This is a BIG topic. I’m not even sure how to break it down and share it with you without scrambling your brain in the process. Even just the thought of ‘how to prepare for Antarctica’ is causing me anxiety!
In the Beginning….
I could talk about the entire Antarctic endeavor beginning at its conception--the writing of the grant and the collaboration between scientists. When I think about it, though, that is not really the real beginning. Knowing how my brain works, I’d feel like I’d have to also explain how collaborations and friendships between fellow scientists form in the first place, or even explain the personal histories and career paths of how each person got to where they are today and then whoa—we’ve fallen down a rabbit hole! So let’s try to keep it somewhat simple with 10-steps…
10-steps to prepare for Antarctica:
1.
Scientists get together and brainstorm (aka collaborate) a project proposal. I briefly introduced the TRACERS project in my first post so I won’t elaborate on it much here. If you want to know more about how this process works, go to grad school ;)
2.
Scientists get funding for project. In our case, we were funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Once the grant is funded, everything is put in to motion. Let the anxiety begin—as well as the daydreaming and the fun—I won’t leave those two out because, for me, this entire thing has been an incredibly fun and new experience/adventure.
3.
Scientists put together team of post-docs, graduate students, undergraduate students, research technicians, and interns. My boss (one of the co-scientists on the collaboration) could not make it on this cruise so I came in her place. I have the responsibility of representing her, her scientific desires, and am the sole person collecting all the samples from the sea, bottling them up and analyzing them on ship and back in Seattle. A one woman band and months of work! Luckily there are many helpful hands on the ship if I need it.
4.
Each person needs to go through physical and dental examinations to be qualified as “healthy” before departure to The Ice. This involves getting EKG tests, dental bite-wing X-rays, flu shot, immunizations for Hepatitis A, blood work, etc. I heard one participant had to get their wisdom teeth pulled out!
5.
Begin a checklist of lab supplies/equipment needed to run a lab on a ship. This cruise is unique in that AntarcticSupportContract provides us with a lot of lab supplies and equipment so we do not have to send all of our own supplies down. However, not everything is provided/stocked so I had to make sure to mail any extra items as “cargo” to California by October 2012 so it could be loaded on to the icebreaker on November 2012. We didn’t get on the ship until February 10th 2013.
6.
Inform banks of card use overseas.
7.
Do taxes since I will be returning on tax day April 15th!
8.
Leave contact numbers for friends/family/coworkers and say goodbyes
9.
Figure out what to do with my housing situation for 3 months (Pay for rent? Find a sublet to pay rent for me? Leave my material possessions in storage and deal with finding a new place to live when I return?)
10.
Find someone to watch my german shepherd dog (Thanks dad and sister!)
My4awesome roommates and awesome subletter drive me to the
airport. We drank champagne as a send-off!
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