05 Jul Randol Thompson | University of Utah | Week three

Hello everyone,

This was definitely a fun week! Between all of the World Cup games and the Fourth of July celebrations, it felt like there was always something exciting happening. There was a lot to watch and celebrate, and it made the week go by really quickly. It was nice to have a break from my normal routine and spend time with family while still keeping up with my internship work.

At my internship, I spent much of this week organizing spreadsheets of nearby mines and mineral deposits. This information will be very useful when I begin writing my final report during my last week of the internship. Although organizing data is not always the most exciting task, it is important because it makes analyzing everything much easier later on. I also started synthesizing data from one of my soil samples, which was exciting because it feels like I am getting closer to seeing the results of the work I have been doing over the past several weeks.Unfortunately, there has been one setback. My soil samples are still too wet to begin testing. If they are not dry by tomorrow, we will have to place them in an oven to speed up the drying process. We originally wanted to avoid using heat because it can alter the soil’s chemistry and potentially affect the accuracy of our measurements. Hopefully they dry naturally overnight so we can move forward with testing as planned. Even with that small challenge, it was another productive week, and I am looking forward to seeing how everything comes together over the final weeks of my internship

My grandmother came to visit this weekend, and it was great getting to spend time with her. My favorite activity that we did together was going to the Tabernacle to watch the choir perform. They sounded incredible, and it was amazing to hear how well they all sang together. As an added surprise, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs also came to speak for a little while before the performance. I wasn’t expecting that, but it made the experience even more memorable.We also went out to dinner at Urban Hill, which was one of the highlights of the weekend. I ordered a cod dish with a miso glaze that was really flavorful and cooked perfectly. Funnily enough, I have gone to more restaurants this weekend than I have during the entire rest of my internship. Most weeks I usually cook for myself or eat something quick, so it was nice to enjoy a few meals out with family. This week was also a big one for my younger sister because she left for a month-long summer camp. Before she left, I decided to write her a postcard so that she would have some mail waiting for her during one of her first few days there. I remember how exciting it always was to receive letters while at camp, so I thought it would be a nice surprise. This year she will be in the oldest group at camp, which is an exciting milestone and gives her the chance to take on a little more responsibility. I hope she has a great experience and enjoys the month away.

the inside of the tabernacle

plaza with some food trucks at the campus

I also finally had the opportunity to explore campus this week. Since I spend most of my time working in the lab, I had not really taken the time to walk around and see everything. It was fun getting to look around and become a little more familiar with the campus. One thing that surprised me was that the campus bookstore did not have any books for sale. I had expected it to be more like a traditional college bookstore, so that caught me off guard. I also visited a nearby cafeteria, which had several good food options that I will probably come back to in the future.The most interesting place I visited, though, was the library. One of the floors had a collection of historical artifacts, including an old printing press and several other displays about the history of printing and publishing. I enjoy learning about history, so it was really interesting to see those artifacts up close instead of just reading about them in a textbook. It was definitely my favorite part of exploring campus.

random bird outside of my room.