1/05/2009

Geology is boring - Punk kid.

DATELINE: Yesterday on the beach in front of Ons Huisie, Klein Baai, Cape Town:

Punk Eight-year old Kid: Hey what are you looking for in the rocks?

Me: We're geologists so we study rocks.

PEYOK: That must be boring.

Me: It might sound that way at first but the more you learn about it, the more interesting it gets.

PEYOK: Hm.

Me: The whole history of South Africa and how it got here is hidden in these rocks.

PEYOK: Whatever. (runs away)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kid might not be interested in South African history. Maybe if you mentioned explosions or dinosaurs...

-kit-o


Or just throw a rock at him

Ryan said...

Exactly... I can't think of a quicker way to bore a kid than to use the word 'history'. Try 'molten rock' or 'shark teeth' or 'dinosaur bones' or 'volcanoes' (locale dependent, of course.)

Or, yeah. Kick him in the pants.

NG Khumalo said...

Your blog is great! I'm a native South African, but grew up in the US, and recently moved back to "Msanzi" in June. I can definitely relate to some of your early experiences. I'll be coming to UCT next month (TIME MOVES SO SLOWLY!!! LOL), so looking at your pictures is a great way to pass the time and to get more excited Keep up the great writing and photos!

-Yati

DDeden said...

I'd` a said 'diamonds'...
saw this video, cool:
wading orangutan

reminded me of your post on orangs walking on skinny branches bipedally.