UNDERGRAD GEOLOGY RESEARCH EXPERIENCE ABROAD BY BRANDON OKAFOR ’07
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I was blessed to participate in the 2010 NSF-IRES experience. This trip was so amazing and rewarding because I went in knowing little and came out learning more than I had ever expected. Doing field work in Turkey, one of the most beautiful and geologically diverse countries in the world, for two weeks was a dream come true for a growing geologist like me.
If you want to study igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, well Turkey is where you should definitely be studying. Turkey is very geologically diverse. You can find beautiful faults everywhere and they can be easily seen from the road. Geothermal systems can be found throughout Turkey and are one of the major natural resources for electricity and heating. You can find gorgeous outcrops of Ophiolites in the area of Amasya and mouth-dropping outcrops of granites in Simav. You can find large areas of limestone that holds incredible and huge examples of fossils found in a coral reef. Yes, Turkey is the type of place that geologist dream about at night. Lucky, we have that wonderful place right here on our planet.
Field work experience was probably one of the most rewarding things that I got from the IRES program. I took a field methods class right before going to Turkey and I learned more on the trip than I did in class. The interaction between the professors and students was amazing. I learned so much out in the field from the professors and other students. The feeling of analyzing and uncovering the story of a specific area is indescribable. Calculating the strikes and dips was one of my many problems in my field methods class, but I can confidently say now that I can get the strike and dip of any surface.
The cuisine of Turkey was so delicious. I had many different Turkish dishes prior to the trip, but the new dishes I ate just increased my love for their food. My favorite Turkish dish has to be the Iskender hands down! It starts off with small pieces of squared cut bread and thinly sliced grilled lamb or beef on top. Then, it is submerged under a mountain of tomato sauce, plain yogurt, and melted butter. Now doesn’t that make your mouth watery! My all time favorite Turkish dessert has to be baklava with a scoop of ice cream on the side. The Turkish culture illustrates how caring and loving the Turks are to one another and to foreigners. Their hospitality is unbelievable and they treat foreigners as if they are royalty.
The people I went on the trip with were so much fun to be around. We started off not knowing anything about each other and ended off turning into a big family. Liz Catlos is such a brilliant and wonderful person. I learned so much from her on the trip. She was our supervisor, but it felt like she was our mother at times. Gokhan Yildiz was like a brother from another mother, we learned a lot from each other and had time where we could not stop laughing. All the Turkish professors and geologist I met on the trip were so much help. They tried their best to teach me everything they had known about geology and even offered me an apprenticeship after getting my bachelors degree. The two graduate students, Katherine and Lauren, were so cool and intelligent. They showed me how much work comes with being a graduate student and it is a lot. My time with them was wonderful and I cherished every minute of it.
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