If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
Albert Einstein
Here is a picture of a rainbow that I encountered over the Azraq Wetland Reserve. More on that later.
Wow. I haven’t posted in so long. Sorry about that. Things have been a bit crazy. After a pleasant series of visitors and an unpleasant series of bizarre illnesses, life is finally settling down into a routine and giving me some sense of normalcy.
Well, not quite yet. Later this week, I’m flying to Cairo for an impromptu tour around Egypt. My camera has run out of battery power and I lost my charger in a rental car, so hopefully I can borrow pictures from my friends. Update to follow!
I have finally finished my Arabic classes, and now I prepare for my research period. Two weeks ago, I carefully wandered my way around the University of Jordan campus for the first time, until I found my professor’s office. Over coffee and dates, we introduced each other in a cordial and professional manner.
Despite the formality, I immediately sensed the genuine kindness in his smile and words. I would occasionally address my research project, to which he patiently responded, “You have plenty of time to develop your project.”
Fighting my urge to jump in immediately, I know that if I’m going to do seismology, I have to really understand it. So, I’m starting off my research period by taking two classes, Seismology and Environmental Geophysics. Both in Arabic. Every morning, I take a creaky minibus to the University and sit in on my professor’s 90-minute lecture that tests my comprehension in Arabic, physics, and geology. I’m learning how to say words in Arabic that I never thought I would: nodes, electrical current, salt domes, perpendicular. My brain has never felt so numb after a class.
Meanwhile, I’m trying to define the boundaries of my project. I’m officially here, on paper, to determine if it’s possible to develop more accurate earthquake statistics for the region. From experience, I know I need to stay focused on the basic question. But now I’m realizing that I can use even more methods than I originally anticipated. I can study the underground structure of the fault that runs through Jordan using electrical sounding. I can use geographic information systems to plot the fault’s structure and location of earthquakes. Everything is so open-ended that I need to keep thinking and reading.
So that is my update for now! Upcoming entries include my relay half-marathon race from the Dead to the Red Sea, my Arabic-singing choir that I’ve joined, and how I’ve been learning how to recite the Quran.
I’ll write soon.
