Update on the start of my internship

Hello!  Just updating you on my progress!

So far I think I've settled in well at the USGS, I've got my own cubicle and computer and have been given a variety of research and practical tasks to see which subjects/skills I'd like to study/work on during my time as an intern.

I've completed a map of seismic stations in the middle east and am working on a powerpoint presentation on the human and physical geography features of the Red Sea.  I have also been invited to attend a lecture at Stanford University tomorrow and a few lectures on seismology and climate change at the University of California Berkeley next week.

Very very busy, it's such a change from the relaxed backpacking lifestyle haha, I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Menlo Park

I'm sorry for not updating the blog earlier but I've been a bit busy over the past 4 days so I hope you'll forgive me.

Yes, so, I'm in Menlo Park now and am reasonably settled in at my accommodation and have done a bit of exploring of the surrounding areas.  I also made my way to Walmart and did food shopping for 2 weeks so im a happy chappy haha.

The weather is very nice, especially today, very sunny but windy.  You can never win with the weather.

Menlo park is a pleasant enough town, the house is also very well situated.  It's right next to the shops and the railway station as well as the main road.

I'm also only 20 minutes away from work which is quite convenient!

I've also been given some homework to do by the USGS before I start tomorrow.  I have to do a bit of pre-reading on the geology and tectonics of the Red Sea, very exciting.  I have to admit though it is very interesting but very very technical, I'm looking forward to starting my 3 month period as an employee at the USGS tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

Here are a few pictures of the house.

My bed! 

Back garden including a ping pong table and bbq woohoo

Lounge

The house

Golden gate park, mission Dolores and The California academy of sciences

Yesterday I woke up early to walk to golden gate park on the western side of the city.  The walk was pretty long but was worth it as the weather really cleared up and the city was bathing in sunshine and heat so it was a really good morning.

Golden gate park is so big its ridiculous, I walked about and found the national AIDS memorial and the Japanese tea garden before finding the California academy of sciences and the music theatre.

I decided that I would save the california academy of sciences for the day after because I wanted a full day to see everything.  I then walked to mission Dolores before going to Dolores park and then went back to the hostel to prepare the group meal.

Also found the painted ladies on my way there too

View of San Francisco from Dolores park

Today I did some things differently.  I made good use of the cheap public transport options that SF offers.  $4 return to golden gate park along Market street, not bad.  The journey took about half an hour because there are bus stops every five feet in this city for some reason.

When I got to the Academy of sciences I looked around the various exhibits and attractions which took me a total of 4 hours.  It wasn't the natural history museum by any means, but it was still interesting and informative.

I was particularly interested in the human origin and evolution exhibition along with the earthquake simulator and the planetarium.  In the planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson narrated a show all about Dark matter and Dark energy, the stuff that make up 90% of our universe.

Artificial Philipine coral reef

The evolution section, concentrating mainly on the Galapagos islands and Madagascar and the process of Speciation in both areas.

Albino alligator!

Artificial rainforest

The Living roof

The palace of fine arts and Golden gate bridge

I got up this morning to discover that it had actually stopped raining!  Thank Jebus I could actually go out and not get drenched after 2 minutes.  So taking advantage of this unmissable opportunity I got dressed and set off down Colombus road to Fishermans wharf where I then walked through the fort mason centre to the marina district.

After walking around taking pictures of the marina for some unknown reason I went to the amazingly beautiful Palace of fine arts in the marina district.

This monument is the sole survivor - with a lot of help from restorers - of the many fantasy monuments built for the panama canal celebrations.  It looks like something that you'd fine in Rome or a classical city in ancient Greece, its really incredible how this dominates the landscape with its huge dome and towering pillars.

I then continued to the crissy field area and walked up to the golden gate bridge to the very touristy pavillion next to the bridge walkway.

Taking pictures as I went I eventually reached the other side of the bridge and hiked up to the Marin Headlands where I hoped to get a good view of the bridge with the city skyline in the background.  However the weather was against me.. As it has been this entire trip, but never mind, the view was still amazing :)

I then walked back to the hostel after feeling very sick and here I am, feeling a bit under the weather but am oerfectly okay anyway.

Planning on going to golden gate park tomorrow and a few galleries.

Walking through little Italy this morning

Marina 

The Palace of fine arts

The dome

Couldn't resist

The view to the other side of the bridge - the pacific

I actually found this much more beautiful that the bay area view

SF day 4 alcatraz

Did Alcatraz today even though i promised myself a relax/let the blisters heal day.

I firstly walked to the nearest cable car stop in China town and caught the next cable car to fishermans wharf!  Was quite a good experience.

China town at night- from last night

Tram trip!!

I then walked to pier 23 and caught the 12 minute long ferry crossing to Alcatraz island.

When I got there I took the audio tour and frankly I loved it.  The tour was so informative and interesting and the prison is so genuine and creepy.

I learnt a lot about prison life and the various escape attempts and stuff about how the prison opened, closed and worked throughout its 30 year history.

Interestingly the boat was powered by wind and solar power

San francisco

Such a creepy atmosphere

Broadway walk way

Size of a regular cell

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 

Bar stretcher, usedby the escapees

Bullet holes from when the US marines were brought in to deal with a prisoner uprising

Grenade blasts from the US marine assault

The guard tower

SF day 3

Today has been very wet, foggy and generally rubbish (weather-wise)

But that didn't stop me, I couldnt be bothered with the prospect of staying inside all day or going shopping for budget clothing, so a nice stroll around SF was the ideal substitute.

I decided to go and find mrs doubtfires house on steiner street, the walk took a while but was very nice as I got to see the various neighbourhoods of San Francisco.

The architecture of most of the buildings here is really striking and beautiful.  A lot of the houses are Victorian style buildings dating back from the great rebuild after the 1906 earthquake.

Mrs Doubtfires house

Looks like the end of the world!

I then walked downhill to Japan town.  It was a tad tedious as there wasn't much going on so I just grabbed a tea and read for an hour, luckily when I'd finished reading the rain had died down and that persuaded me to go and visit Haight street.  Haight street and the Haight Ashbury district are well known for the hippie culture and the psychedelic 1960's based community.

Buena vista park

Hippie styles shops like this are scattered everywhere selling things from t-shirts to bongs.

The amount of shops round here that sell bongs, pipes, hooka pipes is crazy

Again like i said, as I was walking back to city hall I noticed these amazing victorian houses, no idea why but I really like them.

Union square