Today was a rainy day full of class for the SEASCape students. We woke up to a breakfast of pancakes and apples, and the rain started just before our first class. Three speakers came in during Oceanography for career day.

The image attached to this post is what led to the concept of this piece, and truly has left me at a crossroads. We just left Nikumaroro a few days ago, and I’m still wrestling with the idea that our return to Pago Pago (and effectively back home) is imminent.

We started off our day this morning early with some cereal and coffee to wake us up and prepare us for the eventful day ahead. After packing up our bags for the day trip and putting on sunscreen we were ready to depart for our whale watch in Plymouth. Sadly, that same morning, was also the time our good friend and classmate, Diego, had to leave for Illinois for All States a week before the end of SEASCape.

A Watch started the day off with only a few hours of sleep due to being on evening watch and being relieved at 0100. We were all exhausted but got to see some pretty neat bioluminescence and a stunning night sky! Upon waking up, many of us were fairly shocked to discover that we could finally see land (Cape Ann) from the deck.

It’s hard to believe an entire month has passed since the students of S- 287 landed in Pago Pago and boarded the ship that is now our home for the first time. It’s even crazier to think about coming ashore in just 8 days, and being a world away from these islands, which are some of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world.

Today was a non-academic day, so it was full of so much fun. Some of us got up this morning at nine to make ice cream in B house, but others slept in till ten. We then had a delicious brunch of eggs, bagels, bacon, potatoes, and fruit salad. After cleaning up from brunch we began our next exciting activity of the day, TIE DYE!

High winds in the morning sped the ship up to a swift 5.4 knots, a refreshing wakeup for C Watch after a good night’s sleep. B watch took the deck at 0700 after a hearty breakfast of eggs and chocolate chip pancakes. B watch started the day with a science station at the Wilkinson Basin, deploying the CTD to a depth of 200 m – our deepest drop yet! Data was processed by C Watch in the afternoon.

Today was Saturday, and we woke up to eggs, banana bread, and frozen grapes. After breakfast, we all gathered in the Madden Center for a group watch meeting, where we learned to tie monkey’s fist knots (some were more successful than others).

B Watch got a lazy start to the day after a night watch from 1900 to 0100. Many of us slept through breakfast and woke up with a little time to hang out on deck together before going to lunch. We finished off a very delicious lunch of couscous with sweet potato and tahini sauce and grabbed our harnesses to go on watch.

We started our day off with a fantastic breakfast of banana bread, eggs, and fruit followed by team building activities at watch meetings. We may have struggled with these activities at first, but we eventually figured it out. Before we knew it, it was time for class.