Indiana Jones and the Bailly Homestead

"Mark Shurr stood in the dry sun outside on the grounds of Bailly Homestead, holding a pole with a prism on top like Indiana Jones out of a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark." -Heather Augustyn, Times Correspondent

Having your professor compared to Indiana Jones on the second day of the dig is some of the best encouragement a budding archaeology student could ask for. A picture of yourself on the front page of another newspaper doesn't hurt either. The first article describes the dig while the second one just has a picture with an article that is not related to the dig. I may or may not have bought several copies of the paper with my picture on the front... 

Andy Lavalley | Sun-Times Media

The Times reporter was actually very close in her description of my professor. An inquisitive man and wonderful teacher, Dr. Shurr was in the process of teaching us how to use a Total Station also known as a transit. The machine is used to create a topographical map of an area by measuring elevation. A prism pole, which bears startling significance to the one used in the Indiana Jones movie, is positioned above the location you wish to measure. Using the instrument, you sight the prism on the top of the pole through the instrument and calculate the elevation, distance, location on the grid (northing and easting), and bearing with the push of a button!

Jon L. Hendrix | The Times

If you can't tell, I'm having an absolute blast. I've learned how to establish a topographical map, build a grid for resistivity surveying, and dig shovel probes. One of the most fun things has been surveying underground using the resistivity instruments. By taking resistance measurements between the probes on the instrument every meter, we were able to see whether something was hiding underground. This type of surveying revolutionized archaeology allowing archaeologists to "see" underground so as to not waste any digging units. The technology is rather exciting. 

We start digging 1x2 meter units on Tuesday. We're hoping for more of what we have found thus far and even more exciting historical artifacts. We've found handcut nails, decorative glass, 18th century pottery and a metal object that could be a mirror frame. I can't wait to discover more!

Let It Snow!

As the snow falls furiously outside my dorm room window I realize how much I love it here at Notre Dame. Then I shiver and remember fondly the hours of laying in the sun in Key West. Life has been so busy the past two months with exams, choosing courses, Christmas, New Years and more that I haven't been able to think of a cohesive/witty post! Oh, to those who mentioned it to me, I tweaked with the comment settings so you should be able to post comments and Blogger shouldn't block you out!

Last semester, I left you while I ran around attempting to learn organic chemistry and twitching at the mention of a tetrahedral intermediate. No more! I have passed both my semesters of 'orgo' and am through with it! Well, at least until I have to do a refresher for the MCAT. This semester starts my second semester of general chemistry filled haphazardly with everything they think we should know presented in no noticeable order. Yay chemistry! /endsarcasm. 

I am doing more with anthropology this semester with two classes instead of just one. I left my biological anthropology class this morning a little stunned. My professor seems like a very no-nonsense type of person who is not afraid to call you out when you are rude or inappropriate. Let's just say it will be...interesting to see how the class progresses. I am excited for the material though. Primates may not be my favorite animals but I am interested to learn through bone structure and fossil analysis why we can draw the conclusions we do about evolution and origins.

My other anthropology class is Fundamentals of Archaeology. I think this class will either be very good, or very, very bad. I am, how shall I say it, not enthusiastic about archaeology. I respect the discipline and recognize the incredible things that have been unearthed and how they contribute to our understanding. Personally, however, I have no desire to go dig up pots, tools, etc. Fossils -- maybe. Pots -- no.

All in all I'm getting back in the swing of being at school after a great time visiting with the folks and my friends! I hope yall's new year has started off as well as mine has!

The Pace is Picking Up

Remember when they told us that college would be a lot of reading back in senior year of high school? Teachers warned us it would be as intense as AP World History was back in sophomore year. I thought to myself, scoffing, nothing could ever require as many notes and hours spent reading as AP World. Famous last words, anyone?

Freshman year came and there was 'recommended' reading to do before you attended lecture. Like most freshmen, I was bombarded with eighteen billion things to do all around campus so the reading assignments slipped into the background. Sure, I would skim the section titles in chemistry and I would actually do my Theology readings because they were short and interesting but everything else? Hmm, oh wait, there is glow-in-the-dark putt-putt on North Quad? Pfft, I'll do my reading tomorrow. Always tomorrow, always tomorrow.

Fast forward to sophomore year. I have more reading assignments that I could have ever dreamed of. Lecture (cough biology) is based on the book and even goes in the same order with the same pictures. I had two choices: I could do what I did freshman year and skim the readings and take good notes in lecture which worked out pretty well, or I could actually try to do the readings.

For now, I'm attempting to do all of the required readings before lecture class. Never have I had less free time! I don't know if I ever comprehended exactly how long it takes to read an academic book. I can devour a 500 page Harry Potter book in a few hours and retain everything that happened, no problem, but sit me down with my Anthropology text and twenty pages drags on for an hour!

I don't quite know why there is such a huge difference but it's a problem I need to solve as hundreds of pages of biology and organic chemistry reading pile up on me! Don't forget that the level of events to attend have only increased since freshman year.  Now there are things that I care about that I have committed to: things I can't skip off because I have a little extra reading to do.

I remember when we watched American Pie and thought college was going to be nothing but weekends right after each other with no work. Oh naiveté, where have you gone?

And God said, Let There Be Fish!

At long last, my fish tank that has sat barren (except for a bubble-blowing dragon ceramic) under my television stand is filled with life! Four fish currently inhabit my tank: a black molly, a silver molly and two swordtail fish! They are currently getting used to their home and continue to spaz out if anything comes near their tank. I hope they will calm down a little as they explore their new tank and tank mates.

I had a fantastic visit with my dad today after he drove my car up to Notre Dame. As soon as lunch was mentioned, we were off-campus in a jiffy. Notre Dame has one of the best dining halls in the country (North Dining Hall is better than South!) but sometimes, it is just nice to get off campus. My stomach dutifully snarfed down endless salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. In between mouthfuls, I was able to catch up with my dad on what was going on in our lives. Olive Garden was super busy today but that isn't too much of a surprise since it is Labor Day. Why else would people randomly go to Olive Garden on a Monday? (Note: We're talking about normal people; I'd go to Olive Garden whenever if I only could!)

Speaking of Labor Day, guess who had class today? That's right, this girl. I walked into my Anthropology class bright and early at 8:30am this morning wrapped in a fleece. By the way, why was it sixty degrees today? It is still early September and it was 96 degrees two days ago, we shouldn't have started our decent into cold yet...right?...please?

Anyways, even my Anthropology teacher was confused at why we were having class on Labor Day. It was the first time he had ever taught on Labor Day! To apologize for making us wake up so early, he gave us a super easy quiz and I'm sure everyone who even skimmed the homework appreciated the free A. It makes sense when you remember that we have an entire week for our fall break while most universities only get a day or two but still, I don't like waking up early. Silly classes only being available at certain times saddled me with 8:30's MWF.

Of course the rest of my classes passed by too slowly because I knew I would get to see my dad as soon as I finished for the day. After what seemed like its own piece of forever, organic chemistry finished and I got a text saying that he was here. After that, there was nothing left to do but climb on my bike and rush back to PW! The time for me to leave him at the airport came way too quickly. Even so, I had a wonderful time picking out fish and eating soup and salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden with my dad.

Cheers for awesome fathers!

The Advantages of a Listserv

When you first arrive at Notre Dame, the Student Activities Office (SAO) puts on a huge activities night inside the JACC. Booths line the walls and the spaces in between with clubs trying to get your attention and your membership. This is where you will meet your first super clingy friend at Notre Dame: the listserv.

Essentially a mailing list, clubs use listservs to email information out to of all their members and anyone who may randomly sign up. They are extremely useful things, but beware, when you run through activities night signing up for every club in sight, it is going to take you hours to go through all the emails you'll receive!

I was one of those happy-go-lucky freshmen who signed up for a good ten clubs or so. The reason I bring listservs up at all is that I actually attended my very first event hosted by the SMBB (Society for Mind, Brain and Behavior) club called a "Neural Networking" event. Even though I have been a member of the club all year but hadn't attended any meetings whatsoever, they were more than welcoming and my early fall obsession with getting my name on listservs proved fruitful. It was a fun night at Legends getting to talk to different professors about their work so I thought I would share a blurb on each of the professors I talked to and a bit about their research.

First comes Dr. Augustin Fuentes, an anthropologist. Dr. Fuentes is going on sabbatical for the next year so he doesn't have any research spots open but his goals are vastly applicable. He is trying to bring several different fields of study together including biology, anthropology, math and philosophy. It is his mission to merge them so that each individual researcher can gain the most insight through working with other fields. He was a great conversationalist so if you get a chance, take a class of his or do research with him!

The next professor I was able to speak with was a Mr. Milano. He works with psychology students, graduates and 23 inch tall robots with children diagnosed with varying degrees of Autism. He also has worked using Wii balance boards for stroke victims. He was very passionate about his work and seemed to have a lot of student involvement so I highly recommend working with him.

Lastly, I spoke with Joseph O'Tousa, a biology teacher at our wonderful university. He specializes in working with Drosphilia (common fruit fly for the non-science majors) and on how vision impairment in drosphilia can be useful in determining the causes for vision issues in humans. His claim to fame is that he actually discovered the first neurodegenerative disease relating to vision in drosphilia. I am thrilled to be able to take him for a biology class next semester.

In conclusion, even if it seems crazy, if you are willing to sift through countless emails, sign up for as many clubs and listservs as you can. (All within reason of course.) You never know when something on your calendar will open up and you can go to your first event -- even if it is in the last three weeks of the school year.

For more information on research at Notre Dame check out http://www.nd.edu/research/ and click through the professors to see if they are looking for students for a project you are interested in. Happy researching!