24 same on the ship, and it led to so many interesting interactions. I learned about dancing traditions in Argentina, school life in Bavaria, and traditional food dishes in different parts of Nigeria. On top of this, I got to see how geology affects people in these regions based on what they study or are interested in. For example, many of the members of my group are interested in marine geochemistry because they grew up and live near the sea. This was so cool because I am not quite well acquainted with the ocean since we seem to lack sea coasts in Oklahoma. However, I am very interested in studying past oceans which are well preserved in our rock record. This was a great connection as we got to discuss how processes now are recorded in sedimentary rocks millions of years old. A fascinating aspect of the expedition was delving into German culture. This involved the music played in the lab (an interesting mix of rock and electronic), card games, and food. I also got to see Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina during the days we were in port. Here I had my first experience of South America and it was absolutely awesome. I have always loved traveling, and being immersed in the food, sounds, and lives of these cities was wonderful. I had possibly the best pizza ever, or I was the hungriest I had been in a while. I definitely loved the meats served at the restaurants near the meat market in Montevideo. On the ship I tried my first ox tail, chicken and cow liver, and duck. Of those, the duck was the most tender and the ox tail the most well flavored, especially in stew! Fresh core laid out for viewing, description, and sampling, and analysis on the RV SONNE. While experiencing new cultures and making new friends was a large part of my time on the RV SONNE, the greatest impact was from the lab work and knowledge I have gained. Geology is set apart from the other sciences because it combines them all in a tangible way. You can easily see a mountain, but not the atoms that it is composed of. I got my hands dirty exploring marine geology by touching the sediments and seeing their outward appearance before determining the chemistry behind it. Thanks to the support of undergraduate research at OSU, I fell into this opportunity and I am not sure I even realize the full scope of what I have been fortunate enough to take part in.
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