An Intro to My Tectonic Tour

     I am writing from an altitude of 30,000 feet as I leave behind sunny northern California for "an exciting geological adventure". Well that's what my parent's said anyway. They're both geology professors at UC Berkeley and staring at rocks and land formations is their idea of a good time. Don't get me wrong, my parents are the best, but that didn't stop them from pulling me out of school to go with them on "a once in a lifetime" research opportunity. Now I'll be spending all year in planes, cars, and shady motels as they travel around the world analyzing different plate boundaries. My parents say I'll learn a lot on this trip, but personally I've always found their work just a little dull. I once went to work with my dad and spent hours classifying rock samples only to realize that shiny wasn't an "acceptable definitive factor", so I can only imagine the boredom I will face now that my parent's work has become the center of my life and the height of my social calendar.
     I'm hoping I can avoid the studies, and use this trip as an opportunity to (as my mom would say) immerse in the cultures of all different groups of people. The trip has in total four stops. These include New Zealand and the Alpine Fault, Nepal and The Himalayas, Russia and the Baikal Rift Zone, and finally the Andes Mountains. Despite being prematurely uprooted from the school year, this will be a good travel opportunity, which I am looking forward to. The plane is about to land, so it seems I have to sign off now, but be on the lookout for a new post in the next couple of days. - Maris

Here's a view of New Zealand from up in the air. Guess who got the window seat!

http://www.solofemalenomad.com/how-to-have-a-working-abroad-adventure-in-new-zealand/