Fieldwork in Spain
Dear all, thank you for waiting patiently for my next post. After 2 weeks or pure hard work in Spain, I am now back :) Here is a short story of my little adventure.
Before going there, most of us weren't sure of what to expect as it was our first time going on a real mapping trip. Dorset was just a short 3 days and only 1 of those days involved mapping. This time is was 1 week of geology exercises at different places and 1 week of mapping.
Overall, the trip was what I'd call PURE hardwork, physically and mentally. We worked almost all days including Saturday and half a day on Sunday. Basically the routine was:
630- Woke up for prayers, got ready
745- Breakfast, make your own lunch
845- Gather outside to go to destination
9-5- Work continuously in the field while carrying a rucksack, only quick break for lunch
6- Reach home, line up for the shower
7 or 8 (depends on which group you are changes alternate days)- Dinner
9- Meet lecturers at Shady Grove (the only tiny shop/bar in that area) for feedback on notebook and work in the day
1130/12- Sleep ( some people didn't sleep on the night before any submission)
Working here really put us out of our comfort zone and not everyone can work under these conditions. I have never lived in a boarding school before and this definitely felt like one. There were 2 dorms for the girls. My dorm was smaller, 12 people including myself. There was limited walking area once everyone put their bags down. The size of the room is twice the size of a normal hotel room for 2 double beds, which meant yes were so close to each other most of the time ;)
The food was great! Just like in boarding school, you need to eat what they serve and when they serve it. The kitchen will be closed outside breakfast and dinner hours, you everyone has to eat something. Plus there isn't any shop nearby so if we didn't bring any snack from home, we would literally starve. We couldn't choose what to eat but I took the vegetarian option since I wasn't sure if it was halal meat. The non-veggie option looked more yummy of course. For dinner, we would have soup for the started- all kinds of soup; courgette, carrot, mushroom, mixed veggie and many more. The the main meal is served; once we had fish curry and rice, veggie sausages, potatoes, beans, on Sunday it was BBQ and on the last night, they served PAELLA (a famous Spanish cuisine). The funny thing was that some of the veggie food looked exactly like the non-veggie ones. We assumed they used corn or some latest food technology. After the main meal, we would have dessert. It would change everyday, at times it was yoghurt, jelly, pies, cheesecake, strawberries and whipped cream, ice cream and many more.
I guess many things in life are not easy and sometimes you need to go through something challenging to know that you can actually do it. That's something I clearly learned throughout my experience there. When I was there, I felt like any stress I felt before this related to studies was very trivial compared to what I had to go through; the weather which was usually hot and could be very windy and cold on certain days, the physical challenge of going up 500-600m high hills. Also walking the whole day carrying a heavy rucksack and 2L of water and food. Finding your own toilet and privacy. Walking and working all day, even at night even in the weekends. I have never felt so fit in my life. And never knew I could do it. No wifi, no means of Internet connection or with the outside world. You live in the present, with your friends and whoever is there at the moment. It was such a nice feeling, to feel so alive and living the present without worrying of anything else beyond that. Over there, I only thought of the day's work and tomorrow. That's all. When the day's works done you go to bed for a fresh morning. When I came back to my room in London, I was so thankful for many things. I was like ' OMG I have my own sink in my room, The kitchen is open 24/7 just beside my room, my own toilet, a lift to go upstairs, a comfy room all to myself, lots of space to put my belongings (no more being accidentally hit everytime I'm opening my bag and someone enters the door) , lots of clothes to wear, washing machine downstairs, no need to handwash everything, clean air, no need to pay for clean water, wifi again and the list goes on) For the first 2 days, I kept thinking of these things especially the moment I entered my room. I was like 'Is this all mine?'
I learned so much throughout the trip, and on the Sunday that we reached Alicante airport, I was so extremely happy to be going back to London that I literally bought loads of souvenirs at the airport for my family. It was such a bright and beautiful day, I'm not sure if it was just me. But everything I wish for a happy moment I'll remember that day. When I was on the plane, I was imagining myself coming home very soon insyaAllah. Being there has made me conclude that for any course that involves going to classes and staying in your room or library to do your work, has nothing to complain about. So, only Medicine students can complain because they have their practical.
When the bus left Urra and the field centre people like Pablo, Norma and a few others were saying goodbye, I just felt this lump in my throat. I don't know if I'll ever see the place and the people again. Even if I came for a holiday to Spain I wasn't sure if this was even a tourist attraction, it was too far and isolated. Perhaps one day when I'm older I can come and see the place I used to map for 2 weeks as a 1st Year student. They have treated us so well, gave us very nice food and did their part to make sure that we were comfortable there. Although sometimes not the case, its hard when there are 86 people in 1 house and it would get dirty towards the end of the day.
Places that we visited & things that we did:
Before going there, most of us weren't sure of what to expect as it was our first time going on a real mapping trip. Dorset was just a short 3 days and only 1 of those days involved mapping. This time is was 1 week of geology exercises at different places and 1 week of mapping.
Overall, the trip was what I'd call PURE hardwork, physically and mentally. We worked almost all days including Saturday and half a day on Sunday. Basically the routine was:
630- Woke up for prayers, got ready
745- Breakfast, make your own lunch
845- Gather outside to go to destination
9-5- Work continuously in the field while carrying a rucksack, only quick break for lunch
6- Reach home, line up for the shower
7 or 8 (depends on which group you are changes alternate days)- Dinner
9- Meet lecturers at Shady Grove (the only tiny shop/bar in that area) for feedback on notebook and work in the day
1130/12- Sleep ( some people didn't sleep on the night before any submission)
Lunch in town where I got quick wifi: Gambas (prawn)
Orange trees
A twinned gypsum crystal, do you see the swallowtail shape?
Working here really put us out of our comfort zone and not everyone can work under these conditions. I have never lived in a boarding school before and this definitely felt like one. There were 2 dorms for the girls. My dorm was smaller, 12 people including myself. There was limited walking area once everyone put their bags down. The size of the room is twice the size of a normal hotel room for 2 double beds, which meant yes were so close to each other most of the time ;)
The food was great! Just like in boarding school, you need to eat what they serve and when they serve it. The kitchen will be closed outside breakfast and dinner hours, you everyone has to eat something. Plus there isn't any shop nearby so if we didn't bring any snack from home, we would literally starve. We couldn't choose what to eat but I took the vegetarian option since I wasn't sure if it was halal meat. The non-veggie option looked more yummy of course. For dinner, we would have soup for the started- all kinds of soup; courgette, carrot, mushroom, mixed veggie and many more. The the main meal is served; once we had fish curry and rice, veggie sausages, potatoes, beans, on Sunday it was BBQ and on the last night, they served PAELLA (a famous Spanish cuisine). The funny thing was that some of the veggie food looked exactly like the non-veggie ones. We assumed they used corn or some latest food technology. After the main meal, we would have dessert. It would change everyday, at times it was yoghurt, jelly, pies, cheesecake, strawberries and whipped cream, ice cream and many more.
Paella- I was a vegetarian the entire 2 weeks
Our lecturer, Andrew outside the tiny bar/shop called Shady Grove
Poor doggy was scared that many people got drunk on the last day, so I thought it deserved a photo for being so well-behaved
I guess many things in life are not easy and sometimes you need to go through something challenging to know that you can actually do it. That's something I clearly learned throughout my experience there. When I was there, I felt like any stress I felt before this related to studies was very trivial compared to what I had to go through; the weather which was usually hot and could be very windy and cold on certain days, the physical challenge of going up 500-600m high hills. Also walking the whole day carrying a heavy rucksack and 2L of water and food. Finding your own toilet and privacy. Walking and working all day, even at night even in the weekends. I have never felt so fit in my life. And never knew I could do it. No wifi, no means of Internet connection or with the outside world. You live in the present, with your friends and whoever is there at the moment. It was such a nice feeling, to feel so alive and living the present without worrying of anything else beyond that. Over there, I only thought of the day's work and tomorrow. That's all. When the day's works done you go to bed for a fresh morning. When I came back to my room in London, I was so thankful for many things. I was like ' OMG I have my own sink in my room, The kitchen is open 24/7 just beside my room, my own toilet, a lift to go upstairs, a comfy room all to myself, lots of space to put my belongings (no more being accidentally hit everytime I'm opening my bag and someone enters the door) , lots of clothes to wear, washing machine downstairs, no need to handwash everything, clean air, no need to pay for clean water, wifi again and the list goes on) For the first 2 days, I kept thinking of these things especially the moment I entered my room. I was like 'Is this all mine?'
I learned so much throughout the trip, and on the Sunday that we reached Alicante airport, I was so extremely happy to be going back to London that I literally bought loads of souvenirs at the airport for my family. It was such a bright and beautiful day, I'm not sure if it was just me. But everything I wish for a happy moment I'll remember that day. When I was on the plane, I was imagining myself coming home very soon insyaAllah. Being there has made me conclude that for any course that involves going to classes and staying in your room or library to do your work, has nothing to complain about. So, only Medicine students can complain because they have their practical.
When the bus left Urra and the field centre people like Pablo, Norma and a few others were saying goodbye, I just felt this lump in my throat. I don't know if I'll ever see the place and the people again. Even if I came for a holiday to Spain I wasn't sure if this was even a tourist attraction, it was too far and isolated. Perhaps one day when I'm older I can come and see the place I used to map for 2 weeks as a 1st Year student. They have treated us so well, gave us very nice food and did their part to make sure that we were comfortable there. Although sometimes not the case, its hard when there are 86 people in 1 house and it would get dirty towards the end of the day.
Places that we visited & things that we did:
- Produce a metamorphic map along 1km road
- Visit Isabella Dam and concluded how it failed and made measurements
- Visit the El Joyazo Crater and the Garnet Volcano which had tonnes of real garnet gemstones ( yes I did pick up some)
- Created a stereonet and cross section based on Sorbas-Tabernas Basin
- Studied volcanic rocks at Cabo de Gata National Park, then went to the nearby beach to relax
- Field mapping of Siera de los Filabres for the last week
If you are sitting for an exam or basically just feeling stressed about something, perhaps reading this post might make you feel better. It makes you realise that some people go through more difficult situations than you. As for me, even though it was physically challenging, I enjoy learning about the Earth so that's makes it less of a burden and more of a beneficial experience :)
I didn't take too many pictures this time but there are a few. Enjoy reading and hope everyone is doing good. Take care and have a nice weekend. Till my next post
Earth Science has taken me around the world and no matter how many places it leads me to,
the heart is always at home :')
Sunset on the last day
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