Alex’s Blog: Pre-Departure Thoughts

Hello! We are leaving for Tanzania tomorrow, and I am getting quite excited. I’m looking forward to not only visiting new parts of the world but getting to learn about them from a (paleo)ecological perspective. Studying both modern and paleo-environments will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about how global climates influence natural dynamics, a concept that is closely related with my academic interests. As an Environmental Science and Bioscience student, I’m most interested in climate modeling and the environmental factors of health.

One of my favorite classes at Rice has been “Earth and Planetary Surface Environments,” which covered topics such as uplift, ridge formation, sedimentation, fossilization, and hydrology. I expect this trip will be an opportunity to observe first-hand some of the real-world applications of these concepts, for which I have only a very technical understanding.
I’ve been reading our class books (Only in Africa by Norman Owen-Smith; The Biology of African Savannahs by Bryan Shorrocks and William Bates) and researching my assigned topics (Large Felids; Ecomorphology) to prepare for our trip, and I’m already finding that I can make many connections to the geological concepts which interested me last year. I know, exciting!

Although I’ve been to some tropical settings — primarily densely vegetated rainforests, or coastal beaches — I’ve never been to an environment like what I expect to encounter in Africa. I can’t wait! I’ve also never traveled as far as Tanzania… though I am not so excited about that. I’ve started getting nervous about the 19 hours of flying, but, as my dad said, it will “test my resilience!” So, all is well, and we will land in Nairobi before I know it (I am going to take melatonin on the plane).

Ultimately, I hope to learn more about concepts which I’ve encountered in my studies and expand my understanding of the Environmental Sciences. I believe this trip will provide me with insight into the “ecology world” and help inform my interests as a researcher. I really cannot express how excited I am, especially to visit Serengeti and Olduvai Gorge. Thank you, Dr. Solomon and Dr. Dominguez-Rodrigo, for leading this trip!