May the Fourth Be with You

As our expedition is coming to an end, we’re continuing to stick to similar routines for transiting in the open ocean: movie marathons. Fitting for today’s date, we’re ending the cruise with a Star Wars movie marathon with the added 4D experience of the rocking boat. Throughout the whole cruise when science wasn’t happening, we’ve had to find ways to keep ourselves from going insane. My favorite ways so far have been learning all the different card games from everyone onboard, playing one night werewolf, and of course watching movies in the 02 lounge.

The past few days there I’ve had to start packing and getting my life together after being on a boat for 2 months. I’ve started looking through all pictures on our shared drive and getting all the pictures of the icebergs, wildlife, and stories we’ve shared. Seeing this cruise through everyone’s point of view has added a sense melancholy that it’s coming to an end, especially after looking forward to being back on stable land for the past week or two. It’s the pictures of the people that have gotten to me the most, rather than the penguins or icebergs.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to look back in a few years and remember the stories we shared on the boat, along with the science. Like winning the cornhole tournament with my dad or having dance parties in the lab after packing everything away. The science has also been an amazing adventure on this cruise. I’ve seen live organisms that I will probably never see again and gone to a part of the world that few have been to. Even though there have been a few setbacks and a little less sampling than we called for, this has been a once in a lifetime experience and I’m glad I got to experience it with the people aboard this ship.
 
May the Force Be with You, Coral Halanych
University of Washington