It’s hard to believe I’ve already been here for a week. The whirlwind has been a compilation of jet-lag, getting up to speed on my work tasks, and adjusting to what's becoming an easy rhythm on "island time". All in all I’m doing well. I’m busy, curious, and relaxed. There are tons of things I'd like to talk about (Maldivian culture, tropical weather, etc.), but I decided use this post to try to give you some insight into life at the radar and back at the hotel. Hopefully you’ll find something interesting (and if that isn’t engaging then I’ve thrown in some eye-candy to sweeten the deal).
Working at S-PolKa, in the context of the broader DYNAMO experiment, has already been one of my most engaging and stimulating learning experiences (and I’ve been in school for 21 years now - I’ve had lots of learning experiences). It’s cliche to say that you learn more by doing than reading, but I find that's definitely the case being in the field (see, I just learned more about that truism by doing it!). S-PolKa is a very complex instrument, with lots of non-traditional measurements. Learning to interpret them on the fly has really developed and reinforced my understanding of dual-polarization radars. I’ve found the back and forth, day-to-day, and minute-to-minute conversations with other scientists very fulfilling and challenging. One of my favorite things about being in the field (and away from all those tall trees in NC or buildings in NYC) is being able to visually see the weather that your instrument is observing. Part of my job here is to take hourly 360 degree cloud photos. Because of this I’m able to see how the weather is evolving during the course of the day. As a weather geek I think that’s pretty cool. I definitely don't stop, look, and think about the weather often enough. Below is a pretty picture of a line of storms that developed today right outside the radar. Pretty neat huh?
I’m staying at the Equator Village hotel/resort which is about 6 miles, across 4 islands, from the radar. I was told that the road from here to there is the longest in all of the Maldives. The hotel, developed from an old British air force base used in WWII, is a series of one-story buildings with tin roofs. The hotel grounds are incredibly lush and filled with dense vegetation (see below). It’s quite pretty. The beach is a 30 second walk from my room. I’ve been going down there in the mornings and meditating, swimming, or just sitting and relaxing before breakfast. So far that’s been my favorite thing about Gan. I’ve tried running in the mornings but even at 6 am it's muggy to the point of being unbearable. I’m looking into joining a small gym a few minutes’ walk from here (provided they have AC!).
The food is edible, but not knock-your-socks off. Every night dinner is a “theme” night, which is a source of unexpected entertainment. We’ve had “Italian”, “Chinese”, “BBQ” (which this Carolinian was very disappointed to find out meant an assortment of non-pork grilled meat), “German”, and “Caribbean” nights. They’re a little different but each meal always includes rice and fish, staples on the island. My favorite was Chinese night which featured sweet-and-sour fish, which was surprisingly good. The hotel is a major tourist center with lots of Europeans passing through, generally for about a week at a time. Given that the scientists from our project have been staying here since September we’re treated a little differently. The staff is friendly and have amazing memories (my two eggs are always ready at 7:05 am because that’s when I’ve been going to breakfast). With all the people coming and going, but us always staying behind I’ve compared it to some type of cheesy sitcom. In it we would be the main characters and the tourists would be the wacky personalities that come and go to provide a storyline. We would all the time be getting into zany adventures with them. If I can come up with a catch-phrase and a theme-song I think the WB just got its new fall classic (and me my third million $ idea).
I think that’s all for now. One week down, five to go. I’ll leave you with another snapshot of a lovely sunset in the tropics.
All for now,
Casey
No comments:
Post a Comment