• Question: when your out discovering do you miss home and how would you get hold of someone if your in a desert or somwhere where theresno signal because i would love to keep in contact with my famliy and loved ones

    Asked by courts99 to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Hi courts99,
      I do miss my girlfriend when I’m away for a while, but usually there’s so much interesting stuff to see and do that I can keep myself distracted. I’ve actually never really been anywhere that’s been completely out of mobile signal for more than a day or two (usually, even if we’re on a volcano during the day, we’ll be staying in a nearby town in the evenings if we can).

      Sometimes, if trips are going somewhere really in the middle of nowhere they’ll take a satellite phone, but I think that’s still pretty rare.

      I guess you just have to tough it out while you are away, and look forward to seeing your friends and family when you get back.

    • Photo: Nuala Carson

      Nuala Carson answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Hey courts99,

      Not all scientist actually go out into the field and take measurements. So if you don’t want to be away from your home and family you don’t have to. most trips don’t last longer than a month which sounds like a lot but it flys when you are actually doing it! I can’t say for other scientists but when oceanographers are off on a research cruise depending on where we are we can still get internet reception and sometime phone signal so we can still stay in contact with people at home. Its funny though as the ship has to be facing a certain way to get the internet reception so we have to turn the ship round in a circle until we find it!

    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Hi courts99,

      It can be hard, especially moving away from home when you first do it, but normally the adventure and the friends you make and have, ensure you don’t miss home too much. These days with all our communication technology, the world is a small place and it’s always possible to keep in contact with people, almost anywhere. Even my friend on Antarctica at the moment can get onto Facebook and Twitter!

Comments