Sailing, Science, Sisterhood
on Board eXXPedition,
Day 4 and Home Again
Catch up with Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3!
I can’t believe it’s already the last day. I feel as though
I’ve just met all of these amazing, powerhouse, badass women and, just as we’re
really getting to know each other, it’s time to go. Everyone has amazing ideas
for action already, and I’m still mulling mine around.
There will be time for sadness later, we’re up early to do the
Science we missed out on yesterday! It’s our last round of sediment grabs,
Manta trawls, and Niskin bottles. We’re sailing against the wind, and I still
don’t have sea legs. I watch Maggie and Sophie move with grace and ease while I’m
still stumbling like a dog in a car. Also, I notice my seasickness has lessened.
Perfect timing.
Anyway, it finally happens, the moment I’ve been dreading.
We’re doing some science and I’ve got to shift around the other girls. I try to
step over a line and the yacht catches a wave, tripping me. I land on my hands
and knees (small mercy!) and slide across the slippery deck, my hands crashing
into the lip on the edge of the deck. I’m glad I stayed clipped in.
Before we go, we each write cards echoing the strengths we
shared the night before. I write too big and take up a lot of valuable space. I
love this exercise- I’ve done it with girls many, many times. I have every
single one of them saved. My new eXXpedition card is hanging on my mirror.
These are a treasure.
And suddenly, it’s come to an end. We must pack our bags,
pack ourselves into the dingy, and bring the adventure to a close.
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| Talking to some VIPs |
Maggie, Sophie, and Anna pack us one final lunch and we head
ashore. We’re greeted by members of the Antigua tourism board and maritime
registry, who are interested in the work we’re doing- both to clean the ocean
and to advance women in STEM. I accidentally drop a “shit” bomb, but one of the
head honchos Katarina, laughs me off and hands me her card. Each of us talks
briefly, but passionately, about what we have seen. They gift us rum (!!!) and
travel goodies.
Immediately after, I get a fresh berry smoothie- I haven’t
had fresh fruit in DAYS. We sit on the marina and eat our last veggie,
potato-heavy lunch. I’m really going to miss our communal meals.
It’s time to head out to our presentation at a local primary
school. We’re all in matching shirts- peak after-school special time. The
children drag chairs out from their classrooms and set up in neat rows under a pavilion.
I’m tasked with talking about the mission. I work with tweens and teens- little
ones are out of my expertise. I notice some older girls in the back and decide
I’m going to imagine talking to them.
I step up to talk and I instantly feel at home, using my booming
voice and big hand gestures to tell the kids all about what we’re doing:
sailing around the world to research ocean plastic AND show the world what a
group of women can do! One of the girls nudges her friend, who brightens up. “You
could be on the next mission!” I tell her. “We need girls just like you!”
Leah, the ever patient and sunny teacher, gets them excited
about the ocean. In an island nation like Antigua, nearly every student has a
connection to the ocean. They grow up fishing, swimming, and snorkeling, and
their families’ livelihoods most likely comes from fishing or tourism.
Lara breaks down the difference between plastic like that in
the medical field and single-use plastic, like the kind that lines a coffee cup
or makes a plastic bag. She shares that single use plastics don’t ever break
down, they break apart until they’re microscopic….and basically, they’re in
everything.
The children ask questions- they’re so incredibly astute and
curious. It’s one of the reasons I love working with youth. They’re accepting
and willing to make change. They’re passionate about injustice and unfairness. They
want to help right wrongs. No one has a better sense of what it fair than a
teenager.
We encourage them to, whenever possible, forgo plastic and
reuse when they can. These are simple steps that children can do and feel proud
of doing. One of the older girls in the back waves her metal straw, jokingly chastising
her friend for having a Starbucks-type cup.
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| Look out, we're coming! |
Of course, we end by singing the song and encouraging the
kids to sing with us. Somehow, I’m in the middle so a lot of the kids are
looking at me. At least, it feels that way. I can’t sing a note, but I’m
enthusiastic, and everyone else’s voices are so lovely that it blends into a
beautiful melody. I refrained from busting out the tambourine- I have less
rhythm than I do singing talent. Some of the kids sing with us, and some sing
on the way back to their classrooms.
Jeanine is the Rockstar here- she wrote a children’s book
about the earth and shows it off to a group of the kids. They love her instantly
and she hugs all of them. One of the older girls comes up to Kristen and me,
saying she’d like to be on our mission- no one else’s. She tells us about how
she rescued some ocean life stuck in a net and wants to be a marine biologist.
Kristen gets misty-eyed. I want to teach her everything I know. She hugs us
both and we take selfies. The future, I tell you. I hope against hope that
these sharp little ones never lose their passion and curiosity.
We opt to walk back down the hill, to the marina to pick up
our bags. Now it’s really an afterschool special, a group of similarly dressed,
mostly white women, one with a tambourine, walking down a street. Or some sort of
mission....or a cult. The same roads that I praised for their cleanliness earlier, I notice
are dotted with trash- tin cans, cardboard, some plastic. Still, they’re
cleaner than my neighborhood.
Jeanne convinces us to stop at a cute little café for
Christmas juice, made with sorrel from the hibiscus plant. It’s one of the last
moments we’ll all be together.
Back at the marina, most of us head up for dinner at the
yacht club. The waitress, a Canadian, tells us about some of the poaching
horrors she’s seen and heard. It’s a stark reminder that we’ve returned to reality,
out of the optimism bubble. “You must’ve gotten close,” she says, about our
days at sea. I look around, “I think I have seen all of these women naked,” I
reply.
Sally laughs at us, excited for cheese and pina coladas, saying
we couldn’t survive an ocean crossing. Not in a mean way- she thinks we would
surprise ourselves with our resilience (agreed)- but that we’re pretty soft
when it comes to food. I mean, where’s the lie, Sally?! We pour Antiguan rum
into our pina coladas and cheers.
As we’re settling the bill, reality finally hits. This is
really it.
“I feel so lucky to have known you all,” I start. “It seems
so unfair that our paths just crossed and now we all have to leave. I really,
truly have learned so much from everyone, and I want to stay in contact, OK?” I’m
finally crying, Jeanine laughs, and welcomes me to the soft side.
I see Jeanne
and Leah the next day, at a swim up cocktail bar where we drink strong rum
punch and pick at boat-delivered truffle fries. It’s a birthday celebration- my
actual 31st.While we’re floating at the bar, a (American expat man)
keeps touching my shoulder, even though I ask him to stop, because I’m still
sunburned. He apologizes, but keeps doing it, because “it’s my birthday!” Real
life is the pits. Where’s my all-woman bubble, damn it? I’ve been so
wonderfully isolated the last few days. On the way out, the waitress kisses my
cheek and thanks me- us- for the work we’re doing.
I spend my long trip home reading and reflecting. Everywhere
in the airport, I see plastic. Most of it seems so unnecessary. It’s all going
to be tossed away within minutes, recycled if we’re lucky, and then who knows
what will become of it. It’s excessive and staggering, like suddenly blinders
have been taken off and I see everything for exactly what it is.
On the phone, my mom sighs a resigned sigh when I tell her
that she’s eating microplastic, without a doubt. She is incredibly health conscious
and I know this news bothers her. I have a long layover in New York and spend Thanksgiving
with friends. One asks me if Number 5 plastic is recyclable. When I’m finally
home, my boyfriend picks me up, with the dog in tow. It’s nice to be back. The
first thing I do, after I take a real shower, is clip my nails.
As soon as I stepped off the boat, I started to evaluate my
own life choices and see where I can make changes. If we’re going to eat meat,
we can at least buy sustainable meat from the farmer’s market. I can bring my
own cup to the coffee shop and carry reusable products. I make it a mission to
learn more about our recycling programs too. There must be a way to pressure my
“progressive” local government to make changes. And believe me, companies are
going to get an inbox-full when I see excessive plastic packaging. My changes
help, but we need sustainable, big changes too, from governments and
corporations.
It’s daunting and it really feels like the beginning of
something wonderful. I know we’re unstoppable.
-----
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| Bye for now <3 |
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