I've just seen the northern lights for the first time; a long, thin, green ribbon of haze slowly spreading out above the lights of Fairbanks and then dissolving into the blackness of the 5 degree night air. Rather than being awestruck and excited, I get an overwhelming sense of peace. It's 10 pm on Sunday, February 7, and it's been a long weekend.
Leaving Friday Harbor for Seattle on the 8 am ferry yesterday, I was reasonably certain that our week of PolarTREC orientation training would be thorough and even grueling. It's not every day that I get flown to Alaska to join a group of 15 talented, innovative, and inspiring educators and I was fairly certain that the PolarTREC staff would want to make the most of our time here. I was right. Our agenda for the week is 14 pages long. Meeting my cohort for the first time this morning was a little intimidating but also motivating. There is decades of teaching experience within the group, even Presidential teaching awardees and Einstein fellows. There is so much potential to learn from these people and I am grateful to have been brought here to meet before we disperse into the field over the next 12 months.
Hearing about my acceptance to the program was certainly thrilling. I've been focused on learning as much as I can about sea spiders and polar gigantism since I found out. Arriving in Fairbanks and getting this show started has, strangely, pushed Antarctica from the front of my mind. I'm really interested in the opportunities for learning and collaboration that will develop as the week progresses.
Comments