Traffic Jam!
January 14, 2005 | 18:30

Unnamed Island in Mikkelsen Harbor

Dear Journal,

Today started out dreary, but turned into a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the water was calm. While we were ashore on an unnamed island (now called Eckerdia) in Mikkelsen Harbor our entire group participated in a leadership exercise called traffic jam. Hammer put us into two teams of five people with each team facing each other. Each team member stood in a line one behind the other with a space between the two teams. The object was to get all five people from one side to the other by only stepping in the space and only passing someone of the other team. The time to beat was fifteen minutes and we were able to do it in five. It showed that communication within a group is very important in order to get a job done right the first time. It did take us a few tries to get it right, but we thought it through, tried a few things and worked together as a team to accomplish our objective. This exercise made me stop and reflect on our interactions with the penguins. Getting from point A to point B, we get stuck in a traffic jam unless someone, the tourist, thinks ahead and moves out of the way to allow all parties, penguins and people, to win. See the traffic jam in action

Rocking 20 Degrees Each Way
January 11, 2005 | 15:30

Aboard the M/S Andrea in the South Atlantic

Dear Journal,

"With teamwork anything is possible, even figuring out how to stop cabinet drawers from slamming at 4 in the morning, half asleep w/ the ship rocking 20 degrees each way."

The Drake Passage is much rougher than I thought it would be. I thought I was going to fall out of bed a few times last night. I guess it takes a few days to get your sea legs. The rooms are a little too warm for this amount of rolling, but the air outside is crisp and cool, perfect for taking the queasiness away. Except for the occasional spilled drink and walking into walls due to the rocking, it's been a piece of cake and I'm really looking forward to seeing ice. I've seen a few albatross already, but no whales yet; I'm still looking. As soon as we get near land we'll see them. That's all for now. Antarctica here we come.

About Winter Term in Antarctica

About the M/S Andrea

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