by 
Hello! My name is Alondra Infante, I am 20 years old and from Brownsville, TX. Currently I am attending the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, but Fall of 2016 I will begin at the University of Texas at San Antonio majoring in Environmental Science! Today was our 5th day on this amazing journey and everyday truly continues to get better. When living aboard a research vessel you wake up with questions every day and today wasn’t an exemption. Since we have been studying cores for the past few days I was eager to know what activity our professors would show and teach us. Following breakfast we had the opportunity to make smear slides out of different core samples from ALL AROUND THE WORLD! So far I have made 11 smear slides and every time that I see them beneath the microscope a sense of curiosity takes over me. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I feel like a true scientist looking through them or how unique and amazing they are, but I love doing this! This STEMSEAS voyage has given me skills that will be extremely helpful and it has made me more passionate on what I am studying. If I thought the geosciences were cool before, now I’m hopelessly in love with them! Later on throughout the day we covered information over the world’s ocean wind-driven circulation, to understand the Coriolis Effect, Ekman Transport, and Subtropical Gyres. I feel so thankful to be here and to be educated by amazing people like Kristen and Mark. I know this is an experience that will stay with me forever and I plan on finding a way to do it all over again. This STEMSEAS expedition has truly opened up my mind and now I see how many amazing things I am capable to do.
P.s. I am also a self-proclaimed poet and below I would like to share some of my work with youJ My first poem is about the sunset I’ve decided to share it with you because of how beautiful I’ve seen them from here. And my second poem is named Overseas. I hope you enjoy!
“The Way”
The way the sun sets is the way I loved you.
It was slow, beautiful, I would say even majestic in a way,
My heart shined bright and delicately over you,
Giving you the best possible view,
Time eventually came into effect and my shine slowly faded from blue to pink,
And got darker as time progressed,
Now I am setting over others and bringing brightness into their worlds,
Until time passes and takes me away again.
-Alondra Infante
‘Overseas”
The ripples in the water represent my thoughts,
My thoughts about you,
I’ve learned there are levels in all of us.
And so much under our surface,
You are as vibrant as the skies,
As strong as the winds,
And as deep as these seas,
But you are the perfect place for me to be.
-Alondra Infante
(Below are some amazing images I collected off my smear slides.)
