Thats to say that my hardest module, Geochemistry is perhaps becoming slightly easier to digest. Well, until the next class when im sure it'll get a whole lot harder! I live in hope!
Some interestingly odd and slightly sick news emerged from Berlin this week where a man was awarded compensation when a hospital lost the top of his head! (i kid you not!) During brain surgery, the hospital put the piece of his skull in a fridge which subsequently broke. The man now has a plastic prosthetic bit filling the gap. Incidentally he was awarded a meagre 3000 euros in damages!
And at a Russian airshow, a wealthy oil barren tried to buy an American B52 bomber, on the spot. Reuters reports that the man, surrounded by body guards, offered to buy it from the American crew and was more than content with the potential price tag upwards of $500million. The crew came to their senses and the plane was not sold!
And finally, a geology related bite of information seems approprite. A guy called Alfred Wegener is attributed with first coming up with the idea of plate tectonics and the formation of mountain belts, continental drift and oceans etc. Blah blah blah... Anyway, i just thought the German for 'Theory of continental drift' was quite funny - "Theorie der Kontinetalverschiebung"
Anyway, ive got a class in a couple of hours and abit of reading to do before that so ttfn amigos!
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Sunday, 26 August 2007
More...
free food, this time courtesy of some Swiss friends we made who live 4 doors down. A great brunch with all the British trimmings! I guess the catch is we need to return the favour sometime. Any suggestions of what a traditional breakfast/brunch consists of in Switzerland would be welcome!
We had a little lizard crawl around the apartment aswell, a right bugger to catch! Its tail fell off in the process and continued to move despite being dis-associated with its owner!
Decided to get up early this morning and bike into Walmart on my slowly disappearing bike. I brought it about 2 weeks ago and in the mean time, both peddles had literally melted off! I kid you not. The guy there fixed it no problem free of charge, still it only cost me $60 in the first place! Braking can also be interesting in the hot weather. I have thick layers of black brake rubber on my wheel rims where the brakes have literally melted during braking - and im not even riding that hard! Only in Arizona!
We had a lengthly debate at the International student dinner last week about George Bush, a subject brought up by the Director of International Affairs himself who happened to be sitting on our table. I'm not sure if he was sucking up to us foreigners but he took a very liberal approach to the discussion with a less than positive view towards the commander in chief. Still, its only just over a year 'til the next presidential elections, how much more crap can come out of his mouth before then???
And finally, talking of speaking crap, a fellow UK exchange student here had a story to tell of her encounter with an American student.
"You speak very good English for someone from the UK don't you?"
"Yeah, i am from England..."
"Since English is your second language, you speak very fluently!"
"England...English...first language!"
That isn't a completely true reflection of America as a whole by the way although getting them to point to England on a map can be a challenge. Englan-abad - now thats another story!
We had a little lizard crawl around the apartment aswell, a right bugger to catch! Its tail fell off in the process and continued to move despite being dis-associated with its owner!
Decided to get up early this morning and bike into Walmart on my slowly disappearing bike. I brought it about 2 weeks ago and in the mean time, both peddles had literally melted off! I kid you not. The guy there fixed it no problem free of charge, still it only cost me $60 in the first place! Braking can also be interesting in the hot weather. I have thick layers of black brake rubber on my wheel rims where the brakes have literally melted during braking - and im not even riding that hard! Only in Arizona!
We had a lengthly debate at the International student dinner last week about George Bush, a subject brought up by the Director of International Affairs himself who happened to be sitting on our table. I'm not sure if he was sucking up to us foreigners but he took a very liberal approach to the discussion with a less than positive view towards the commander in chief. Still, its only just over a year 'til the next presidential elections, how much more crap can come out of his mouth before then???
And finally, talking of speaking crap, a fellow UK exchange student here had a story to tell of her encounter with an American student.
"You speak very good English for someone from the UK don't you?"
"Yeah, i am from England..."
"Since English is your second language, you speak very fluently!"
"England...English...first language!"
That isn't a completely true reflection of America as a whole by the way although getting them to point to England on a map can be a challenge. Englan-abad - now thats another story!
Saturday, 25 August 2007
Head Automatica...
played a free concert at the student union here last night. FREE!!! With that in mind, it was great! I didn't know any of the songs but who cared? It was loud and free! Before that we had a pool party at the apartment complex with more free food, as is increasingly becoming the norm! They were handing out free ice-cream on the Uni Mall aswell, fortunately with several different servers so i could go back for more and not get caught.
On a side topic, we had some rain yesterday/last night! Infact, the full monsoonal thunderstorm for about an hour a time. It wouldnt be so bad for the fact theres no drainage at all here. Nothing on the roads or anything. Essentially, the roads can flood if someone spills their regular 20oz "Diet" coke whilst fumbling with the rest of their nasty fast-food cholesterol chicken meal. Actually, their not all that bad. I met up with an American friend along with my apartment-mates and we found somewhere selling lunch wraps, mostly filled with salad! There had to be a catch!
Went food shopping again today (nothing too interesting about that i hear you say) but we nearly made it through without seeing the greeter guy (i shall call him Herbert until i find out his real name!). Herbert is out over-enthusiastic, always smiling 'friend' who works at Fry's (our local supermarket). We got as far as the checkouts before he strode past whilst i was packing, tapped me on the back and delivered a speech along the lines of "Hi, how you doing! Thanks for shopping at Fry's. Are you both ok? Nice to see you again! Hope to see you soon!". I'll get a photo at some point and you'll see what i mean. I think Herbert might be Mexican!
Just finished reading the new (relatively) Harry Potter book aswell and what a great book it is! I hadn't read any Potter before (seen the films though) and i was taken-a-back by the gripping readability, all-ages nature of the book. J.K Rowling has written a masterpiece which i reccommend to anyone! It finishes off the Potter era's fantastically with twists and turns, adventure and action. I'm not going to give anything of the plot away, find out how good it is for yourself!
See you guys later and keep checking back for more pointless dribble from Arizona!
On a side topic, we had some rain yesterday/last night! Infact, the full monsoonal thunderstorm for about an hour a time. It wouldnt be so bad for the fact theres no drainage at all here. Nothing on the roads or anything. Essentially, the roads can flood if someone spills their regular 20oz "Diet" coke whilst fumbling with the rest of their nasty fast-food cholesterol chicken meal. Actually, their not all that bad. I met up with an American friend along with my apartment-mates and we found somewhere selling lunch wraps, mostly filled with salad! There had to be a catch!
Went food shopping again today (nothing too interesting about that i hear you say) but we nearly made it through without seeing the greeter guy (i shall call him Herbert until i find out his real name!). Herbert is out over-enthusiastic, always smiling 'friend' who works at Fry's (our local supermarket). We got as far as the checkouts before he strode past whilst i was packing, tapped me on the back and delivered a speech along the lines of "Hi, how you doing! Thanks for shopping at Fry's. Are you both ok? Nice to see you again! Hope to see you soon!". I'll get a photo at some point and you'll see what i mean. I think Herbert might be Mexican!
Just finished reading the new (relatively) Harry Potter book aswell and what a great book it is! I hadn't read any Potter before (seen the films though) and i was taken-a-back by the gripping readability, all-ages nature of the book. J.K Rowling has written a masterpiece which i reccommend to anyone! It finishes off the Potter era's fantastically with twists and turns, adventure and action. I'm not going to give anything of the plot away, find out how good it is for yourself!
See you guys later and keep checking back for more pointless dribble from Arizona!
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Update from Arizona
Its getting near the end of the first week of classes - just another 15 to go before the christmas break!
All of them are really interesting (no schist!) but Geochemistry is definately the hardest. Those who go to the Geology Dept at Leicester will know what i mean when i compare the lecturer to Norry. He likes to talk randomly about things which have a rather vague connection to the class topic and breezes through things like there elimentary! Sound like Norry?
My other modules - Introduction to Exploration Seismology, Geology of the Solar System and Regional Tectonics look pretty good. We have NO exams in Geology of the Solar System but instead assessed entirely on "homework" assignments and a end of semester report/presentation. Regional tect should be great - Dickson's stuff from last year has prepared us well for this.
Last night we had a special recognition dinner for all the exchange students here at the UA. A pretty posh affair with an amazing meso-america buffet. They invited people to show off some skills and share various experiences with the group.
One Aussie told of how he got stuck in Mexico when stopping over in San Diego on his way to Tucson. He and 2 mates (a fellow Aussie and German i think) walked over the border one evening to go to a few pubs etc but, with the exception of the German guy, were refused entry back into the USA. This is because he didnt have a travel signature on his Visa which basically says you can come back into the US on that Visa as often as you want until it expires (you get them easily enough off the Uni). They tried once to cross the border and failed. A local Irish pub down the road heard of their issues and the barman lent one guy his shirt and crossed the border with him - no problems. 1 Aussie through, another got refused again and threatened that if he tried again, he'd be deported back to Australia! Thus the Irish guy came back to Mexico, lent the remaining Aussie his shirt, dyed his hair with Sprite (aparently it can be done!) and through shear luck he got through, despite walking past the guy who had refused him twice before!
Other entertainment highlights that evening included the Aussie contingent singing Waltzing Matilda, a solitary Kiwi performing the Hacker (upmost respect for him) and some people from Munich wearing the traditional Bavarian Lederhosen! It was a class evening! Other lively debate started surrounding the Rugby World Cup with Wade (the Kiwi) adament that they were going to reclaim the trophy after 20 years of hardship! Let me just remind them who won it last time! (With little chance of retaining it - i admit!)
Anyway, ive got to find a Geochemistry book and try to unscramble the ommlette of equations floating around my head into a bite size chunks shortly followed by meeting someone for lunch.
Take care now y'all!
All of them are really interesting (no schist!) but Geochemistry is definately the hardest. Those who go to the Geology Dept at Leicester will know what i mean when i compare the lecturer to Norry. He likes to talk randomly about things which have a rather vague connection to the class topic and breezes through things like there elimentary! Sound like Norry?
My other modules - Introduction to Exploration Seismology, Geology of the Solar System and Regional Tectonics look pretty good. We have NO exams in Geology of the Solar System but instead assessed entirely on "homework" assignments and a end of semester report/presentation. Regional tect should be great - Dickson's stuff from last year has prepared us well for this.
Last night we had a special recognition dinner for all the exchange students here at the UA. A pretty posh affair with an amazing meso-america buffet. They invited people to show off some skills and share various experiences with the group.
One Aussie told of how he got stuck in Mexico when stopping over in San Diego on his way to Tucson. He and 2 mates (a fellow Aussie and German i think) walked over the border one evening to go to a few pubs etc but, with the exception of the German guy, were refused entry back into the USA. This is because he didnt have a travel signature on his Visa which basically says you can come back into the US on that Visa as often as you want until it expires (you get them easily enough off the Uni). They tried once to cross the border and failed. A local Irish pub down the road heard of their issues and the barman lent one guy his shirt and crossed the border with him - no problems. 1 Aussie through, another got refused again and threatened that if he tried again, he'd be deported back to Australia! Thus the Irish guy came back to Mexico, lent the remaining Aussie his shirt, dyed his hair with Sprite (aparently it can be done!) and through shear luck he got through, despite walking past the guy who had refused him twice before!
Other entertainment highlights that evening included the Aussie contingent singing Waltzing Matilda, a solitary Kiwi performing the Hacker (upmost respect for him) and some people from Munich wearing the traditional Bavarian Lederhosen! It was a class evening! Other lively debate started surrounding the Rugby World Cup with Wade (the Kiwi) adament that they were going to reclaim the trophy after 20 years of hardship! Let me just remind them who won it last time! (With little chance of retaining it - i admit!)
Anyway, ive got to find a Geochemistry book and try to unscramble the ommlette of equations floating around my head into a bite size chunks shortly followed by meeting someone for lunch.
Take care now y'all!
Monday, 20 August 2007
And there off...
the classes that it. First one today, the rest kick off tomorrow. Today we had 'Introduction to exploration seismology' (not as boring as it sounds!) with a pretty neat lecturer, he even knew where we came from - Lie-chester - as he put it! Class! We forgave him, after all he's the one with the accent (an American's words, not mine! lol)
The hard work starts in earnest tomorrow with 3 new modules starting. Should be good fun though. The assessment over here is somewhat different. We of course have the end of semester finals (before Christmas rather than after in the UK) but unlike the UK, these generally count as only ~30% of the final grade, the rest being assessed coursework, quizzes, mid-semester exams etc. Sounds good? Well, theres a sting in there. The grades transfer back to the UK against our favour. To get an A in the US, we have to score 90% or more, B = 80% etc. When converting to UK scores, an A works out at something like 74% ish. Put simply, top marks in the US are scraping 1st marks in the UK! Weird!
Anyway, my nice new Gibson SG is supposedly arriving sometime today along with a beautiful Marshall amp.
Laters!
The hard work starts in earnest tomorrow with 3 new modules starting. Should be good fun though. The assessment over here is somewhat different. We of course have the end of semester finals (before Christmas rather than after in the UK) but unlike the UK, these generally count as only ~30% of the final grade, the rest being assessed coursework, quizzes, mid-semester exams etc. Sounds good? Well, theres a sting in there. The grades transfer back to the UK against our favour. To get an A in the US, we have to score 90% or more, B = 80% etc. When converting to UK scores, an A works out at something like 74% ish. Put simply, top marks in the US are scraping 1st marks in the UK! Weird!
Anyway, my nice new Gibson SG is supposedly arriving sometime today along with a beautiful Marshall amp.
Laters!
Thursday, 16 August 2007
The guidebook said...
that "Tucson is a boring place with not much to do and even if there was, its too hot to do it. You can't stay outside for more than 10-15 minutes at a time."
The guidebook's wrong on 2 accounts!
Firstly, I just spent all afternoon playing Basketball (typically American i know) and Volleyball having already cycled downtown this morning. I'm subsequently sitting in the air-conditioned library writing this - quite thirsty and fairly knackered. A pint of something and a swimming pool is calling when i get back to the apartment.
Secondly, Tucson is awesomeness squared! I can't think of anything not to do in Tucson (except maybe go to the beach or dance in the rain). Ok, the heat can limit things - its currently around 40 celcius with 75-80% humidity! - but im not moaning about the free tan. Ironically, down the road from us, a new tanning shop has opened - seems like the biggest waste of money in Arizona if you ask me.
Last night was another free meal from the International office or someone - we've got another one next wednesday aswell! Its great!
Anyway, g2g guys. Getting too thirsty for comfort!
The guidebook's wrong on 2 accounts!
Firstly, I just spent all afternoon playing Basketball (typically American i know) and Volleyball having already cycled downtown this morning. I'm subsequently sitting in the air-conditioned library writing this - quite thirsty and fairly knackered. A pint of something and a swimming pool is calling when i get back to the apartment.
Secondly, Tucson is awesomeness squared! I can't think of anything not to do in Tucson (except maybe go to the beach or dance in the rain). Ok, the heat can limit things - its currently around 40 celcius with 75-80% humidity! - but im not moaning about the free tan. Ironically, down the road from us, a new tanning shop has opened - seems like the biggest waste of money in Arizona if you ask me.
Last night was another free meal from the International office or someone - we've got another one next wednesday aswell! Its great!
Anyway, g2g guys. Getting too thirsty for comfort!
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Madness
On leaving the apartment this morning, i thought it was quite cool whilst temperatures were still around 30 celcius at 9am! Arizona is officially messing with my body thermostat! If you see me walking around Leicestershire wearing a ski jacket and thermal trousers, have some sympathy!
News emerged from the Pierre and Marie Curie University in France today that the area surrounding Chernobyl "is not a wild-life haven'! I wonder if that has anything to do with the Nuclear reactor blast in April 1986 sending radioactive particles into every country in the Northern Hemisphere and severely contaminating the region surrounding the plant. The only wildlife to be found there are 3 eyed fish, mutant bears and bilingual birds! Come-on, stop wasting money on pointless research!
In more slightly odd news, a man in Australia was stuck up a tree for 8 days! when he "accidentally" stumbled into a crocodile infested swamp. He sought refuge when confronted with a croc. Talk about being caught between a croc and hard place!
And finally, dachshunds, the original 'Sausage dog' from Germany are in decline. This news comes at a time when sales of the popular Frankfurter sausages are on the increase. Coincidence?
Cya
News emerged from the Pierre and Marie Curie University in France today that the area surrounding Chernobyl "is not a wild-life haven'! I wonder if that has anything to do with the Nuclear reactor blast in April 1986 sending radioactive particles into every country in the Northern Hemisphere and severely contaminating the region surrounding the plant. The only wildlife to be found there are 3 eyed fish, mutant bears and bilingual birds! Come-on, stop wasting money on pointless research!
In more slightly odd news, a man in Australia was stuck up a tree for 8 days! when he "accidentally" stumbled into a crocodile infested swamp. He sought refuge when confronted with a croc. Talk about being caught between a croc and hard place!
And finally, dachshunds, the original 'Sausage dog' from Germany are in decline. This news comes at a time when sales of the popular Frankfurter sausages are on the increase. Coincidence?
Cya
Monday, 13 August 2007
7 Remotely Interesting Facts about Tucson and Arizona
- Its hot!
- Speedway Boulevard in Tucson (just north of uni) is thus named because it used to host Horse and Cart drag racing events! Blink and you'll miss it!
- The hills to the west and east of Tucson are the only places in the world you'll find Saguaro Cacti growing in the wild! You can even give one a cuddle on campus if you so like.
- Yuma, Arizona is the driest city in the USA. Las Vegas is 2nd and Pheonix is 4th. Tucson is the 4th sunniest city in the USA.
- The river bed of the Colorado River flowing through the grand-canyon is thought to be at the same altitude as it was millions of years ago despite the obvious canyon it has eroded. Scientists estimate that the rate of isostatic rebound (ground uplift) is similar to erosion.
- In 2002, a new glass look-out plaza was opened in Grand Canyon village complete with "canyon view" restaurant and shops. From no point in the complex can you see the canyon!
- The University of Arizona is the first university in the world to manage a Mars Mission. The University of Leicester of course had high involvement in the failed Beagle landers. The Phoenix Mars explorer blasted off from Florida a week ago on its 10 month journey to the red planet. Upon arrival, undergraduate students at the UA will play an active role in exploring and analysing the northern ice cap for signs of previous habitation.
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Tucson 1st Week
Its hard to believe but today is now our 7th away from the UK, and has it rained??? Nope! Well, i tell a small lie. Its rained over night but every-day has been beautifully clear and sunny at about 40+ celcius. Awesome!
The apartment is simple but great for our needs. Also has a pool (the challenge is to avoid the dead crickets and hornets) which is invaluable. I'll try to load up a few photos sometime. We live about 6 blocks (1/2 mile) from the uni, 1/2 mile from the nearest decent supermarket and 3 1/2 miles from a Wal-mart where we ventured today to buy bikes. Tucson is completely surrounded by mountains, the most impressive being the Santa Catalina's to the North East some 10 miles from our apartment which will definately be visited at some point. Tombstone looks good aswell, some 50 miles away (its where Wyatt Earp fought his battle at the real OK Coral! They even have daily gunfights! Only in America!!!).
The first time we ventured into uni (last wednesday morning), somewhat ironically, there was a bomb scare so we were diverted elsewhere but weve since been in for orientation and met loads of people from around the world. Honestly, its remarkably the number of nationalities here. Guana, Iceland, Vietnam, Uraquay and Columbia to name some of the weirder places. Met quite a few Aussies aswell who, for some reason, are more than happy to talk about cricket and the Ashes! I just remind them of the Rugby! The uni is everything ive rattled on about it being....and more. Palm tree lined boulevards, drenched in sunshine, lovely buildings etc. From the outside, it puts Leicester (and any others ive seen in the UK) to shame! I havent been in the Geology Department yet though so ill reserve judgement on that front.
Hope all is alright back in Leicester and elsewhere in the UK. Drop a comment if youve got a sec.
Paul
The apartment is simple but great for our needs. Also has a pool (the challenge is to avoid the dead crickets and hornets) which is invaluable. I'll try to load up a few photos sometime. We live about 6 blocks (1/2 mile) from the uni, 1/2 mile from the nearest decent supermarket and 3 1/2 miles from a Wal-mart where we ventured today to buy bikes. Tucson is completely surrounded by mountains, the most impressive being the Santa Catalina's to the North East some 10 miles from our apartment which will definately be visited at some point. Tombstone looks good aswell, some 50 miles away (its where Wyatt Earp fought his battle at the real OK Coral! They even have daily gunfights! Only in America!!!).
The first time we ventured into uni (last wednesday morning), somewhat ironically, there was a bomb scare so we were diverted elsewhere but weve since been in for orientation and met loads of people from around the world. Honestly, its remarkably the number of nationalities here. Guana, Iceland, Vietnam, Uraquay and Columbia to name some of the weirder places. Met quite a few Aussies aswell who, for some reason, are more than happy to talk about cricket and the Ashes! I just remind them of the Rugby! The uni is everything ive rattled on about it being....and more. Palm tree lined boulevards, drenched in sunshine, lovely buildings etc. From the outside, it puts Leicester (and any others ive seen in the UK) to shame! I havent been in the Geology Department yet though so ill reserve judgement on that front.
Hope all is alright back in Leicester and elsewhere in the UK. Drop a comment if youve got a sec.
Paul
Friday, 10 August 2007
Arrival in Tucson
Hey everyone,
Well, were here, we made it! Tucson is now officially our home for the next 10 months! Whoo!
The journey was not without its little interesting moments though.
Getting to Dublin was easy enough but the challenge of finding our B&B near the airport was a typical student kerfaffle. We got a tram which would take us to Malahide (a town about a mile from the accommodation) but half way there we had to change to a bus transfer as the line was closed. Getting out of the station was hard enough let alone lug all or stuff on and off the bus. (We rode up and down a lift a few times at Connelly Station just for the fun of it! hmm!!) We were exactly travelling light either! Still, we got there in the end. Had a quality meal in Dublin though having walked about 1 1/2 mile to the nearest pub dodging the ridiculous number of slugs on the footpath (no joke!). There was still much more to come!!!
We arrived at the airport 3 hours ahead of departure as advised but then the Dublin-Chicago flight was delayed causing us to miss our flight to Tucson but we just made the later one as standby passengers having waited for 5 hours in Chicago O'Hare which, by the way, is HUGE! I kid you not, its the size of reasonable town - Rugby for comparison!
The Tucson flight was in a smaller plane so much more scenic. Flying over Illinois and the Mississippi was awesome. Its just completely flat crisscrossed by prefectly square tracks separating 1/2 mile fields for as far as the eye can see. It then went dark so we flew over the rockies, Albuquerque and Phoenix. The city lights from the air was just awesome! I sat next to some American guy who clearly hadnt done a lot of flying before and was abit scared. He kept saying how awesome the view looked (of clouds!). Its was 21:30 local time when we arrived in Tucson. Thats 05:30 UK time (bear in mind we woke at 6am in Dublin!).
Anyway, thats s'all for now.
Take care
Paul
Well, were here, we made it! Tucson is now officially our home for the next 10 months! Whoo!
The journey was not without its little interesting moments though.
Getting to Dublin was easy enough but the challenge of finding our B&B near the airport was a typical student kerfaffle. We got a tram which would take us to Malahide (a town about a mile from the accommodation) but half way there we had to change to a bus transfer as the line was closed. Getting out of the station was hard enough let alone lug all or stuff on and off the bus. (We rode up and down a lift a few times at Connelly Station just for the fun of it! hmm!!) We were exactly travelling light either! Still, we got there in the end. Had a quality meal in Dublin though having walked about 1 1/2 mile to the nearest pub dodging the ridiculous number of slugs on the footpath (no joke!). There was still much more to come!!!
We arrived at the airport 3 hours ahead of departure as advised but then the Dublin-Chicago flight was delayed causing us to miss our flight to Tucson but we just made the later one as standby passengers having waited for 5 hours in Chicago O'Hare which, by the way, is HUGE! I kid you not, its the size of reasonable town - Rugby for comparison!
The Tucson flight was in a smaller plane so much more scenic. Flying over Illinois and the Mississippi was awesome. Its just completely flat crisscrossed by prefectly square tracks separating 1/2 mile fields for as far as the eye can see. It then went dark so we flew over the rockies, Albuquerque and Phoenix. The city lights from the air was just awesome! I sat next to some American guy who clearly hadnt done a lot of flying before and was abit scared. He kept saying how awesome the view looked (of clouds!). Its was 21:30 local time when we arrived in Tucson. Thats 05:30 UK time (bear in mind we woke at 6am in Dublin!).
Anyway, thats s'all for now.
Take care
Paul
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
