Hello
everybody! The bulk of my first Winter Term at Oberlin was spent doing research
in China with a crew of others who all seemed to be geologists at heart. This
trip was eventful from the get-go, from dealing with crazy TSA lines and
unfortunate weather delays, to overcoming the local cuisine, there was so much
more of everything than I had anticipated.
We
spent the first two days in Chengdu while waiting for my delayed luggage to
arrive in China. This free time allowed us to have a little bit of the touristy
experience, so Maisy and Liam took Al, Zanna and I to see pandas at the Chengdu
Panda Research Base. After spending a few hours there, we all crammed into one
taxi and made our way back to the university to explore for a bit. This was
followed by listening to a talk about the relationship between health and air
quality within China at Sichuan University. Not surprisingly, there was a
correlation between increased pollution and health hazards, but what was interesting
was that transportation output didn’t seem to be the biggest factor. The first
day was really enjoyable as we were able to see firsthand things that were distinctive
and relevant to China, like pandas and unfortunately pollution.
As
for the actual field work, we sampled from a variety of sites, each unique and
holding their own entry hazards. With the first couple it was mainly figuring
out a way to navigate through the garbage. The first in particular wasn’t too
bad as it was at the base of a construction site, while the next few really
involved a lot of maneuvering around decent sized cobbles. Getting down was
only half the battle as finding a good spot along the river that had sandy
material to sieve, rather than mud, wasn’t easy. Although having so many people
willingly to get their hands and feet wet really made the process easier.
Speaking
of tasks that weren’t easy, Amanda really had the worst of it with some of the
driving she had to do. Both she and the rental car deserve at least a few
medals for going through what seemed like worse and worse road conditions every
day. As we were heading up a mountain one night a blanket of fog completely
engulfed the car, reducing visibility to maybe 5 feet at most. There were also
the countless wēi qiáos (dangerous bridges) that were both crossed and
thankfully just passed. Tunnels that stretched on for kilometers, without and
without lights, and of course other drivers. As tense as some of that driving
was, it really did provide for some of the best views you could get while
traveling. There were several times where it felt incredibly surreal to be looking
out and see such impressive terrain right outside the window. Coming back home
to the mid-west where the land is all flat, I definitely miss having such
amazing landscapes before me on long car rides.
Getting
to try all sorts of different food was also a fun time. As someone who isn’t
particularly skilled in using chop-sticks it was a task just getting it from
the serving plate to my bowl, but by the end I had improved considerably.
Although I am an adventurous eater it seems I’ve got a fairly weak stomach, and
even trying to stick with the less spicy stuff, authentic Chinese food got the
best of me. Nonetheless this trip was an amazing adventure to go on, missing
luggage and stomach bugs and all. As Zanna mentioned, exploring China for its
geologic information provides an experience that is completely unlike one you’d
get as a tourist or someone on business. Getting to spend just over two weeks
in great weather doing field work for the first time really made this a fantastic
way to start the New Year, and im excited to see the data that will come out of
it. I’m so grateful that I was able to be a part of this trip, and really hope
to go on more in the coming years.
Marcus
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| Left to right: Amanda, Maisy, Liam, Marcus, Zanna, Al, Wong Yu Mei |
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