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Samuel Predeth

November 20th, 2023

Fieldtrip experience: Portland, USA

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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Samuel Predeth

November 20th, 2023

Fieldtrip experience: Portland, USA

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

As cliché as it seems, last year, in the second year of my BA Geography degree we were required to take part in a fieldtrip for our Field Methods in Geography course. The trip was to Portland, Oregon in the USA rather than the usual Cuba destination and I will share some of my experiences of the whole week.

Our fieldtrip took place in Week 11 of Winter Term, so we had a full week to explore Portland and conduct lots of research for our summative projects. Despite the long ten-hour flight, we all made it in one piece and met our professor Dr Ryan Centner at the airport. Dr Centner oversaw organising the field trip and was the lead teacher of our Field Methods course. More importantly, however, he is from Portland himself, which made the trip much more special.

Each day consisted of a number of different activities with meetings with the Bureau of Transportation, neighbourhood associations, or developers of the airport and each activity assisted each group with their group research in some way. Before we flew out to Portland, we were assigned to different themed groups on an issue to research on the trip. I was looking into the “City of Portland and urban planning”, focusing on the role of public transport in the city.

Every discussion we attended was very interesting and insightful about a city we had never visited before and gave us a really detailed understanding of the urban processes that occur, and the issues with such. The teachers and professors that accompanied us made sure it was a really engaging experience for us all, and ensured we were all able to enjoy ourselves alongside our research.

Although our group data collection and independent research took up a large proportion of the trip, there was still time for some fun during the free time. We often had meals or socials planned in the evenings with professionals working in Portland, giving us time to relax and talk about our days.

A number of my friends went to the Portland Japanese Garden, the Oregon Zoo, shopping malls, and board game cafés, which all gave us time to explore Portland outside of the academic mindset. One of the most memorable and fun days, however, was on our last full day in Portland. We all travelled up the coast of Oregon and crossed into Washington to spend the day exploring the coastline and its beauty. Despite the freezing cold wind and very unpredictable weather, it was such an amazing day. Being able to spend time with all my course mates, looking at beautiful scenery and talking to our lecturers outside of the classroom were all so important.

On the final day, we travelled up to Seattle by train to spend a few hours before flying back to London, giving us another glimpse of the differences between the UK and the US, and the cultures of different cities. By the time we flew back overnight from Seattle, everyone was tired, but we had a very enjoyable and interesting trip, ready to start our summative projects.

The trip overall was so much fun and an engaing academic experience. If you get the chance to do some fieldwork or a trip as part of your programme, I would highly recommend it. It brings you closer to your classmates and your teachers, as well as teaching you some valuable lessons about the places you visit.

Learn more about the field trips organised by the Department of Geography and Environment.

About the author

Samuel Predeth

Hi! I'm Sam. I'm currently a second year BA Geography student at LSE and I am originally from Portsmouth, UK.

Posted In: Applying: Undergraduate

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