Day 13

Unalaska, AK
53 53′20″ N, 166 31′38″ W

Global Time: 21:00 GMT | 19.6.2009 : Friday
Local Time: 12:00 GMT-9 | 19.6.2009 : Friday

Joaquim, Stacey, and Andrew ate breakfast at a large grocery and items warehouse type store called Eagle. The name made sense, as Dutch Harbor was swarming with Bald Eagles. Andrew saw his first the previous day. It was rummaging for fish in a dumpster three meters from him. He asked himself if it was his imagination that a bald eagle was dumpster diving right in front of him. Answering the question, the eagle raised its white feathered head, and posed as in its many depictions. It looked very proud. After that, he became aware of their constant presence.

Following breakfast, they paid a visit to the shipping office to confirm all their equipment had arrived and been prepared to be loaded on the Oshoro-maru. The ship was expected to dock that afternoon at 13:00. While the shipping office checked on some things, Joaquim, Stacey, and Andrew went for a walk to a nearby clothing/food/hardware store. Andrew called the Baha’i center a second time, however still only got an answering machine. On the way back, to the shipping office, he got his first taste of the flash rains he had been told about.

At noon the three returned to the hotel. Andrew decided to eat lunch, then return to his list of ways to pass the time: study Japanese, send letters, and explore town.

Day 12, Part III

Unalaska, AK
53 53′20″ N, 166 31′38″ W

Global Time: 08:59 GMT | 19.6.2009 : Friday
Local Time: 23:59 GMT-9 | 18.6.2009 : Thursday

After leaving the library, Andrew stopped by the post office, the community center, and the visitor’s center. At the post office he dropped off a letter, and at the community center a receptionist referred him to the visitor’s center next door. All four buildings were within shouting distance of one another.

At the visitor’s center a young girl with a ponytail gave Andrew pamphlets, apologizing for being new to the town herself. She usually worked alongside two older women who knew the town well, but they had both left the office that day and she had not really expected to greet any visitors. Andrew took a map, a pamphlet on the town’s history, and a sheet listing the local places of worship. There were six: Methodist church, a Protestant church, a Catholic church, a Roman Orthodox church, a Mormon Church, and a Baha’i center.

The Russian Orthodox church was probably the town’s prized landmark. It was an old building, tying the town to its era of Russian sovereignty. Andrew took the flyer because he wished to visit the Baha’i center. Andrew was not Baha’i himself. He had only learned of the Baha’i faith ten days earlier. By chance, a practitioner had welcomed him to Maine, and had him over for dinner. While she had cooked, he had thumbed through some of her books, including one on Chinese healing. It was curious material, and with time to kill, the coincidence of the find seemed to merit a visit.

That night, Joaquim and Andrew ate dinner in a bar near their hotel room while Stacey slept. Afterwards, they watched “Runaway Jury” on cable. Andrew went to bed after the movie ended, at midnight.

It was dusk.

Day 12, continued

Unalaska, AK
53 53′20″ N, 166 31′38″ W

Global Time: 21:00 GMT | 18.6.2009 : Thursday
Local Time: 12:00 GMT-9 | 18.6.2009 : Thursday

The plane from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor was the fourth and final flight of the trip that started in Maine. It was a two propeller plane the size of a touring bus which seated 30. The plane was carrying 28 humans and one blue-tick coon hound named Ruckus. Ruckus’s companion was a man in an Alaska sweatshirt and a red hat which advertized what was presumably a bar in Anchorage. He had been working in construction in Dutch harbor for 28 years.

The man in the red hat had bought Ruckus from a breeder in Maine, because, in his words, he had done his homework and liked the man’s philosophy. The man had said that the next puppy might not be available that year. To the man in the red hat, that was a good sign. He did not care for the kinds of breeders that focused on their quantities.

A van from the one hotel in town took Joaquim, Stacey, and Andrew to the one hotel in town, the Grand Aleutian. Since the internet was down, Andrew washed up and walked to the town’s public library, to check in and get a lay of the town.

Day 12 (Transit)

Atlanta, GA
33 38’12” N, 84 25’41” W
Global Time: 01:31 GMT | 18.6.2009 : Thursday
Local Time: 20:31 GMT-5 | 17.62009 : Wednesday

Enroute to Unalaska, Alaska, Joaquim, Stacey, and Andrew stopped over at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Seattle, WA
47 26’56” N, 122 18’34” W
Global Time: 08:00 GMT | 18.6.2009 : Thursday
Local Time: 00:00 GMT-8 | 18.6.2009 : Thursday

Joaquim, Stacey, and Andrew spent the night in Seattle, Washington enroute to Unalaska.

Ancorage, AK
61 10′28″ N, 149 59′47″ W
Global Time: 16:30 GMT | 18.6.2009 : Thursday
Local Time: 07:30 GMT-9 | 18.6.2009 : Thursday

Joaquim, Stacey, and Andrew, still heading for Unalaska, Alaska, stopped over at Ted Stevens International Airport, in Anchorage, AK.

Day 11

 Boothbay, ME
43 50’35” N, 69 38’32” W

Global Date, 22:30 GMT | 17.06.2009 : Wednesday
Local Time, 17:30 GMT-5 | 17.06.2009 : Wednesday

Joaquim, Stacy, and Andrew left for Unalaska on Wednesday. The morning was devoted to picking up last minute supplies. A pot luck lunch held in the honor of a departing staff member provided a pleasant chance to wish all well before Stacey, Joaquim, and Andrew set on their way.

Day_10

Boothbay, ME
43 50’35” N, 69 38’32” W

Global Date, 03:23 GMT | 17.06.2009 : Wednesday
Local Time, 22:23 GMT-5 | 16.06.2009 : Tuesday

After providing a link to Sea_of_Change to the other REU students, it became clear that the third person tense was not popular.   Praise had never been expected, however the response was much, much worse than that.  It was clear that it would be best to relent to unanimous appeal.  However, despite initially submitting to better judgment, irrational ideals would prevail over good sense.

In the morning Andrew searched for an appropriate iron solution which would simulate high concentrations of naturally dissolved iron.  It was a crucial ingredient in the experiment which he would carry out on the Oshoro-Maru.  The top choice was ferric iron chloride, FeCl3.  A sample of iron dissolved in nitrate solution was provided by Ben Twining, in case the iron chloride could not be acquired in time for the cruise.

Later, he completed the rough draft of his proposal, Helga and Joaquim found a camera for him to use, and cookies arrived from his mother*.

Before he left for the day, Andrew emailed a link to Sea_of_Change to all of his peers.  Shortly after arriving home, he recieved his feedback.  It had been poor, and the unanimous dislike of the third person style he had chosen to employ was prompted him to relent.

Hours later, a brief phone conversation with his brother convinced Andrew that – to hell with it – he wasn’t going to write any better in first person then he had in third.  Jack convinced Andrew that while his deviation from the conventions of blogging seemed radical, it was not a medium currently known for its high standards of quality.  Andrew returned to his computer to stuburnly edit his most recent post, making a mental note to try harder not to come across as arrogantly as he apparently had in previous posts.

Day_9

Boothbay, ME
43 50’35” N, 69 38’32” W

Global Date, 20:30 GMT | 15.06.2009 : Monday
Local Time, 15:30 GMT-5 | 15.06.2009 : Monday

It was two days before Andrew departed for Unalaska, AL. Dr. Helga de Rosario Gomes was returning to Bigelow, and Andrew would meet her for the first time. She came to his office a few minutes after nine.  Once introduced, she, Stacy, Joaquim, and Andrew held a conference in Joaquim’s office to go over plans.

It seemed that there had been a mix-up.  The necessary equipment for the trip, which had already been shipped to Alaska ahead of time, had been loaded onto the Knorr.  The Knorr was an American research vessel in the employ of the WHOI, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Fortunately, a collaborator on the project who was sailing on the Knorr recognized the mix-up, and had the equipment unloaded hours before the Knorr set sail, saving Joaquim, Helga, Stacey, and Andrew from ruin.  Andrew returned to his office to practice his Japanese and make sure his presentation was ready for delivery at the meeting at 1400 hours.

At two O’clock pm, there was a meeting of the REU students and their mentors. It was the first of the meetings which were scheduled for every Monday. David Fields began it with a sort of icebreaker, asking each person in the room to explain how they had gotten into science. Andrew was asked to go first.

His answer was succinct. He had always been analytical, he explained, and engineering had been the means by which he continued to pursue his childish ambitions while still managing to be taken seriously.

After Andrew, Barney Balch, a senior researcher at Bigelow, told a far more interesting story, in which he began working for Charlie Yentsch, the founder of Bigelow, sometime before it was founded, when Barney was only 14. The hiring policies of the University Dr. Yentsch worked for did not permit him to pay Barney to count samples under a microscope, and so instead Yentsch contracted the work out to Balch Visual Aids, a company that netted $22.50 biweekly, and of which there was only one shareholder.

Barney’s story set a president, redefining the more casual question, “how did you get into science?” as “what brought you to where we are now?”.  Andrew soon felt like he was watching a panel symposium for the successful and soon-to-be-successful. While it was clear that there was no single right way to become a marine scientist, there were common elements to the stories. Many had gotten involved early. As far back as in middle school, some participated in educational summer camps. Many began their professional experience in their first years of high school. It did not seem as though travel was crucial, however it had not appeared to hinder anyone present.

The number of people who held an interest in biology or even marine biology early on impressed Andrew, who was relieved that there were plenty stories of researchers who did not pin down what they wished to do until much later.

Nicole Poulton and Stacy Keith both cited their experiences at sea as formative.

Finally, the circle concluded on Alexis, to Andrew’s immediate right. Andrew was asked to present his three slides. He made himself a cup of tea. Andrew had only learned an hour earlier when he arrived at the conference room that his assumption that his slides would be delivered as part of a larger presentation was erroneous. Though it was nothing stunning, Andrew congratulated himself on having the good sense to prepare adequately. Joaquim had told him to prepare one or two slides which would take 2 – 5 minutes to present. He had followed this instruction. Andrew had worked under the assumption that to run long would have been inconsiderate to the eight others who would also be presenting. Overall, his two slides appeared to go over fine. While delivering it however he cited his blog, and made a mental note to invest himself in the quality of the site. He would hate to be judged poorly on his first enterprise to be submitted for peer review.

David also reminded the interns that they were expected to hand in a proposal for a study soon. After the meeting, Andrew consulted David to get more information on the construction of a proposal and pump him for topic ideas. A discussion of brainstormed topics.

Day_8

Boothbay, ME
43 50’35” N, 69 38’32” W

Global Date, 01:00 GMT | 15.06.2009 : Sunday
Local Time, 20:00 GMT-5 | 14.06.2009 : Sunday

It rained on Sunday, and he and Amy played wa’had weh-telateen. Nothing more of consequence transpired.

Day_7

Boothbay, ME
43 50’35” N, 69 38’32” W

Global Date, 01:00 GMT | 14.06.2009 : Sunday

Local Time, 20:00 GMT-5 | 13.06.2009 : Saturday

Andrew slept late on Saturday.  He later went for a walk, studied Japanese, and cooked stir-fry for Amy, David, and himself.

Day_6

Boothbay, ME
43 50’35” N, 69 38’32” W

Global Date, 01:00 GMT | 13.06.2009 : Saturday
Local Time, 20:00 GMT-5 | 12.06.2009 : Friday

At noon Joaquim gave a presentation on the Arabian sea, and the effects of climate change manifesting there. Had it not been for the pirates roaming the waters of the Indian Ocean, Andrew would have been going back to the East for a month of the summer, rather than the North. It was just as well: the Bering sea would be plenty interesting. He was looking forward to checking off another direction of the compass rose he had yet to explore. That morning, Joaquim had described the conditions on the hypothetical cruise that had not happened. The Indian ships carried many procedural and cultural hold-overs from British imperialism, including butlers who could be quite aggressive about serving the researchers and crew tea twice a day and lime water twice more. Though scurvy no longer posed a threat, they were adamant, insisting that all imbibe citrus drink at the specified times, no matter what task they might be currently engaged in. Joaquim suggested that other opportunities to revive the Arabian sea cruise might arrise in the future, and Andrew held this in mind during the presentation. He spent the remainder of the day practicing Japanese.