Home sweet home

Though I have been back for a few weeks already, I thought I’d do one last post – sorry it’s so late in coming, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in work since I got back.

The last few days on the ship were fairly uneventful, filled with many powerpoint presentations, delicious cookies, and general lounging about. On Friday, the last day of scientific operations, we had a big celebration in the evening. We, scientists and students, served supper to the crew and officers, and I had the special duty of “serenading” them with some rousing fiddle tunes. Much to my delight, I discovered that the head scientist, Sam Bentley (whom I must add is the absolute picture of a seafaring man), is also accomplished in the field of traditional stepdancing. We did a few classic numbers; Whisky Before Breakfast, St. Anne’s Reel, etc. and everyone was in high spirits late into the night (I’m sure the wine had nothing to do with it…).

Steaming down the St. Laurent towards Quebec, we encountered some monstrous waves, much to my stomach’s dismay, and I was once again confined to bed for an entire day, where I became extremely familiar with the back of my eyelids.

The day of our arrival in Quebec City was very merry; many of the scientists had been on board for months without seeing their family or friends. We could see Quebec for a long time before we actually arrived; a hazy silhouette of skyscrapers and old cathedrals.

When we finally got to the dock, there was a small crowd awaiting us, and the ship pulled up so close, we could have stepped right off the boat, if it wasn’t completely illegal. When they finally lowered the gangplank, it looked quite comical; as we were right against the shore, it reached past the people far into the parking lot. Nonetheless, the captain looked very smart in his fancy uniform as he disembarked, followed by the officers, and then us, the lowly crew.

As the scientists and crew greeted their loved ones, we Schools On Board students stood close together, watching and feeling a little lost. It was actually quite touching to watch some of the reunions taking place around us; one of the crew met his new baby boy, born while he was away, for the very first time. David, one of the scientists, was immediately set upon by his four very excited little daughters. It definitely made me realize what kind of sacrifices these scientists have to make to carry out their research. People who claim that scientists are “a bunch of quacks” who are “in it for the money” are themselves quacks, and should go do something good for the world rather than ignorantly accusing those who are doing so.

After saying our goodbyes to the scientists, we took a walk around touristy but beautiful Old Quebec, enjoying the stillness of the ground underfoot. Rosalie, one of the girls on the trip, lives in Quebec City, and she showed us around in classic “Rosalie” fashion; saying, as she points to the ruins of an old stone house, “Dis eez my family’s winter cottage…”, gesturing to the fireplace, “…here eez where we like to sit and shoot toureests.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, or in mine and Rebecca’s case, getting embarrassingly lost and having to get out the map, instantly labeling us as tourists (as if the camera around the neck wasn’t enough of a giveaway). We had supper at the Cochon Dingue (Crazy Pig) and then went back to the ship for the night, where we went to bed at 10:30 for the first time in the history of our 10:30 bedtime.

Bright and early in the morning we went to Rosalie’s school to do a presentation we had prepared together while on board the ship. It went splendidly well (standing ovation!), but our success was quickly overshadowed by the exciting prospect of more shopping, so we quickly hurried to the mall, where we spent the afternoon. We had our first goodbye that afternoon; we had to bid farewell to Mandy, Germaine, Jobey, and Caitlyn, all of whom were headed back to Labrador. That first goodbye was the most difficult; it suddenly set in that we really had to leave eachother, that this incredible experience had to end. And so it was a very subdued group that headed back to the ship to collect our bags.

The remainder of our group spent our last night together in a beautiful old hotel, where we attempted to stay up all night. My memories of that night are somewhat hazy, due to exhaustion and shock at the prospect of saying goodbye in the morning. I do seem to remember walking around Old Quebec at midnight wearing pajamas and steel-toed boots, and eating sour skittles (which, by the way, are not at all sour). Around three o’clock in the morning we said our goodbyes to Quebec with coke and mentos, and then we all slept for a couple of hours before heading off to the airport.

This whole experience has been truly, truly amazing; I have learned more in two weeks than I would in two months at school, made a horde of new best friends, and completely fallen in love with the Arctic. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity, and thank you to all who helped to make it possible, and to those who posted comments while I was on board; you can’t imagine my excitement – oh my goodness, people actually read my blog – at reading them. Thank you thank you thank you and I wish you all a Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas.