Students On Ice live from the Arctic
Arctic Expedition 2008
By Students On Ice's Youth Contributors
Our Students On Ice's Youth Contributors share with us their Arctic experience!
By Cori Eide, Student
During breakfast I introduced peanut butter to a French guy. His first thought was, “Okay, but Nutella is much betta.” Then I had him try my toast which was peanut butter with honey as well. He thought it was “Much betta but Nutella is still good.” We also ate lunch together as well and got into the conversation of ribs and bbq sauce. “How do you eat ribs with a knife?” We told him, “You don’t, use your hands!”
One thing that I really admire about this program, SOI, is that they bring people from all over the world together and basically become family. It makes events and activities more interesting and fun than if it was just people from one country.
Today, we all went on a hike in Sam Ford Fjord. It was just beautiful and standing there, if someone had asked me to describe the scenery, I would definitely have been speechless. Tall mountains, glacier streams and waterfalls, and the fresh air which can all be found in Alaska, but just something about it was more special. Maybe it was the fact that I have found a place so similar to home elsewhere, or it could have been, well I just don’t know what it could have been. My favorite part was the smell of walking in the tundra with glacier water which many other people loved as well. Knowing that others had liked it as well had me thankful for Alaskan lands for its fresh air.
Now we are sailing back south and it’s awesome that we have gone further north than expected! We got to stop in Isabella Bay, which most would call the home of bowhead whales. There had to be 100 or so whales. We took our Zodiacs for a closer look, so close we could hear them breathing through their blow holes. Also by sailing further north we had two polar bear sightings and just the experience of the true Arctic. Right now I am looking forward to our Polar Swim, which is a jump into the Arctic Ocean!
By Elizabeth Steves, Student
Today I have been thinking about my home and the fact that soon I will have to return. It’s disheartening to think that I won’t be able to wake up every morning and see some new beautiful landscape outside my window. However, it seems like a new chapter will be opening for me when I return and I look forward to that everyday.
By Alexandra Polasko, Student
You never find out how far you can excel until you push yourself, and today I pushed myself not only physically, but mentally. As we made our way up into the Arctic, we sailed into Sam Ford Fjord. Since it was such a calm and beautiful morning, Geoff decided to let us hike around the bay after he and Johnny checked for bears. When the coast was clear we started our four hour hike. At first, Brenna, Amanda, and I started up the hill with ease, stepping strategically on dry rocks to avoid getting wet or hurting the sorrel. After a quick stop for a drink, and a picture of the amazing scenery, we headed up some pale steep rocks thinking we were going the right way to get to the glacier. This was not so. What we had actually done was climb up to the most difficult, steep, and unpredictable part of the mountain. During our desperate attempt to successfully cling to every sturdy rock we could find, jump across a raging river, and find any sign of human life, we began to talk about what we were feeling and thinking. As I thought I managed to pant out a couple of sentences. I was feeling nervous and free. I was nervous because I had never been in such an unpredictable situation that had every element of danger and excitement packed into one experience. I was feeling free because I was in charge of where I was going to go, what I was going to do, and where my next step was going to lead me. The mountain showed me that we are not in control of what our planet does, but we are merely crew members scrambling to achieve a fraction of the accomplishments that mother-nature does every day.
By Graham May, Student
Today, for the first time so far on the expedition, I had some time to allow the idea of where I am to sink in. Most of the time while you are having such incredible experiences, you never want to stay in one spot. You want to run around and see everything that there is to be seen and do everything you can do. Today I realized the importance of taking a few moments of quiet reflection, just so you can think about what you are doing, and try to remember it for later.
Today, we took a hike up a valley to a glacier in Sam Ford Fjord. It was probably the most beautiful hike I have ever taken! The barren mountains towered above me on either side, but in the valley there was considerable greenery and a river of glacial run-off water. We made it to the glacier and as I stood on it, looking down the valley towards the sea, I was lost for words. The beauty and perfection of the scene was incomparable to anything I have experienced so far, in my quite short life.
We reached the farthest north point of our expedition, roughly 71° north, today. From this point onwards we will be heading southwards, back towards the world that we are more used to. I see it as a highly symbolic point in our journey, the beginning of the end and a time for reflections and farewells.
Image credits (from top): 1) BBQ on the deck.; 2) Leaving Sam Ford Fjord.; 3) Boots on the beach.
Posted by on 08/15 at 02:25 PM