My roommate is teaching me Russian – just a few words here and there, enough to get by. After seeing my text, she says ‘Privet’ (pree-vet) is a simpler way to greet people. The word I use most frequently is Spasibo (Spa-sea-baa)’thank you’ to the kitchen crew after one of their incredibly filling meals. It’s very easy to get used to someone making food for you four times a day! Breakfast is served at 0730, Lunch at 1130, Tea at 1530 (330pm) and Dinner at 1930 (730pm). In this cold, and with most folks working hard outside, we need all the calories we can get. Tea is my favorite. A warm drink and something small to carry you through the afternoon (today, as a special Sunday treat, it was ice cream! In the Arctic! Does life get any more awesome?), and a chance to chat with someone new about the status of their project, is a lovely way to break up the afternoon. It’s pretty much always light out, so the meals help give a sense of time passing. Yesterday, I stayed up too late watching icebergs because the light made it feel more like 330pm than 1000pm! As for the rest of our schedule, Lectures begin at 0900 and go til lunch. We begin again at 1300 (1pm) and continue until 1700 (5pm) with a break for tea. The rest of the evening is ours, although that may not remain so much longer as we begin to help with observational work and other projects. I tend to spend the after lunch and after dinner breaks up on the Heli-deck or the Flying-bridge watching for whatever the ocean chooses to show me. So far my wildlife count stands at Northern Fulmars, Black-Legged Kittiwakes (both known as ship-following birds), Thick billed Murres (known on this side of the globe as Brunnich’s Guillemot), a pair of Dovekies (Little Auk), an Ivory gull, and a whole family of Pomarine Jaegers (Pomarine Skuas). The Murres were cool because they were in father/fledgling pairs – When a baby murre learns how to fly, Dad is the one responsible for getting him down from the cliffside nest and teaching it the rules of ocean survival. The Pomarine Skuas were awesome too because seeing them is a great chance to watch the food chain in action. Skuas are bullies and will harass Kittiwakes and other gulls/smaller seabirds until they fork over whatever was the latest catch (be this fresh or regurgitated). Although we had to return to a lecture before any serious action went down, it was still wonderful to see the beautiful feather patterns and admire the various color morphs. On my ‘Hoped for list’ are the Northern Gannet, Ross’s Gull, some Terns, and any of the Arctic Marine Mammal species. If there are any suggestions of other species we should be on the look out for, let us know!
(Skua picture by Florence van Tulder)
– Florence van Tulder
I am a student at L.E.O.M High School and I would like to ask what kind of training did you have to go through to survive in this extreme environment?
Hi Elmonty, I did not have official training, but the best way to find out what you need to know about something like this is to ask questions of those who have done it before. You learn things like how many layers you need to wear and that you need to bring sunscreen (because the sun is out ALL the time in the summer).
Hi I’m a student from L.E.O.M and I have a question. What kind of work do you contribute to this expedition? Do you have a type of rank?
Dear Ian, I am responsible for science communication and social media onboard. I don’t have an official rank like captain, but I am teaching scientists onboard about speaking to the public about science, and am responsible for documenting and writing about the whole trip. It’s a great job! 🙂
I’m a student from L.E.O.M high school my question is What inspired you to join this Artic adventure?
Dear Ronesha, I have always wanted to explore the Earth. I never thought I’d get to the Arctic, but I am so excited to be here because it is like nothing I have ever seen (imagine the ocean covered in ice), and because we are here for science, to better understand the Earth, to help all of our futures.
I’m a student at L.E.O.M high school and I have to ask what is the most interesting animal you have observed in the Arctic? For example a sea lion
Joann, the animal I most want to see is the polar bear – I haven’t seen one yet, but others have, so I am still hoping. I have seen a few Arctic birds though, which I find really interesting because of the distance they would have to fly to get out to the middle of the Arctic!
Great posting , Florence! The entire family ( Seattle, Connecticut, Bruxelles, Tervuren, Hasselt….) is following both your blog and Lindsey’s blog with great interest!!
Lindsey’s blog is fun to follow with so many interesting descriptions of the science equipment and experiments you do during this cruise as well as the description of life on board the ship. We look for updates several times a day! thank you for making it simple to understand. We also love to see the pictures and read the blogs written by the different scientists! Thank you to all and continue to have good weather and calm seas!
Hi Beatrice, thanks for the comment, I love to hear that people are enjoying the blog, and I’m glad that I am making it understandable and fun for everyone, scientists or not! Florence and I and the rest of the team are having fun, working hard, and learning a lot. I know there’s more to come, and I’m glad you’ll be following along!