scientific part of this trip yet when I wrote the last email. We
have a little bit of time (maybe a day) extra between now and when we
have to get into port in order to make our plane flights. So we are
in a kind of quasi-transit mode right now for the next few days and
instead of making our way more north than east towards PA, we're
heading more east than north to the Bellingshausen Sea near the
Antarctic Peninsula (the part that sticks up towards South America).
There is a mooring in place (another one of the same series which we
have been picking up in the Amundsen) which we will try to recover.
The TV says it's going to be about 24 hours from now until we get
there. So now that we've finished a draft of the nutrient cruise
report and Brice has taken care of storing and itemizing our samples,
it's a lot of time to use either productively or unproductively.
So far I've used some of the time to adjust to a normal schedule,
which didn't take that much time as all because all I had to do was
sleep 4 or 5 hours longer, which is not that hard for me. Now I have
to find a (several) new project(s). One of them is reflecting on the
trip. I'm going to try to break it into parts. Today -- my first
experience on a ship for this long.
The ship
The NBP is a stellar ship -- big, totally designed for science,
stable, well-run. Of course I have nothing to compare it to. But I
was constantly surprised by our self-sufficiency. Fuel and
responsibilities at home are really the only thing that limits our
time at sea.
Seasickness
So far, so good. The more time that's gone by since our first
episode of rough seas, the more I've learned about how people were
feeling, which is to say not real good. The most I can say is that I
got a little sleepy, which may still have been related to early-trip
sleep deprivation. So that was a plus for the overall experience.
I'm not holding my breath, because the worst is likely yet to come,
but it could have been worse. I need to find a use/home for the 80
dramamine pills, seasickness bands, and patches which I brought with
me. Any takers?
Homesickness
I miss my family and friends and my home. That's always there at a
background level. But I think it is balanced most of the time by the
newness and excitement of the cruise and daily activities. There was
definitely a time, say post-midpoint, in the open ocean, when the sun
hadn't been out in about a week, when the newness of the pneumatic
impact wrench wore off, where I was ready to be home. And I am ready
to be home now. But what's a cruise without a long transit home?
And what's another week?
other things I've missed:
the internet
squash
cooking
spring?
beer and wine (though not in an unhealthy way)
my normal sleep schedule
weekends
probably other stuff too...
Food
I haven't written about food since the very beginning of the cruise.
And while the desserts have kept up in their variety and quality
(some really interesting surprises of late -- "sour cream extract
cake", "chess pie", a yogurt and jello parfait), the rest of the food
has been less stimulating. Part of it is due to the fact that all
fresh veggies have been gone since the first week, part has been
repetition, part due to the weird eating schedule, and part of it has
to do with the fact that we eat in the same place all the time.
Social life
I've definitely been lucky to be on this particular cruise. The
relatively small size and all-around decent folk on it have made it
easy in an environment which could (and has according to most, often
does) disintegrate into madness...
Work and life definitely overlap. But there's really very little
life after work. A meal and some time in the gym is basically it. So
it makes sense to enjoy the people who you work with, and to stagger
shifts -- I'm really glad we did this, although it made mealtimes a
little weird.
But even the people who I didn't instantly jive with have been great
as the cruise has gone on because it's nice to talk to someone "new"
with a closed social circle.
Will I do it again?
Liz was the first person to ask me this question, although I think
her perspective on it is different than the people who've been asking
me over the last few days. So I'll give her a more thorough answer,
or rather we'll discuss it, soon. But in the meantime, here's some
thoughts...
There is a natural channelling towards finer degrees of
specialization in academic research, which is fine with me, but
likely limits the type of work I'll be able to engage in. I'm likely
never going to be as "free" as I am now, and any trip I take in a
scientific role will have to be justified -- research-wise,
financially, etc. Also, I really do like to be home, probably too
much to do this every year. Every three or four, maybe. But then it
will be even harder to justify. I think there are people who defy
convention and both observe and model. I'll have to see if that's
achievable and/or practical.
Anyway, it's been a great, eye-opening experience and I won't regret
treating it as a treated it like a one-time thing, but we'll see if
that's what it ends up being. Overall, I've had it easy --
constantly something to see, good people, good weather, ping pong,
and work that interests and is valuable to me. I worry that no
subsequent cruise has as much going for it as this one. I've
probably been spoiled.
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