Wow. What an amazing opportunity this has been, I can’t believe that it is coming to a close. We pulled into shore earlier today and I am already on a bus to school.
Last night, I was up till 2am finishing up a project, and I went up to the bridge and watched as the 2nd mate and an OS steered us into the harbor to wait for the tide to change in the morning. It was a beautiful and peaceful site. I could hear the haunting clangs of the bells on the buoys in the night, and watch the rhythmic turning of the light houses on shore. I had never expected how peaceful sea would be, but every night for the past week we have had the most beautiful sunsets. Whenever people ask me about my time, I think one of the first things I mention will be the sunsets, as they are breath-taking. I have always been impressed by their beauty, but seeing them every night with no obstructions was incredible.
It felt natural to be back on shore, with the exception of walking out of the ET lab to be greeted with a tour group staring at me rather than the open sea. Being back at WHOI felt so normal, and we were able to get everything done with enough time to chill with the interns before I got on the bus to head back.
The past week I worked on the standard maintenance as well as inventorying all the ET cables in the hold.
Last night almost all of the interns and Bruce played a board game all together, it was a really nice way to decompress and to bond before we all headed our separate ways.
I feel so accomplished and amazed at all that I’ve done, this feels like it was a once in a life time opportunity, but I so hope that its not. The community of scientists, pilots, and engineers that I got to work with was so incredible and confirmed for me that this is the place where I want to end up.
Again, thank you, thank you, thank you