Friday, October 10, 2008

This is the first time during my trip that I felt like I wasn’t home.  Ames or Iowa as a whole seems so far away from California.  I didn’t recognize anything.  All the names of stores and gas stations are foreign to me.  Plus the drive down to the middle of the state seemed endless.  I couldn’t roll down my window; otherwise I would have to hold my nose. 

I started my first day as an Agronomist at Iowa State University.  I was busy sieving samples of dirt, which are called aggregates to make a consistent size for testing.  The process of sampling seems to be very similar to Hydrology.  Instead of getting samples of water from aquifers or surface water, we are getting samples of dirt from farms.  I will get a chance to retrieve my own samples later this week, but tomorrow I will test the samples for certain chemicals and nutrients.  It was a little overbearing today because there was so much information to soak up.  Once I get more acquainted with Agronomy, I will go in more detail. 

I didn’t want to forget to mention my trip to Mall of America.  After experiencing that mall, you’re going to look down on any other mall.  How can a mall get better or bigger?  I mean they had a full amusement park inside.  I spent 4 hours on the roller-coasters, which were surprisingly good.  If you like your local mall, don’t go to Mall of America because you’re not going to like your local mall anymore.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Due to the rain, the second day was a duplicate of the first day.  Rain or shine Wednesday, we will go out to Western Iowa to collect some soil samples from farms.  I did accomplish some things today.  I found a place to stay.  After a night of sleeping in my car with the rain pounding on my roof, I had to find something.   My co-worker sent a mass email and now I’m out of the cold.  I also had the chance to speak in a Leadership class at Iowa State University.  The career of Agronomy will be showcased after work tomorrow. 

Monday, October 6, 2008

This is the first time during my trip that I felt like I wasn’t home.  Ames or Iowa as a whole seems so far away from California.  I didn’t recognize anything.  All the names of stores and gas stations are foreign to me.  Plus the drive down to the middle of the state seemed endless.  I couldn’t roll down my window; otherwise I would have to hold my nose. 

I started my first day as an Agronomist at Iowa State University.  I was busy sieving samples of dirt, which are called aggregates to make a consistent size for testing.  The process of sampling seems to be very similar to Hydrology.   Instead of getting samples of water from aquifers or surface water, we are

getting samples of dirt from farms.  I will get a chance to retrieve my own samples later this week, but tomorrow I will test the samples for certain chemicals and nutrients.  It was a little overbearing today because there was so much information to soak up.  Once I get more acquainted with Agronomy, I will

go in more detail. 

I didn’t want to forget to mention my trip to Mall of America.  After experiencing that mall, you’re going to look down on any other mall.  How can a mall get better or bigger?  I mean they had a full amusement park inside.  I spent 4 hours on the roller-coasters, which were surprisingly good.  If you like your local mall, don’t go to Mall of America because you’re not going to like your local mall anymore.