseeing over Thanks Giving. With only a week or two after celebrating my twenty-first birthday, what better place than NYC?! When I descended on the airplane early in the morning after catching my flight from Phoenix the evening before, the sun had already risen but the sky was still being lit up from the city lights. It wasn't long before I was whisked off in a limousine heading to the bright lights and a comfy bed awaiting me in the New Yorker Hotel. Dining in  I could not fault the location of the New Yorker Hotel one bit. Opposite Madison Square Gardens, I certainly would recommend it to the avid tourist. It's walking distance to most destinations in Manhattan, and situated right next to a subway stop for the what-would-be-treks to South Ferry to board and see the Green Lady in all her beauty. Forty stories high, it's easy to be immersed in the silence of the sky, except for th...

Wishing everyone a belated Happy New Year. Let's hope 2015 brings us good health and happiness!

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 de...