So close!

Here it is, the final push. The day of departure is slowly approaching. The first four weeks on shore went by so quickly and now the two weeks couldn't be more painful. It has finally cooled down to the snowy, sleety weather that I never really liked about this place. Daylight savings doesn't help. It gets dark too early and doesn't get light early enough. Then comes the work. We have a lot of it. Most of my classmates, me included, average one all-nighter a week. the 24hr 7/11 is a god send and diet coke has replaced water. In the end it is worth it. I have met some amazing scientists that have opened my eyes to the real scientific world. I love it. I want to be a marine biogeochemist. I want to go to Antartica and study the melting glaciers and whilst in Woods Hole I have met some great people that, if I ask enough, will help me make it happen. Additionally, I have grown to realize how tight-knit the scientific community is. It is cute and adorable and most of the time we talk in a seemingly different language much to the chagrin of the rest of the world.

But the best part is yet to come. I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of day, just in time to miss winter. We get 4 days in Hawaii before getting on the boat. I am spending it relaxing in Wakiki, picking up last minute things, and making sure I am healthy. I am planning on travelling down with a mask on because the captain can refuse to let us on if we are sick. This has left my classmates freakishly hygienic for a whole bunch of college students.

After relaxing in Wakiki, we get on the Robert C. Seamans at Pier 47 (first test, find pier 47). Honestly, I am a bit scared. Most of my friends make fun of me when they hear that I decided to do this program because of two things:
1. I am irrationally afraid of fish and water. This fear is so pronounced that I have almost lost friendship over it as I tend to scream at people when they rock the HMC rowboats (Sorry kate). I have also kicked people out in the middle of Pine Lake during 2ft waves because I thought the boat was too heavy and was going to sink. It didn't help that my Captain went over what we are supposed to do if we fall overboard. I quote, "Don't thrash, it attracts sharks. It will take us a minimum of 30 minutes to retrieve you- that is if we noticed you fall overboard." But I keep telling myself that I used to be afraid of heights but I can now put mountaineering on my list of favorite past times. There is hope

2. I hate vomit. I have been known to run away from friends when they need me the most because they were regurgitating their past meal. My mother once yelled at me, "Damnit Frances, be a good friend," because I wouldn't bring a blanket or shoes to my friend puking on the side of I-80 during a blizzard. She got frost bite (Sorry Paige). I have come to terms with it though... I think. I have herbal oils, pills, pressure points, and more pills to combat this. I just hope that my shipmates can do their business quietly and in the right location.

Anyway, I know that I am going to have an amazing time. Below is my port stops:

Nov 15th- good by Honolulu
Nov 30th- Dec 4th Kiribati
Dec 19-20 Bora Bora
Dec 22nd- Moorea
Dec 23rd- Tahiti
Dec 23rd-Jan 2nd- Island hopping in the French Polynesia

Blog-
Go to the SEA website, click on voyages. I am on the Seamans (great name, I know). You can watch the boat move day to day.

Woah Shit

Today we went into Woods Hole to get off campus, wander around and laugh at the tourist. We were lucky enough to stumble upon an open boat opportunity at the docks. The Ocean Exploration semester is headed to St. Croix and Grenada on Friday so the Cramer came into the docks on Monday. The Cramer is pretty similar to the Seamans (my ship) so we thought that it would be a good thing to see what we were getting into to. Let’s just say it is a lot smaller than I expected. The cabin is cramped with doors that can latch shut, submarine style. There are beds in every corner inch of the wall. Each bed is about 5’9” with a small cubby for my stuff. The beds are wedged into the walls wherever there is available space. Seeing this ship made me hopeful that my ship would be nicer… which it only sort of will. The labs are bigger, there aren’t beds in the main dining area, and that is about it. However, the one thing that is different is that our cruise track is supposed to be nice. Sweet, no seasickness. Nope. Not the case at all. I was informed that it is quite common for all 27 students to be leaning over the railing at once. The trick is to get a good spot so that you aren’t vomiting into the wind because space is limited. I have been kind of freaking out about this whole seasickness thing to the point where it is kind of entertaining for my class mates. I have decided to dawn all the seasickness patches and armbands. Yeah, I will buy into the placebo. On top of that, I have decided to swing in a hammock for about an hour a day to get used to the rocking motion and doing balance exercises in the mornings. I bet that I will still get seasick. I will take suggestions. 

SEA Semester

I am in Woods Hole for the next 6 weeks learning the ropes of the sea both literally and figuratively. So far it has been three days and the only complain I have is the rain we have been getting. I imbibed my first legal beer on Tuesday, but have yet to have the chance to purchase one. I think the opportunity might come this weekend.

The learning curve has been steep but amazing. I have never been so interested in a subject (Probably because this is my first earth science class coupled with hands on experience... my type of learning). I am taking three classes on campus right now: nautical science, Oceanography, and Public Policy. Nautical Science and Oceanography are filled with those aha! Moments. Things are explained scientifically that I have always wondered about. I kind of feel like I am in the book “A Short history of Nearly Everything.” Professors and one by my captain teach two of my classes. I quickly learned after being a good sleuth, that the last ship my captain sailed was the SSV Concordia. This boat also carried students, but had the unfortunate experience of sinking off the coast of Brazil last year. I am surprisingly OK with this. First of all, it was not his fault that the last ship sank. Secondly, everyone was safe, and he did a great job of making sure of that.

Public policy class is funny because it is a social science class for science majors. On top of that, it is a public policy class. The professor made us stand up and say what we thought about public policy and the role of the government in science. Nearly 100% of us said we didn’t like public policy and that there was no role of the government in the scientific field. This reflected the head of SEA statement during orientation that “we were selected to be the future of conservation. However scientist historically can not bridge the gap between the lab and politics.” Anyway, that is why they are making us take this public policy class. It sort of makes me feel important.

Woods Hole is a really cute place. Everything is either old bricks or wind washed shingles. There are boats everywhere, and I have access to some of the best oceanographic research in the world. In fact, the best part about this program is that every Friday a new guest lecturer comes in from around the country. This program means business.

Hello There New England... and other ramblings.

I am in New England once again after a three year hiatus and all the memories are flooding back. I remembered what was in the food court at South Station because of all the times that I was stuck there trying to get to some random place (anywhere but Concord!). I ordered a coffee and was only slightly jarred when the cashier asked me if I wanted sugar or splendar. I am loving the New England crisp fall ad beautiful leaves and was overjoyed to see old brick houses, and stone walls (or as I tried to explain them, fences made from stone piles… I am obviously not from New England).

 I can’t believe that I am saying this, cannot wait to finally be able to fully unpack. I realized on the bus that I have not been in one place for more than 5 consecutive days since early May. This summer I spent three days in an apartment and then four days in the backcountry—constantly unpacking, repacking and digging through a crammed bag for a pair of pants, toothbrush, hand sanitizer and whatnot. Additionally, a lot of the weekends in Oregon were spent traveling. From Oregon I went to Grinnell for 5 days and from there I went home for about five days. Then off to Poughkeepsie for two days and from there to South Hadley, MA for two days and now finally I have made my long journey involving a couple planes, a train and come automobiles (but no boat yet!). Six weeks in one place will be a great rest from this constant movement.

            At the moment I am staked out at South Station waiting for my bus to take me to my final destination. I am looking at all the students walking by wondering if one of them is my fellow classmate but to no avail. I have a feeling everyone is there already and I will be the last to arrive. We are supposed to be there by 2:00 and I think I will get by 1:55. I hope SEA semester is ready for the Frances attitude towards life: Don’t worry about it and it will eventually go away. Already I am true t form. I haven’t turned in most of my required forms, haven’t purchased my tickets from Tahiti to the US, or even know what classes I am taking tomorrow and which are reserved for the sea component.  I am actually starting to wonder how I got into the program. My friend Kate looked it up and said you had to be really smart to get in. Now I know that I am smart, but I don’t think that my grades are an accurate portrayal of this. Honestly, I have no idea. I haven’t really checked my grades since first semester first year, except for Organic because I wanted to make sure I didn’t fail the class. We shall see how I measure up to the rest of the class.

            I am honestly worried that I have found those 10 or so people that can deal with my overly relaxed attitude towards life, which is exceptionally rare in the field of science. Here are some examples:

~I paid my speeding ticket 6 months late because I wanted to see if the government would forget

~I flipped a coin to decide which boarding school to go to

~I applied early decision to Grinnell because I just wanted to get the college process over with and my advisor told me that I would like it. Luckily she was right.

~I got on a random bus when I was trying to get from LGA to Penn station because I figured all buses would eventually end up in Manhattan. I now know that this isn’t true, but I was lucky enough to get on a bust that ended up 2 blocks away from Penn station. I was also lucky enough to randomly get off at that stop. I was also lucky enough to walk two blocks in the right direction when I was looking for a subway station. So basically I was lucky enough to stumble upon Penn Station.

~ I am sure we could ask Jon Davis for more of these fun stories because the amount of times he yelled (politely) at me for my overly relaxed attitude is uncountable by now. 

The Adventure Continues

So I had a lot of fun this summer as many people pointed out. Therefore I decided to ride the high a bit longer and I am applying for a semester off. I am still going on my SEA semester, but just choosing not to go back to Grinnell in the spring. This idea came to me while spending time in Oregon. Everyone I met out there had taken time off of school and considered themselves better people for it. I was 90% of my decision leaving Oregon and became 100% sure as soon as I got on campus. As much as I love Grinnell I hate the sense of urgency and stress that overwhelms the campus. People are constantly balancing what they love to do with what they have to do and what they have to do always wins over. Hanging out with friends is marred by the fact that everyone has something looming over their head. I have been in this environment for far too long, first at Concord and then again at Grinnell. Being here is wonderful knowing that I won’t have to step foot into a stressful classroom for about a year. At the same time I know that I will learn just as much, if not more, in my semester abroad compared to my Grinnell education. They are two entirely different experiences, and I know I need both of them to be a well-rounded person.

 I talked to my advisor and he was all for it. Finally I got the go ahead from my parents. I let it slip slowly to my friends that I would probably be gone for the entire year. So far I have tentative plans and they all involve one thing: mountains and travel. I am totally stoked and would love some suggestions from people on what to do. Right now the idea is South America. 

Traveling

I enjoy being on the move. I haven’t spent more than 5 days in Lake Forest in my recent memory. I haven’t spent a summer in one location until this year, and I don’t  even think this counts. I love hopping in the car and driving a ridiculous amount of hours for something that I know nothing about. For me, it is about the journey and not so much the destination. However, having an amazing destination helps the excitement of the journey. Currently I am on a plane headed back to the Midwest. Honestly, I have dreaded this moment for about a month now and now that I am here it is not so bad. I am accustomed to plane travel having spent more hours than I care to recall flying to and from Boston for high school. I have become quite the adept people watcher. People watching is a great skill to develop because it helps pass endless hours (if that is your goal with your time), while also promoting some interesting inner dialogue. In my people watching, I tend to pick out that one eccentric person or group of people and watch their interactions. From there I make up a story of where they are from and how they have gotten to this moment in time. I try not to place judgment on the strange people during my travels. Who am I to call someone strange. I am currently wearing parachute pants, knowing on a whole baguette and carrying a pillow with Smoky the Bear sheets on it. I am a prime candidate for people watching. Goings on from my own life usually infiltrates the background stories I make up for the people I run into. So far this is what I got:

Maggie: she is currently gabbing on the phone in the back of the bus about how her good friend’s 12-year-old son went missing yesterday and she is going to go help him find it. While she yelled into the phone, “I am freaking out about this missing child,” I don’t believe that statement holds true because the conversation quickly changed to how she hasn’t called back the girl that she slept with last night. At this point in my people watching I have not actually laid eyes upon this person. She has a deep, rumbling voice, so I assumed that she was actually a man. When she started talking about one night stands, I furthered my assumptions (All the grinnellians that are reading this had their heteronormative alarm just go off. I know. I apologize). However, she lumbered up to the front of the bus and my assumptions were shattered. Maggie is a hulking woman with a buzz cut, men’s boxers, a couple piercing and is currently wearing a shirt that reads, “Chick Magnet” and has pebbles from the Flintstones picking up the family car. I am entirely allured by her shirt. I don’t understand it one bit and it seems to be an amalgamation of a bunch of non-sequitors. But hey, it fits what I know about her personality. I quickly realize that she is probably still drunk. She cannot control the volume of her bus, and cannot walk to the front of the bus without stumbling even when it is stopped. She is also having a real hard time with simple concepts, such as how to get to her destination. She ended up getting up and asking the bus driver how to get to her destination three times. So I decided that she probably was hitting the bars hard last night. She went home with someone and then got the call that the boy was missing. She, still drunk, decided to do her part for the cause and stumbled onto the bus. I think that in T-minus 2 hours she is going to regret getting out of bed, or start drinking again. In which case, she is going to be useless in finding this child. Also, if I was a 12 year old boy, I would be terrified of Maggie. Is she really the best person to be looking?

Frank: Frank is overly friendly. I am standing next to him in line for security screening. He says that he noticed the interesting design on the back of my shirt when I was checking in and would like to see it again if I would be so kind to take off my sweatshirt. I did. He then explains to me that he is from South Dakota and knows nothing about these parts of the country. I smile and shake my head. I didn’t know what to do with that information. Frank then turns to the people in front of us, a daughter and father couple, and starts talking to the four year old about her doll. It is interesting how unassuming this man is. He just performed two seemingly creepy acts, yet during both he seemed genuine and not creepy at all. So I conclude, he has lived in a small town in South Dakota his whole life. He knows all his neighbors and loves it there. Yet he is a successful businessman. In fact, I believe he is a doctor because he is loaded with prescription drug paraphernalia.  He has come out this way for some sort of conference but doesn’t like the haughty city doctors. He is perfectly happy to go back to his family and community and continue living the good life.

I wish I weren’t traveling in this method. Of course I am more of a fan of the slow moving method of walking and carrying all of my stuff on my back. I was even sad to see my 50lbs back be stripped from my back and sent down the conveyor belt. I feel like this plane ride is my final immersion into the front country. I am no longer required to be the mountain woman I was this summer.  I am watching the mountainous land that I explored this summer slowly turn into the prairie and farmlands of the Midwest that I systematically avoiding for a while. Alas, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As I said, the destination adds excitement to the trip. So while I would normally not be a fan of heading in an easterly course,  and even less of a fan of stopping in the Midwest, I am visiting some amazing people that cannot be found anywhere else. For the next five days I am going to experience the best of Grinnell: all the fun and none of the homework.

Side note: about 15 minutes after I wrote this and shut off my computer our plane got struck by lightening. We were about to make an emergency landing in Madison, but it was too windy. Instead we landed in Minneapolis like we had previously planned. It was one of the bumpiest experiences of my life. The cabin broke out in cheers when we landed. I am glad to be on land once again. 

Entirely overwhelmed

I am with Gita now in Tacoma and I am entirely overwhelmed by the proximity of grocery stores and the accessibility of modern entertainment. Last night we watched Deal or No Deal. This was the first time that I had watched TV all summer. That show is ridiculous. Watching it felt like getting slapped across the face with unnecessary enthusiasm. We also went the MET which is a smaller version of Whole Foods. I didn’t know what to do. There were fresh vegetables, dips, spreads, cheese galore, and more ginger brew than I could possibly drink. They also had a homeware section that I definitely checked out. The internet is really fast here and naturally in the air. I don’t have to turn on a black box. I can open up my computer and Wikipedia Buckwheat Caterpillar (someone running for senate in Washington) if I want to. I don’t know how I feel about all of this. 

Eagle Cap recap

I decided to stick around the Pacific Northwest a bit longer. My internship ended on Labor Day, but yet, here I am still slowly making my way back to the Midwest. In actuality, the Midwest is just another stop in my cross-country trip to Woods Hole. My first stop in my journey was the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest with a friend from work. We were planning on taking a trip up to Rainier National Park, but upon realizing that it was snowing, we headed away from the rainy Cascades to the middle of nowhere. The drive out was pretty epic. Og course, we had to stick to the back roads, drive through tiny towns and next to beautiful rivers rather than take I-84 across. It was worth it. We descended from our perch in Detroit down to arid Redman, and across the wind scoured and golden plains of eastern Oregon. I truly feel like I have a good sense of Oregon now. Thanks to my friends with cars, this summer I have traveled down the Oregon Coast, through the Cascades and across the east. The Wallowa-Whitman Mountains are nothing like the rest of eastern Oregon. They rise out of the plains as rocky beasts and are taller than the Oregon Cascades. Here is a day-by-day summary: 

The night before we camped at the trailhead because we got into late. In true fashion, we kind of pointed randomly at the map and decided where to go in and what trails to take. In fact, we didn’t even have a destination for the day. The only stipulation was that it had to have an epic view. We would keep hiking until we deemed something “epic.” Anyway, we hiked in 7.5 miles with views of Eagle Cap mountain the whole way in. 

I off handedly mentioned that it would be cool to hike it and watch the sunset. Dan took it and ran with it. We made camp at a lake that wasn’t to shabby, pulled a lour out of a man’s back who wandered into our camp, and then started on our way up Eagle Cap with all out layers and our dinner. 

9,000-some vertical feet later we were eating quinoa and watching one of the most glorious sunsets in my recent history. 

We hiked down by headlamp and slept extremely well. We woke up exhausted from the hike before but decided to attempt a 13-mile circuit, hitting up all the beautiful lakes that we had seen the night prior from the summit.  We climbed yet another pass, and realized to get to anything in the eagle caps you need to climb a pass. It was right about here that we started realizing the benefits of being wilderness rangers. Damn can we book it. We made it to Glacier Lake which was BEAUTIFUL and chowed down for a solid hour. 

This put us off schedule for the rest of the hike. The next ten miles were mostly down hill and equally beautiful. We made it to camp and spent my last night in Oregon under the stars stoking a fire. We saved a 10 miler down hill for the last day and did it in about 4.5 hours.  All in all, it was an amazing way to end my time in the PNW. I cannot wait to come back out here.

Concluding thoughts

I didn’t come to Oregon to have that “aha!” moment. I came to Oregon as something to do for the summer. I knew that I would love most of the job because it involved living in the backcountry, and at times it would be hard and that being alone for 4 days a week would have to be something that I would get used to. I quickly found that I would learn a lot about all aspects of myself from these stints of solitude. And so, after 12 weeks of backcountry tours and an entire Molskine of thoughts, I thought that I should try and conclude something. It is only fair:

1.     

Everyone can benefit from solitude. I had never really been entirely on my own. When I am entirely alone, I have no one to check and balance myself. This is both a good and bad thing. If I see something that you want to climb I go ahead and do it with no hesitation, no turning to your partner and figuring out what they wanted to do. “Are they just saying yes because they are being nice?” At the same time this can be dangerous. There is no one there to say, “Really Frances?” It is all in my own head. In the beginning of the summer I would climb talus slopes that I probably shouldn’t because no one was there to check me, but by the end I learned a lot about my own limitations. I also found that my mind turned to different thoughts in solitude. I was a lot more introspective rather and had to work out ideas on my own instead of having the mental backboard of another person. Again, this is good and bad. In the end, my conclusions are all my own, but at the same time, did I fully comprehend the thought without other people’s perspective. I loved all the time I had alone with the mountains, rivers, and lakes. As much as I love my friends and I appreciate how many times they have been there for me, I think it is a good thing that I no longer need them to say, “Really Frances, don’t do that.” As cheesy as it sounds, I grew up a couple years this summer. It is my 21^st birthday in less than a month, and for the first time I will actually feel my age. I am still a kid at heart, but I know my limitations and feel empowered and confident in every choice I make now.  I will always schedule alone time for myself in the future. I suggest people do the same to see what comes out of their head.

2.     

I aI already knew this, but spending time in nature is really important. I was really lucky to grow up with a summerhouse in Michigan that was surrounded by pristine forests. It was a safe haven for exploring the natural world. I grew up with a respect the wildlife mentality. Now I have more of a “learn from the wildlife” mentality. This summer I spent hours slowly stalking deer to see how close I could get to them and to see how unobtrusive I could seem to these skittish creatures. I climbed up scree along side of mountain goats and bears, and watched fish rise on Hunt’s Lake rather than watch TV.  It mellows me out faster and longer than any stiff G&T ever will. I loved living as simply as my surroundings. It is terrifying at first. I remember debating whether I would like going on my first NOLS trip. Once I got over the initial shock, it was beyond amazing. I suggest to anyone to slowly immerse yourself in nature and allow the complexities of the man made world fade away.

3.     From solitude, I learned a lot about the importance of community. Sometimes it would be jarring going back to Detroit. However, I was housed with some amazing, like-minded people. If you are around high-strung people, stress seeps in at every fault. If you are around like-minded people, life continues to be as simple as you make it. This time period also helped me define what a friend is to me, and this is what I came up with. A friend is someone I can share silence with and a person that is unobtrusive to my mindset and vice versa. A friend is a person that you know they wouldn’t mind waking up in the parking lot of the “redneck outlet store,” because they fell asleep in the car and you saw a sign for it on the highway and just had to go. They are someone who you rarely have to turn to them and ask, “do you want to ___” because you already know the answer. They share your sense of adventure and respect your individuality. But above all, a friend is someone you admire for the little reasons and someone that never ceases to amaze you. They are hard to come by and easy to lose.  They are the ultimate currency in a bankrupt world.

At the same time, I am making these conclusions (and loving them) during a really cushy point in my life. It is really easy to have a stress free life when you have a loving and supportive family and amazing friends. 

Class II non-mon

By nature, the government is highly structured. Everybody has a supervisor. Every position has a specific salary and everyone knows what salary level other people are at. There are no secrets (or at least that is how they try to make it). The best part about this is listening to everybody get really into it, like when people say, “Did you hear that ______ is only a GS-5?” The awards are even better. They are separated into two categories, monetary and non-monetary. A monetary award is self-explanatory.  A non monetary award consists of picking something you like out of a closet. However, there are three different classes (I, II, III)-- the higher the class, the bigger and better the booty in the treasure chest. Our supervisor was kind enough to hit us up with a Non-mon class II. He took us to the treasure chest in the back of the office. When he opened it, he pointed to our shelves. I noticed some smokey the bear twin sheets and grabbed them and said, “MINE!” He looked at me and gave me a huge smirk. The perfect end to a great summer.