Log - July-16-2003 by Gerhard Behrens Previous | Next Expedition Expedition | People Nerveous anticipation I'm not on the Healy in the middle of Baffin Bay, nor am I on the ship in the St. John's harbor. I am not even in the airplane taking us to Newfoundland. For that matter, I am not anywhere near the salt water if an ocean. All that is still a few days away, but the voyage has already begun: I've been finalizing a packing list, which is about as concrete as the trip can be for me right now. Other than what I can glean from reading books about the Arctic, what I can remember from images of National Geographic-like publications, and what I have pieced together from conversations with OSU scientists, I have no idea what to expect from a month away from family, from 28 days at sea, from an intense scientific experience, and from the environment of an Arctic "summer." So, probably the biggest thing I'm taking along right now is nervous anticipation, an anxious excitement about what's ahead. It's like going to a foreign restaurant to indulge in an unknown ethnic cuisine for the first time: I'm sure of wanting to eat, but unsure of the specifics. The scientists on board have been embroiled in this cruise for years. This intense period of time on the ship is the "wedding day" after a long period of preparation, calculation, and collaboration. Their sense of excitement and anticipation is undoubtedly at a higher level.