It has been a really really long time since I have updated
this blog. My last post detailed my experiences in Malaysia, but shortly after
returning to Singapore, everything became extremely busy. I had a wonderful
last week in Singapore and I hope I have the opportunity to return someday. The
only day I wanted to mention in this extremely belated post was Easter Sunday.
In the morning, we went on a long hike to the highest point on the island. It
was a tough but exciting hike with monkeys racing though the treetops above us.
The hike was in the morning, so I wasn’t able to attend an Easter Sunrise
service. However, we didn’t have anything scheduled for the afternoon or night,
so I wandered to the local Baptist church. Everyone there was extremely
welcoming and friendly. The service was spoken in Chinese and English, so I
could understand it but I also had the chance to experience the local Chinese
language. The most incredible part of the service was that we sang the same
songs that I usually sing on Easter at my home church in Lake City. It made me
nostalgic for home, but also made me revel in the holiness of our God. It’s
hard to believe that two very different cultures from across the world
celebrate and worship the same God. I guess it just made me realize how
powerful and amazing He is! Praise the Lord!
After returning from Singapore, I took one more class at the
Marine Lab and then headed up to Boston to join my dad in the 100-mile
Wilderness. For those of you who don’t know, this is the northernmost section
of the Appalachian Trail and is also the most remote. Dad and I were the first
people on the trail for the season and we soon understood why. The middle
section of the trail was completely covered with snow. We tried to fight our
way through it for hours, but the trail became impassible shortly before the
halfway point. We had to turn around and take a side trail out of the
wilderness, but we definitely plan on finishing it someday!
I am currently writing this new post from the deck of the
Kilo Moana. Yep! I’m back in Hawaii for the summer version of the research
cruise that I participated in this past winter. After a hectic travel day, we
spent yesterday preparing the vessel for the upcoming cruise by unpacking
boxes, setting up the equipment, and strapping everything down. Last night, all
the scientists went out to eat, which is a tradition before embarking on each
cruise. There are fewer scientists than the last cruise, but everyone is
friendly and enthusiastic about the upcoming month. I had a blast making new
friends and catching up with the friends from the last cruise!
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| 6 a.m. sunrise on the Kilo Moana |
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| Justin and Ming performed surgery on our broken vortex |
This morning we were supposed to have breakfast at 6:30, but
I was too excited and woke up at 5:45 without even considering trying to get
back to sleep. I was super pumped to get out to sea again! Unfortunately, first
we had to stop at the fuel dock to fill up the tank. The Kilo Moana can hold
185,000 gallons of fuel and it took around 6 hours to fill her up! In the
meantime, we finalized setting up the labs and fixing the little kinks and
problems. Finally, we were all filled up and ready to sail into the sunset! The
rocking and rolling of the ship feels familiar and I hope I won’t have any
problems preparing my sea legs. So far, everything is okay! We even performed
our first CTD cast. It was just warm-up round to make sure all the instruments
were working and everyone knew what to do. I think it went well! We have one
more night of uninterrupted sleep tonight and then everything starts up for
real with 4 a.m. casts! I’m so excited! I honestly didn’t think I would be back
here again, but now that I am, I am thrilled! It will be a great month!
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| The three Duke undergrads: Justin, Me and Ming |
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| Goodbye, Hawaii! |
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