On the last night of the voyage, I stood outside looking at the stars with another student. We were talking about leaving the boat and what we would miss from the voyage. She said that it was weird that we had to go back to being "land people" after we had been "boat people" for so long. It sounds strange to say but it captured exactly how I felt.
65 days on a research vessel was long enough to build a routine that looks very different from my normal life. I knew that every day, I would eat beans on toast for breakfast and chat with the kitchen staff about the weather. I would complete my work tasks, like coding on my computer, launching weather balloons, and collecting filters and water samples. I knew that when I walked into the lab in the morning, I would be greeted with “Hellos!” from the carbon team before they jokingly told me I was late to work (since they had been on shift since 2 a.m.). I knew that my downtime would be filled with Bananagrams, doing the crossword with the physical oceanography team, and playing some ping pong. Leaving all that behind felt bittersweet. I felt sad that the voyage was over because it was something that I had felt so much anticipation for and so many people had put lots of planning into.
However, leaving the boat also meant getting to do so many of the things that I love.
