#field posting

[openhandsanyway]

Day 11/18

Pictured: Just more barren landscape (Cretaceous rocks in the foreground)

I fucked up socially. It's been too much socializing for too long, I'm getting worse at behaving correctly/masking/accurately assessing what the vibe of a conversation is. Basically, I called my two mates (who I'm working with for this entire project) "very uncool". I meant it in like a "we're all uncool losers yay, none of us are suave but like who cares?" way, but I think I phrased it super badly, because they were incredibly shocked and seemed really offended/mad/hurt.

I apologized and tried to explain what I was actually trying to say, but I felt like the rest of the day was awkward.

Also, the deadline for the maps and report and multiple profiles is this Sunday and it feels really impossible to finish this shit until then. It's all very, very stressful.

[openhandsanyway]

Day 18/18!!!!

Pictured: Sunrise in France

Final travel day, we started early, saw the sunrise over the Mediterranean sea, then drove directly into the German fall.

And now I'm home, finally.

Thank you so much to everybody who read my little daily posts about this field trip, genuinely - I found it kind of helpful just for myself to count the days down like this, and you were all very sweet.

Now I'll stop with this weird public diary, it's back to your regularly scheduled Dan and Phil posting (and you know, the occasional personal vent posts whenever I feel the need to complain).

[openhandsanyway]

Day 14/18

(No picture, didn't go outside)

We're in the home stretch with the report/map/etc we have to hand in. It's difficult, but in terms of the time we have left it's much less awful than I had feared. It looks like I will actually make it through this whole ordeal and pass this course... which is pretty cool.

Now let's hope the guy who threw up last night just ate something dodgy and didn't give all of us a stomach bug, that would make the last few days considerably worse.

[openhandsanyway]

Day 12/18

Pictured: Another fold, who cares

I'm feeling quite bad, like I might become ill, which is very very very inconvenient. And one of my teammates is a huge hypochondriac and already seems mad at me for daring to exist in public when I MIGHT get ill... If I had the choice to eat anywhere except the big public dining hall I would!

[openhandsanyway]

Day 7/18

Pictured: Some barren fields in the region we have to map

I got stung by a wasp.

We have more of an idea of the geology of our region now, but I'm still very doubtful we'll be able to complete the map in the time we have left (which is only another 8 days). It's such a large piece of land and it's so exhausting and slow to walk over these hills full of horribly thorny plants.

There's a girl who I didn't know beforehand here on this field trip, and I think she's kind of cute. She's been sitting with us during meals and came with us to the pool earlier, and she seems really funny and sympathetic so far. An my gaydar says there's a definite chance she could be queer.

Unfortunately her first name is the exact same as my (only) ex-girlfriend's. (Sort of ex-girlfriend... I think it doesn't really count as a relationship but I'm not getting into that right now)

And also she does not seem interested in me but whatever! Cute girl to look at. Always good.

[openhandsanyway]

Day 1/18

Pictured: France

I sat in a car for 13 hours. It was okay. French highways are superior to a German Autobahn in every conceivable way - 120 or 110 km/h is definitely fast enough, having to pay for driving is a good idea, and the rest stops are lovely and human-friendly (free clean toilets, tables where you can sit and eat your own food without buying anything). My favourite part of the day was when after kilometers of flat land the Pyrenees suddenly appeared out of the fog and rain clouds, huge and dark, and surrounded by the sickest lightening I've ever seen in my life.

[mwtfdydg]

shhhhhh the ants r walking

[openhandsanyway]

Day 16/18

(No picture, the only one I have from today has people in it)

We went into a cave today, and some man began to mansplain the local rocks to us (he wasn't the guide, just another tourist). But he had the decency too seem very embarrassed when we told him that we're geologists and have mapped the entire region over the last two weeks lol.

This final stretch of the field trip isn't so bad, the pressure is off and home seems close enough I can almost taste it.