Resuming student life

Before uni classes officially started Geol252 had a week-long field trip to Maerewheneua for field camp... there are 80 students in the class, nine of them Whitties. Overall the trip was a good time, but I think we all came to appreciate Whitman geo and realize what it is we're actually getting out of that little school in Walla Walla. In general, lectures were slow-paced, directed towards the unfortunate souls who were taking it as their second-ever geo class. The demonstrators (only one was actually a professor) were frequently disorganized and redundant, and they dangled the beer carrot in front of our faces for the whole week and heartbreakingly never followed through with a trip to the pub. As a whole I felt thoroughly prepared for the ordeal... Whitman geology made this a cake walk, though I do now have a lot of busy work to do (make a geologic map, cross-section, strat column, write a report, etc).

In spite of at least half-assed efforts, Whitman students frequently worked together. In one such group Janna and I followed directions and went off to explore the lower margin of a layer of basalt (as though we haven't seen enough basalt to last us a lifetime or two) only to find out afterwards that the group leaders decided to keep everyone together. It was refreshing to go on a faster-paced hike in search of baked Tapui (the rock formation we were supposed to find.

Classes at Otago are not like Whitman, but I'm aware of the fact that I'm far away from home, this is a different school, and I've got high expectations, having taken Whitman for granted. I'm enrolled in Field Studies, a class on hydrocarbon basins (from a super cool professor who knows where Olympia is! this'll be a fun class because it's stuff I probably won't learn at Whitman), and physics. physics is strange because we do reading and some homework outside of class, only to do a bunch of practice final test problems when I would normally expect to be lectured.

Allan's beach: got chased by a big seal and found some cool rocks. the shoreline itself is picturesque and secluded and wonderful.

Botanical gardens: went for a run and it turns out the gardens are far more extensive than I imagined... there are tons of trails, a gorgeous old cemetery that may or may not spawn zombies, an aviary, and designated park-y areas for weddings or eating or any of those sorts of things.

Flat: layout is excellent, fellow Americans are super nice and wonderful, kiwi host is sort of hard to get along with (we're working on that).

Our toast of choice (we say it every time we drink) is "to f***'n New Zealand"

Rock on.