Rebecca’s Reporter’s Notebook #4: What I Learned in the Arctic
Evening in the settlement of Tiniteqilaaq, East Greenland. Photo Credit: Rebecca Hersher
By Rebecca Hersher
It’s funny, the things I originally planned to learn during this reporting trip. They were the most vague, grandiose lessons, as if, in a few months, I’d magically master things that have eluded me for decades. I’m going to learn how to motivate myself to write without deadlines. No, no you’re not. I’m going to learn how to be self-sufficient when I’m traveling alone. Nope, not true. I’m going to learn how to not be afraid of people I don’t know. It’s a lie!
So, when the folks who run this fellowship asked me what I learned, I cringed a little inside. I wanted to say I still procrastinate while I worry about how to ask people I’m afraid of for help. I have learned nothing.
But, of course, that’s not true either. I learned a lot of crucial-but-not-very-sexy things. Here are some of them.
Lesson #1: Your local colleagues are everything.
The first thing I did when I arrived in Greenland was hire a fixer (interpreter/translator/local guide). Actually, I hired three. Different dialects, enormous distances -- in each town I went to, I needed a different person to translate for me. Some of the people I hired were more experienced or better-suited to the job than others. One person I worked with did not know the English verbs to go or to do, which turned out to be a real problem for interviews about where people went or did. Turns out most interviews are basically about people going places and doing things. Another person was a clear translator, but got very nervous during interviews and began to sweat intensely. Needless-to-say, this was distracting.
It’s all kind of funny, except there is nothing more important than your local colleagues. If your fixer is struggling, then you’re struggling. It took me weeks in Greenland to realize something really basic: translating between Greenlandic and English is extremely difficult. The grammar and vocabulary are really different. Slowly, I realized what a more experienced person would have known right away: I needed to hire different people. By the end of the trip, I was working with people I trusted and, together, we reviewed every interview word by word, to make sure I understood exactly what had happened.
Arctic char drying outside a home in Tasiilaq. Photo Credit: Rebecca Hersher
Lesson #2: Whatever it is, eat it.
Here’s the thing – some people like to try new foods. And some people are like me – uninspired and vaguely monastic about my eating when I’m at home. I’m talking to you, boring eaters. When you’re traveling, eat what’s put in front of you. Not sure how raw narwhal skin will react with your delicate constitution? Put it there and find out. Revolted by the smell of seal? No better way to move past it than to ingest it. Unsure what a musk ox is? Take a bite and ask your host.
Lesson #3: Write it down.
It sounds dumb, but one of the things I learned was how to take better notes. Which mostly means taking more notes – in notebooks, on my computer and phone, out-loud into my audio recorder or in photos of signs and faces. The key, for me, was finding an equilibrium where I was documenting as many details as I could without turning into a manic note-taking machine who made the people around me uncomfortable. I found that taking shorthand notes throughout the day and then writing every night worked really well, but it took me weeks to figure that out.
Lesson #4: Walk out the door.
I arrived in Nuuk in the evening. It had been 28 hours since I left my home in Baltimore, and I felt like dehydrated putty. Nuuk at night felt like the moon. I found the apartment where I was staying, and fell asleep immediately. The next morning, I woke up at 9:00 AM. It was dark. I made a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table, thinking about everything I needed to do. The next day, I was leaving Nuuk for Ittoqqortoormiit, above the Arctic Circle. Before I left the US, I had written a to-do list in my notebook.
Buy SIM card
Change money
Get bus pass
Find taxi to airport
I stared at the list. I was irrationally terrified. At that moment, it felt like if I walked out the door, I might be lost forever. For two hours, I walked around and around the apartment. Into the bedroom, out of the bedroom. Into the kitchen, out of the kitchen. I checked the clock. I looked at my service-less phone. I tried to read a book, but I was too distracted by the to-do list, and the time ticking away. 11:30 AM. Noon. 12:15 PM.
I walked into the hallway and looked at the parka I had bought just for this trip. It was expensive, guaranteed to keep me warm all winter. I put it on. I found my boots. I wrapped a scarf around my face and tucked my keys into my pocket and walked out the door. —RH