by Upon waking in the morning, we proceed to dress, coat ourselves in sunscreen, and come together in the galley for breakfast, served from 7:30 to 8:30 am. Since I am not much of a breakfast person, I tend to have fruit or cereal, and coffee while others opt for eggs and bacon, omelettes, or hot cereal prepared by our chef. Following breakfast, all nine STEMSeas students gather in the ship’s library where we discuss what to expect from the day. Typically, we start with lectures from Steve, our science educator, or Joe, the lead scientist aboard the ship, and proceed to participate in science activities, such as looking at zooplankton through microscopes, documenting and categorizing different deep-sea sediment samples, and taking notes in our weatherproof journals. Time was built into our travel schedule so we could stop the ship to take samples, which Joe and Lynne, one of the ship’s technicians, walk us through on the stern of the Endeavor.
Lunch begins at 11:30 and lasts until 12:30 pm and has many options that change each day, making meals on the ship interesting, delicious, and anything but monotonous. In the galley, we eat alongside the ship’s crew, and Joe’s science team, allowing us to get to know people from a wide range of backgrounds, all willing to share interesting experiences about their lives at sea and on land. Following lunch, the STEMSeas students reconvene, continuing activities from the morning, or starting new projects under Joe or Steve’s instruction. Working in the lab is difficult when the ship is in motion; looking through a microscope when your balance is constantly shifting is definitely not easy, but it is incredibly fascinating to examine and write about samples right after they are taken. Activities like these inform STEMSeas participants of what it takes to conduct research on a vessel, and how to partake in the scientific process in ways that none of us have experienced before.
We eat dinner around 5:00 to 6:00 pm in the galley, and spend our evenings gathered together watching the sunset and stargazing. All of the STEMSeas participants get along quite well, and we have lots of fun chatting, sharing stories, and joking around. Most of us typically go to bed around 9 pm so that we are recharged and fulfilled to start early the next day. Going to sleep is somewhat of a challenge because the waves result in a constant shifting motion, but with time we have gotten used to this. We are set to dock in Barbados around 9 am on June 11th. Although I am excited to walk on land and experience some of what Barbados has to offer, I will miss spending time at sea with the amazing people I have met during my time aboard the R/V Endeavor.
Ashley Eugley | June 5th, 2019
