"Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea.
Past the houses--past the headlands,
Into deep eternity--
Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?"
--Emily Dickinson
Feb 4, 2010
*1613: I am so tired...last night was bad for me seasick-wise. It just came out of nowhere. I was feeling chipper and was enjoying my time in the lab. I spent some time looking through a microscope, trying to separate many tiny sea creatures apart to see which ones can be found per 100 in that respective location of the sea...or something like that. I found snails and some kind of shrimp. I had so much fun learning about the different creatures I might find under the microscope. The diversity of life in the oceans is staggering. There are so many we have yet to discover. Anyway, I think it's the darkness that gives me my seasickness. During the day I feel pretty good, usually, but the nights are rather hellish. I think it has something to do with disorientation and maybe I have poor night vision or something. Being seasick is so feverish...you pray, beg whomever to feel better. You feel drugged, sleepy, dizzy, nauseous. And sleep is filled with sweat and wild dreams punctuated with a few reminders that all is not well within the body. I think it is unlike any kind of illness I've had before, and if you've never left land, you'll never understand a sailor's plight during the first few days at sea.
New topic: one certainly has plenty of time to think out here. The sea is endless and seems to roll out into infinity. And the colours. Every day, the ocean changes. Today, it is a navy blue. And the day before that, bright green-blue. The ocean is perfect symbolism of our lives. It is beautiful, scary, awe-inspiring, gives life, takes life away, and is never constant, always changing from day to day.
In other news, I'm becoming pretty good at steering a ship. Dusty says I steer like a professional, heh. I love the different way of life...the language. I certainly did go ABROAD this semester. In a way, being on a boat is like being in another world. "Bathrooms" are "heads," "pail" is "bucket," and "dining room" is "main saloon," etc etc.
The weird part about ship life is how the days and hours melt into each other. I've already forgotten how long I've been here. The waking/sleeping hours are different everyday. There is no such thing as "early" anymore. Only, "on time."
2229: So silly. I am awake...wide awake before anyone has informed me of my watch coming up at 2300. I do sleep really well here. I'm usually able to fall asleep quickly, which is quite unusual for this insomniac. Some people might find the bunks claustrophobic, but I don't. It's one of the only places here, besides the head, where one can have privacy. I have a curtain and a light to read and write by. I also like the size...very cozy. It makes me feel like I'm back in the womb, especially with the constant motion. And there's so much room for my few essential items. I really don't need much...I love having a simpler, less material-laden life.
Feb 5, 2010
*2000: Last night's lab was awesome. I got to do a neuston tow, (which means capturing sea life in a sort of seining net), and I had to sort out the biomass and count out how many there were of each organism. I found 4 or 5 clear spiny lobster larvae, which are about 2 inches long and are completely flat, like they've been steamrolled. I felt sick during the lab though, thanks to the aromatic scent of rotting sea flesh. Yum.
Having fun in the lab with our science leader, Juliet, and Haley
I woke up this morn after some weird/pleasant dreams, and discovered my day would be interesting indeed. My watch was having a meeting on deck, and suddenly! A huge burst of rain fell upon us. It was as if someone in the sky had randomly decided to throw a bucket of water on us. The sea grew rough and we all ran below deck. The boat rocked so hard--water was coming over port and starboard. My watch waited for the lightning to stop before going on deck. The whole day, the sea has been lurching like crazy. I had a blast. I felt like I was on an amusement park ride. And being below deck was like a fun-house. Eating meals was interesting. We had to be careful to lift our legs up on a certain side so dishes wouldn't come crashing down. (I nearly caused that to happen anyway, of course).
Feb 6, 2010
*1417: Yesterday, I watched most of the crew enjoying their ginger ales. I was offered a can, but I politely declined. When they finished, I noticed they tossed their cans out to sea. This truly shocked me. How can sailors pollute something so sacred to them? Later on, Rich led a mini-lecture for several of us, explaining ocean boundaries for countries. (Eg, the US has control of 12 nm of ocean from shore; states have about 2 nm of control.) Only 40% of the ocean is under law...if you are more than 12 nm away from coast, you can dump trash, explosives, whatever. This is just terrible. One student brought up a good point that is is either the sea or a landfill. Both land and sea are destroyed. While I understand where she's coming from, I disagree. If I had the choice between landfill/ocean for my garbage, I'd pick a landfill. Our Earth is 70% water and the most diverse forms of life are hidden in the seas, many of which we have not yet discovered. Water is VITAL to the well-being of our planet. The water from the ocean becomes rain on land. Do we want acids and harmful bacteria to permeate our soil? Water connects to all beings. It is what sustains us and keeps us alive. Even if an animal/organism doesn't need water, certainly, it eats or feeds off of an organism that does. Without water, we'd all be dead. With landfills, we need to exercise extreme caution in order to avoid soil erosion/runoff.
Also, soda cans are recyclable! We can reuse aluminum and turn those soda cans into something else. I don't see why ships can't at least hold onto those and recycle them once they are on land again. And same goes for trash...it's not taking up any more space there was previously. Output/input stays the same if the ship receives no cargo. ERGH! This issue really frustrates me. I feel terrible guilt knowing I am contributing to the dumping of trash as a secondary party.
New topic before I blow a fuse: Ship language! Did you know that a lot of ship jargon has slipped into our everyday landlubber language? Ex: "Clean slate" and "All the way to the bitter end," (the end of a line).
Oh, last night...I had lab duty from 0300-0700. My group researched sargassum, ( a really amazing seaweed: a floating biogeographical island in one clump!) I also learned more about my upcoming project. I'm researching the effect of nutrients on phytoplankton and what the distribution of phytoplankton is like with this variable. I get to look through a microscope and I get to try breaking apart the phytoplankton into separate groups: dinoflagellates and diatoms. 50 counts for 3 separate labs. Hoo boy...lot of work, but I'm actually excited! NERD.
*2316: Being outside during the entire duration of night watch is amazing. I've never seen (nor noticed) how the night sky changes, growing darker around the edges, giving birth to, at first, muted starts, which grow to full luminescence. I've never seen the milky way, though I've discussed it often in cosmology class relative to our location in it and its location in the universe. I've never seen a shooting star streak the sky. And now, I've seen all of these incredible sights.*
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I really ought to start writing my essay. It's getting late, eep. If I finish early, I'll write another blog entry tonight. Until then, good evening! And Happy Valentine's Day to my family and friends!
I wrote a long, lovely response to this, but then google deleted it. =(
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the important part was that I'm so grateful that you're sharing all of this with us. I can just almost see, taste, smell, hear, and feel the things that you describe, but only enough to get their ghosty outlines. I love that we're able to get a tiny taste of the smorgasbord of experiences that you've had.
Please keep it up! =D