Journals from the week ending September 13, 1996
The World is My Classroom
by Michelle Lanteigne
9/7/96, onboard Concordia...School on the Concordia consists of eleventh and twelfth students as well as post-graduate students. School in the middle of the ocean is very different than school on land, it is an entirely different educational experience. Some of the courses offered revolve around our environment. The Concordia has their own newsletter organized by the journalism class. There is a marine biology class where students have plenty of opportunity for hands-on work. An anthropology course where different cultures are studied and experienced every time we visit a new port. There are also regular high school courses offered so we can complete academic requirements like math, social studies and physical education. It is a complete hands-on experience that is so different from being in a school building on land.
Unlike schools on land, sometimes our classes are interrupted for a swim call. A swim call is where classes are canceled so we can swim in the ocean. Often we have dolphin breaks where we take time out of class to watch the dolphins or other marine life in the ocean.
You learn a lot just by living on a ship with thirty other classmates, sharing rooms the size of a walk-in closet, cooking, cleaning, etc. All of the hard work done onboard is worth that one moment in the day when you can look out at the horizon and watch the sun set over a new land. Life onboard is a learning experience in itself.
Arriving in the Galapagos
by Anne Woomer
9/10/96, onboard Concordia...Although we arrived almost 24 hours ago, I still find it hard to believe that we are in the Galapagos Islands! We sailed south through the Isabela Channel yesterday, on our way to Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz, and we were flanked on both sides by beautiful volcanic islands the entire time. This place is like no other I have experienced--cool (sometimes cold), dry, almost desert-like islands, yet sitting right on the equator. These are not your standard tropical paradises!
While sailing yesterday, and looking out over the rail, it dawned on me that this is, in fact, the port that I have been looking forward to the most. This place is a marine biologist's dream, full of sea life beyond one's wildest imagination. On top of that, I am fascinated by the idea of following in Charles Darwin's footsteps, approaching the islands as he did on the Beagle around 150 years ago, knowing that some things have changed little since his visit. Yesterday was our first free afternoon at sea, and a few hours on deck allowed me to think about my anticipation for the first time in a while. It is very easy to lose track of some of your thoughts while on board Concordia, simply because there is always so much to do!
I have found, after about a month on board, that I really love being the Director of this program. It is truly exciting to be out here with 32 high-school students and eleven other adults and to be leading one of the greatest adventures each of us will ever have. I am constantly challenged by the ups and downs of shipboard life, school, and land programs, but I am also regularly rewarded by the smiles of students who would rather be here than anywhere else on earth.
Right now, I am on board my floating home, surrounded by my newest family, in one of the most unique places on the face of the earth! There is no place I would rather be than right here. Tomorrow we go ashore to learn about giant tortoises, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and scores of other fantastic Galapagos creatures. It is mind-boggling how fortunate we all are...
Ocean Challenge / e-mail: ocean@oceanchallenge.com / Class Afloat '96-'97
(c) Copyright 1996, Ocean Challenge