Anyway, my unsolicited relationship advice is that relationships are not competition. It's not about being in control or being a zero-sum game. That is a dangerous mindset because it prevents you from deeply connecting with another person. Sure enough, you can blame the other hypothetical person (I know you are single LOL) for being "manipulative" or whatever adjective you want to use. However, by always acting like that, you are robbing yourself of having a meaningful relationship.
Now, about comments wondering about the nature of the archeological expedition... I have no clue, sorry! =P
However, I do have an idea about what biologists do -- even though I am not a biologist myself. When I was doing my master's degree back in Brazil, I met a girl who was doing her master's in biology and her supervisor used to do expeditions to the jungle to collect data. Data in this context can mean from actual sensor data to organic samples. Anyway, she told me about some of her experiences and why she decided to stop that kind of research and work on something else.
Before continuing that story, I have to note that researchers
should have long-distance communication devices that use satellite connections so they always have an emergency hotline. After all, they are
not "treasure hunters"; they are employees working on the field, so their safety must be ensured. Not all universities have the same access to all sorts of equipment, though, so let's leave this topic at that.
Continuing. So this girl went to the jungle with other graduate students to do research. They hired a local "material" (literally a "jungle man") to guide them so they could avoid being lost. She said that she was afraid of meeting some venomous or poisonous animal, but her biggest fear was of meeting... People. More specifically, meeting illegal hunters who would rather kill her than risk being denounced to the authorities.
Moving on, her research group had placed some cages in the jungle a while before and they went there to check them. And as she was getting back to her camp, she saw a (un)friendly snake. My memory fails me (it's been some 10 years ago LOL -- yeah, me old!), but I believe it was either an "
Urutu-Cruzeiro" or a "
Jararaca-Cruzeiro" -- I only remember the term "cruzeiro", lit. "cross-shaped", referring to the cross-like pattern on its head. Anyway, there was the snake and the doubt: is this the
real poisonous snake, or the
false relative that looked similar but wasn't poisonous? She didn't have much time to observe because the snake was going towards her and she was occupied panicking.
I am sorry to let you guys down but I forgot if she managed to outrun the snake or if the
mateiro scared the snake away. Anyway, she was lucky because it was the real snake. She could have died there, because even though they had the means to call for a helicopter, who knows how much time it would take to get there?
So, yeah, this experience -- and the fact that one of her seniors was a girl full of scars from insect bites, which she didn't want for herself -- made her finish her field research as soon as possible and rethink her career.
So, yeah, I think it's pretty reasonable of him to be concerned with her safety. I also think it's reasonable for the university to not disclose personal information to unrelated parties. Archeology expeditions don't sound like the safest kind of job either. There are treasure hunters everywhere, and don't start blaming small countries for not having resources to combat that, or for being corrupt; everyone is guilty of maintaining this terrible system -- yes, I am looking at you,
The British Museum...
[edit] Oh, and don't forget the pandemics! Anyone would feel anxious knowing that a loved one went on a trip, hasn't contacted you, and is 10 days late. Right when lockdowns are beginning to happen.
Why should you believe me? Because you want to. Or you don't. Anyway, have a good day.