Personal questions

Guest

Dear Amy and Max,
Do you have any regrets? Are you worried about anything?

Your friend,
Shanyn

Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 43

Hi Shanyn,

I'll give my answer, and then maybe Amy will give another answer.

I don't have any regrets. I'm REALLY excited about interacting with Amy and her students, about having Amy with us when we go to the Lena River this year, and about hopefully getting some kids excited about science and the Arctic. To me the Arctic is the most fascinating place on Earth - it has an ocean, mountains, huge rivers, incredible animals like polar bears and whales and musk ox and caribou, tundra, unique and wonderful people - and it plays a very important part in the "functioning" of the whole Earth. (OK, maybe I have 1 regret. I wish we could take all of Amy's students with us!)

Working in Russia, particularly in remote locations in the Siberian Arctic, is a big challenge - and it does make me worry sometimes. I worry about airplane delays, boat problems, problems with getting our scientific equipment into Russia and to our study sites, etc. But fortunately, we have very good people involved in our project that help us will all of these challenges. For example, the TREC program is helping figure out all issues related to Amy's trip to the Lena River, and VECO (a company that supports arctic research projects) also is a very big help. And we have EXCELLENT Russian collaborators working with us - without them this would all be impossible. So yes, I do always have some worries, but then I think about all of the great people working for the success of the project and I feel better!

Your Friend,

Max

Guest

Hi Shanyn--
First of all, isn't it fun to correspond on the web? Thanks for posting this question and learning how to use this system, it will be great for communicating (hopefully) while I am in the arctic.

I don't have any regrets about this trip, although I must be honest and say that I regret that I won't be able to finish the week at Camp Keewaydin with you and the rest of the fifth graders when I leave. We will have a lot of fun the first four days though and Ms. Sessions will be great to have on the last day as well. I also will miss being in the classroom with you all for the last three weeks of school. I am hoping though that we can be together through this web page so that we can communicate a lot and that I can continue to work with you and the rest of the class to learn together while I am on the trip.

I am not worried too much about anything. I feel like Max and all the people who are planning this trip have made sure that it is going to be a safe worry-free trip. However, I must be honest and say that I am a little bit worried about flying. Although I do it all the time, I don't really like the take-offs or landings and we are going to be on a lot of different flights in some remote locations.

I also have a lot of hopes for the trip. I hope that I am able to help the scientists on this project and that I am able to learn a lot. I hope that I will be a good visitor to another country and that I will be able to leave impressions that are positive for everyone. I know that I will work really hard to make sure that is the case, but it is always a little strange to go to a new place where people have different foods, ways of dress, and customs and to try and fit in.

Thanks for your question Shanyn--do you have any regrets or worries about me going?

Amy