August 2, 2008

Ottawa, Canada:

Update - 9:44 AM

Good morning! The Students on Ice - International Polar Year Arctic Youth Expedition 2008 is officially underway!

Students began arriving late last night and early this morning. By early this evening, the majority of our student and chaperone participants will have arrived here in Canada's Capital City for two days of pre-expedition activities!

Despite the long hours on planes, trains and automobiles, everyone here is in high spirits - and the SOI Welcome Centre at Carleton University (where our Team is staying) is starting to buzz! Students, chaperones and educators from around the world are all meeting for the first time over cereal and pancakes!

For our students, this journey began months or even years ago. The stories of how everyone has come to be a part of this expedition are as diverse as they are fascinating and inspiring. Some students have been doing endless fundraising. Some have won contests. Some have been selected and sponsored to participate through various programs around the world. It is great to finally put faces to names after so many months of preparation. It is fascinating to see how dreams can and do come to fruition.

So here we go . . . So much lies ahead! Adventure and discovery await! We look forward to sharing our journey north with each of you.

Late night update!

It was a busy day today with students, chaperones and educators flying in to Ottawa from all over the world. Despite the odd delayed flight or lost piece of luggage, everyone made it happily and safely to Ottawa (and all the luggage was found!). Thank you to our numerous SOI drivers and volunteers who met the students at their arrival gates and accompanied to them to Carleton University to join the group.

By dinner time most of the group had arrived and it was time for the first SOI briefing of the expedition!

Briefings are a regular activity on board the ship! They are key for helping participants prepare for daily activities, landings qnd various elements of the education program. We do post-landing briefings to give students the opportunity to share impressions and to give educators the opportunity to discuss things that the team saw and experienced during the day.

But tonight's briefing was more of an official welcome by SOI Founder, Executive DIrector and Expedition Leader Geoff Green. It was a chance for the whole group to introduce themselves and to share some of the amazing stories that led them to joining the SOI-IPY Arctic Youth Expedition 2008. With over 100 participants from 11 different countries - bringing together a broad range of languages and cultures - the reasons were all very different, very personal and very exciting and inspiring! Our youngest participant is 13 year old Megan Harrington and our most "senior" is Dr. Don Walsh - Oceanographer extraordinaire and one of the Time Life's Top 100 Adventurers of the 20th Century! This is Don's third expedition with SOI and he's a youthful 77 years old this year!

There was a great buzz in the room, lots of laughter, excitement and energy. After a day of icebreakers, deinhibitizer activities and meals together, a nice camaraderie is settling in!

Geoff talked about how so few people on the planet have ever heard about - much less experienced! - the things that these students are about to experience. Smelling the Arctic Ocean, hearing the breath of a bowhead whale, zodiac cruising along 3000 ft. birdcliffs, sharing a traditional meal in an Inuit community, and meeting students from around the world!

Several key SOI mottos were discussed. The first, "Flexibility is the Key!" refers to the absolute knowledge that things will change during the expedition. Ice may inhibit us from entering a bay, a pod of whales may interrupt our dinner, and luggage does get lost!

"Good Karma!" is the another SOI motto. A positive outlook is key on these expeditions! It was agreed last night that this group has GREAT Karma! It really is an extraordinary group of young people!

By 10:00 PM curfew had arrived and it was time to turn in! Tired, but excited students trudged off to their rooms for the night!

Stay Tuned for Further Updates!