(Caption: Flight into GOH)

Meeting with new ‘Greenland Rising’ partners in Nuuk, Greenland

In the age of digital communication tools, such as FaceTime and Skype, it’s often easy to forget how valuable in-person interactions can be. A great way to keep up-to-date with college roommates and siblings abroad, it introduces additional stresses to burgeoning relationships (e.g. internet connection issues, microphone and speaker settings, etc.).

Although on the whole positive experiences, our virtual meetings with our Greenlandic partners were no different, which is why we were excited to follow Karl’s advice and visit Nuuk for a ‘kick-off’ meeting - in January! I’ve been to Thule AFB in NW Greenland in late-March before, so I had experience with wintertime at high-latitudes, but that was for airborne field work and I wasn’t sure how ‘normal’ business would be carried out with bitter cold, snow and wind, and just a few hours of daylight.

Never mind! It was fantastic! All of our new collaborators were a joy to meet, diving right in to the nitty-gritty of the project details, both broad ideas and detailed logistics. And yes the weather was fierce, but it was also fun. GINR has excellent accommodations, delicious food of both Danish and Greenlandic variety, and plenty of opportunities for exercise (groomed cross-country skiing, Greenland’s only lap swim pool, running on the roadside paths, etc.) - needless to say I had a blast and can’t wait to return!

Above is a quick overview of our working plan for this NNA, highlighting the three key components and the where and how they will be implemented in our four key communities.

Kultarnat (Culture Night) at GINR.

A joint US-Greenlandic team with the new tides …