Meeting Antarctica

This post was originally published on the Osborne Cawkwell Education Blog at: http://osbornecawkwell.com/2015/01/08/meeting-antarctica/

I am lucky to have an innate sense of curiosity that fuels both my education goals and leisure activities, taking me to some rather interesting places throughout the world. Alongside a lengthy engagement with tertiary education that has culminated in a Ph.D., I also have a long-term love affair with wilderness and somehow I have found a way to merge these interests. Growing up in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, I was spoiled with choices for outdoor recreation but it wasn’t until I moved to London where I was deprived of my mountains that I realised I have an innate need to connect with the wild spaces on the globe. Finishing my doctoral thesis on the Arctic in International Relations, International Law & History opened a door to accessing the prize of wilderness places– Antarctica.

The opportunity to visit Antarctica presented itself in the form of a guest lecturing position on the polar class ship the Ocean Nova. In this role, I was situated in the intersection of roles as both expedition member and visitor. From this position I could share my polar knowledge, in the history of sovereignty and legal systems with others travelling to Antarctica by connecting this information with the environment that surrounded us. I also was able to revel in the contagious enthusiasm that the regular expedition crew had for Antarctica witnessing the passion that causes them to return year after year. Additionally, I had personal objectives to pursue: landing on that elusive white continent with my own two feet and reaching a new wilderness space.

Meeting Antarctica is an intense occasion for the senses. First, there is the mighty power of the Drake Passage, which simultaneously makes you wish you’d never joined the trip and filling you with awe and respect for the explorers who have gone before. When Antarctica is at last reached, it envelops your entire being with wonderment: one minute the sunshine is warming your skin and you’re amused by the penguins, seals and orcas frolicking in the Antarctic waters.  The next minute the sky is darkened and as the winds and snows howl around your diminutive figure, lost against the huge glaciers groaning their thunderous refrains across the bays and harbours. And the ice! It is virtually everywhere—flowing over the mountains and into the sea, reflecting intense hues of blue against the backdrop of black and white. Even after leaving Antarctica, I am still overwhelmed by surreality of the experience.

Visiting Antarctica has not diminished my curiosity for new wilderness, but has instead led to another set of questions to be answered. There is much for man to learn from Antarctica with its frozen secrets about our universe and for me to learn about my individual role in the world. Until the time that Antarctica and I meet again, I shall remember the lessons learned and find a way to again answer its siren song.