En Route to Kugluktuk: An Unexpected Canadian Tour

Posted on September 26, 2011 by admin

September 21, 2011

I arrived in Quebec City today, and got to meet all the southern participants. It was a beautiful day and we spent the afternoon walking around the old part of the city. I’m getting really excited because I got to see a lot of pictures and videos taken by someone who’s been on the Amundsen many times. I’m blown away by all the things that there are to experience in the Arctic and I feel like there will never be enough time to embrace it all. I also got to glance through the on board schedule and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow when I get to enter an entirely different universe. I’m getting up in four hours to fly to Kugluktuk, and we get to board the ship once we arrive. I’m really looking forward to settling in and getting a tour of the ship. What comes after sounds so different and exciting that I can’t believe it’s real yet.

September 22, 2011

Today was a day where I reinforced some knowledge I already had by experiencing it in real life. No – I didn’t get to do any cool experiments on the Amundsen. What I learned today was that Canada is indeed a very large country. At 6 am I took off from Quebec City and after about three hours, the airplane stopped in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut for refueling. After an hour spent in an airport with only two gates, we took off to Kugluktuk and, as we were landing, we suddenly started gaining altitude again. A little later, the captain made an announcement that there was too much fog in Kugluktuk for us to land safely and that we were going to Yellowknife. This airport was a little more sophisticated: 5 gates, a café, and Internet access. After spending three hours there, we found out that we’ll only be able to get to Kugluktuk on Saturday morning. There weren’t enough available hotel rooms for the 60 people on the flight, so they flew us down to Edmonton where I am now. All these cities seemed so far away from each other!

We’re not really worried about our expedition on the icebreaker, because the captain and most of the crew and the science team are all here with us. We will probably just have a little less free time in the evenings to get all our activities done. The scientists might have to cut down on a little bit of their sampling. In the meantime, we have tomorrow to explore Edmonton!

September 23, 2011

Today was a fun day where I got to bond with the Schools on Board group as well as the Amundsen’s crew and scientists. In the morning, we went to the Telus World of Science. In the afternoon, we had free time at the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in North America. In the evening, the Schools on Board Group met with the ship’s scientists and crew and went to the Eskimos game against the Alouettes. I think the crowd felt a little intimidated by the presence of 40 enthusiastic Montreal fans in the stadium.

We’re all tired after a long day, and we need our rest to be up early for the second attempt to land in Kugluktuk. Hopefully we get there this time. —Karen Butt’12

Schools on Board: Eager with Anticipation

Posted on September 22, 2011 by admin

LCC student Karen Butt is travelling through the Northwest Passage as a part of the Schools on Board/Arctic Net collaboration aboard the Amundsen. Here’s her first reflection.

September 21, 2011

I’m getting up in 4 hours to fly to Kugluktuk, and we get to board the ship once we arrive. I’m really looking forward to settling in and getting a tour of the ship. What comes after sounds so different and exciting that I can’t believe it’s real yet.—Karen Butt ’12

Kangaroos and Much More to Come

Posted on September 19, 2011 by admin

My first 6 days in Australia have been a completely different experience than anything I could have expected. Upon arriving here in Melbourne, Australia, after a full 24 hours of traveling, I’ve been flooded with a new lifestyle that cannot be replicated anywhere in North America, let alone Montreal!

My first night here was when I saw my first kangaroo. We were driving in the car around the countryside area of Melbourne when within 5 minutes we saw a whole group of kangaroos. There were at least 20 of them, and I was able to take some great photos, but seeing them jump around on the field was amazing.

Since the day after I arrived here, I’ve been attending Ivanhoe Grammar School‘s Plenty Campus, one of two campuses that are run by the school. Here, I’ve taken classes similar to those at LCC but the atmosphere is completely different. The school has multiple small buildings around a central courtyard where all the lockers are. It’s very different than LCC’s campus which can all be accessed indoors. The people at Ivanhoe, and also everywhere else I go, are very nice which adds to the amazing feel of Australia.

The weather has been great, but because it’s spring here, the nights are cold. Today, however, is the hottest day since last summer, reaching almost 30 degrees!

In my first six days, I already feel like I’ve experienced enough to last the next five weeks, but I know that there is much more to come. In a week, Ivanhoe takes a two week spring break and I plan on going camping with the wonderful family that I’m staying with. I’ll also explore the city of Melbourne and maybe go to the beach once or twice in those two weeks.

I’m very excited for what Australia has to offer and hope to see and experience as much as I can over the rest of my exchange period. I’d like to thank Ms. Shadley and everyone at Round Square and Ivanhoe for making this exchange happen!—Jeffrey Morris ’13

Duke of Ed Bronze Trip: New Friends, New Skills and Teamwork

Posted on September 15, 2011 by admin

This year, the grade 9 class had the opportunity to participate in an incredible experience trip that introduced us to the Duke of Edinburgh program (view photo gallery). Not only did we learn useful outdoor skills, the trip also afforded us the opportunity to bond with the 20 new students we welcomed to the class of 2014 at the start of this year.

The moment I heard that this year’s trip was taking place in Notre-Dâme de la Rouge, I knew it would be amazing. This town has already had a great impact on my life: my late uncle was the mayor of Grenville Sur la Rouge for many years.

Canoeing, tenting, hiking and skill management are all examples of the many activities included in this excursion. Grouped into pairs of houses, we had the chance to interact with new classmates and some “old ones” whom we did not know so well. Each activity consisted of a new skill, more concentration and teamwork. The canoeing activity clearly brought out the best of each advisory’s team spirit and leadership. The risk management brought out the best of our fear and concentration, and paid off with a new accomplishment. The hiking led to intense conversation and new friendships. Culminating by some astonishing waterfalls, the hike was one of the best activities of all. Last but not least, the team challenges activity helped us build new aptitudes and further developed collaboration between advisees as well as our interpersonal team skills.

Some of us were given the opportunity to sleep in tents on a separate island close by. This involved canoeing with our necessities, assembling and disassembling our tents and enjoying hotdogs and marshmallows by the bonfire.

Overall, this year’s experience trip was unforgettable. Thank you LCC for giving us the chance to dive headfirst into a new school year. —Victoria Van Ryswyk ’14

South Africa: Becoming Part of the Community

Posted on May 11, 2011 by admin

I guess I should start by saying what a wonderful country South Africa is. The people here are full of spirit and joy. My host family treats me very well and is a lot of fun to be around. The first couple of days were a little difficult but the Evans family made it very easy for me to fit right in. Tim is my exchange student. He has a sister named Giordy and his parents are Clive and Dee. I have seen quite a lot of the country already and there is much more planed.

The first week that I was here was the weekend of the rugby festival at St. Stithians, which was a perfect way to introduce me to the school. When I arrived, the school was still on break so after the rugby festival we packed our bags and went to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve. We stayed at the camp for three days and went on numerous game drives. During my stay I saw the “big five” witch includes lion, buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant and leopard. I also saw many different bucks, giraffes, zebra, monkeys and hippopotami. Next we drove to the city of Durban, which is on the coast, just north of Johannesburg. In Durban I spent most of my time surfing and sightseeing. Unfortunately when we returned to Johannesburg I got very sick and missed the first few days of school. But thankfully I got better in time for spirit evening. Spirit evening is a gathering that the students have after school where we all practice the war cries in preparation for the big game against St. Johns, one of St. Stithians most significant rivals. That weekend we watched the game and I participated in the school’s numerous war cries and cheers. That weekend I also had the pleasure to go bungee jumping at the Orlando Towers. Afterwards, I had tried a traditional South African corn-based meal called Pap.

I’ve visited many great parts of South Africa and so far am very impressed. I’m very glad I embarked on this trip and I hope that future LCC students will have the chance to go on exchange visit South Africa. –Charles Laframboise ’13