departure, arrival

hello.

i've made it to stone lab.


yesterday was sunday. i didn't get much sleep that night, but i caught an hour of ZZZs on the car ride up. my parents drove us from canton to one of the ports of departure, then we ferried to south bass island (put-in-bay). we had a nice lunch, then the osu staff boated us the few hundred feet to gibralter island and stone lab.

i haven't done too much "school" stuff yet. yesterday was mostly settling in. i probably got here around two or three, then had an hour of orientation at four followed by dinner, then we were free for the night.


i had a good time, too. it always kind of strange to leave everything behind and drop yourself into a new setting with a bunch of strangers, but everyone's in the same boat (so to speak) so it's a good chance to make new friends. some of the other students invited me to play (scoreless, let-it-bounce-as-many-times-as-you-want) volleyball, and in the evening we had a small fire before heading to bed.


today was the start of classes. breakfast was at 7, and lecture was at 8. with a few short breaks, we went until 11:30, then lunch at 12, then lab from 1 to 4.

which is... different than regular school, to be certain. it actually went smoother than i thought. i kept getting sleepy during class, but i've since learned that coffee and tea are available around the cafeteria... so on wednesday i'm probably going to have to fill a cup to take with me.

the lecture was good, though. we're starting off by discussing some of the physical properties of lakes, particularly temperature/energy and density and looking at how wind and sunlight can set up various circulating currents and psuedo-tides in bodies of water. some of it is review material from previous courses, while other stuff is new, but i'm sure as we progress i'll be looking at lakes in much more detail than i ever have before. personally, i'm a chemistry and biology buff, so i'm looking forward to reaching those sections... but this physical stuff is interesting as well. i'm already realizing that lakes are much more active than i ever thought.


after lunch, i wasn't really looking forward to heading back to another three hours of class, but the lab was pretty laid back. there's only five of us in the course, so we were able to relax and discuss stuff with the instructor while we worked. we tried to simulate lake currents by filling two fish takes with water and ice, then shining heat lamps down on them while blowing on them with fans. we had thermometers at different depths in the water, and eventually dumped in a little flourescent dye for good measure.

what struck me most was the temperature layering. i've read and been taught about this before, but water changes density with temperature, so cold water tends to sink while warm water floats on top (although ice floats on top of both, it should be noted). well... as the experiment progressed, the fish tanks gathered a lot of condensation. a LOT of condensation. a while later, though, as the top layer of water warmed, the condensation cleared from the top inch of glass, while the rest of the tank stayed as wet as before. there was a very definate dividing line where the condensation stopped, and we could feel the temperature difference very clearly when we touched the glass. and again-- i'd like to point out that i'm not talking about a difference in temperature between the top and bottom of the tank, but between points just an inch apart. it was very strange!


tomorrow: no class, but i start my student employment. i have no idea what i'll be doing, but i have to meet at 7:30 (am) to find out. honestly, i'm not a huge fan of work, but i'll manage. ; )


in other news...


this is turning out to be an easy-going experience. the food is regular and good, and by no means meager. the student ages range from a few high-schoolers to folks in their thirties. i would think most of the folks here are between 20 and 25, but that's just a guess. i think that the rooms are at least partly arranged by age... everyone in my room is 25 or over. i haven't asked anybody else about theirs, though, so i really couldn't say for sure.

and everybody has been friendly. the faculty genuinely seems to enjoy working and teaching here, and while everyone here has work to do, it's a vacation on a tiny island at the same time. and what more does anybody really want out of life? (well, a lot actually, but that's a topic for another discussion.)

and oh, i've met several folks hailing from westerville, ohio, which happens to be where i spent several years living and studying before coming to ohio state. that doesn't happen to me very often, and it always brightens my day when it does. (otterbein pride!)


otherwise, though, i have no idea what the next couple of weeks hold in store. i'll try to keep you posted on that. for now, i'm going to go poke my head around the island.