Wherever you are, don’t just stay there. Travel! And see the world as much as you can. You will be amazed at what is out there to see and learn about. You’ll also be amazed at the people you will meet. I’m flying from Boston to Reykjavik, Iceland, on my way to Svalbard. When you have a 5+ hour flight to anywhere, you’re likely to have some conversation with the person in the seat next to you. I was so lucky to be sitting next to a very nice woman from Concord, Massachusetts (that’s pronounced KonKerd, not KonKord, for you non-Bostonians). I was even luckier to NOT be sitting next to the family of little kids behind me that keep kicking my seat. (Just kidding. I love kids! I’m a teacher. Really.) "Suzy” is retired and is a volunteer at the New England Aquarium in Boston. (www.neaq.org) She, coincidentally, is also traveling to Svalbard, but on a World Wildlife Federation cruise. - That’s right. You can take a "cruise” to Svalbard. Remember, we are going as a science expedition to study the glaciers there and learn more about global climate change. Because the sea ice has retreated so much, cruise ships can go as far north as Svalbard to view the spectacular scenery and wildlife. - This is not Suzie’s first time to Svalbard, so I am able to learn more about where we are headed from this knowledgeable world traveler. Suzy began traveling at a young age. She said her father passed away when she was young and she was able to spend time with her mother traveling to different places around the U.S. "I guess that’s where I got the traveling bug”, she told me. I didn’t ask her age – I know better than to ask a woman her age – but when I told her I was from Boise, Idaho, she said, "I’ve been to the Grand Teton mountains, in Idaho. But that was in 1948, when I was a teenager.” I’ll let you do the math. I just hope I’m still traveling to exotic places when I’m that age. While we talked, Suzy told me about previous trips to Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, even the Amazon in South America. She loves traveling and she loves learning . . . learning about nature. I listened as she told a story about one cruise near Greenland where they spotted a polar bear swimming in the frigid water toward a small island. They watched the bear and saw it had a fresh seal kill and was going there to feed. "I’ve never seen zodiac boats get in the water so fast”, she said. People got off the cruise ship into small inflatable boats and moved closer to watch the bear. "We never got close enough to disturb the bear. It didn’t care if we were there or not. It’s so amazing to see wildlife in their natural environment like that.”
Keep following my journals. You’ll get to meet more fascinating people . . . as soon as I do. There will be many.