![[Picture of Mark Doty at Lectern in Eastvold, by Chris Hunt]](02-29-08/intl/DSC00500.jpg)
Astounding Antarctic adventures
Andy Guinn
Mast International Intern
How do I describe the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen? I don’t know where to start, a common ailment among the people from my J-term class who I’ve talked to in the last month.
Since arriving back at PLU from our trip to Antarctica and Argentina, conveying our experiences has proved to be incredibly challenging. The seemingly infinite shades of blue in the icebergs, the personalities of the penguins, the power of the whales’ breath, and the graceful flight of the albatrosses all seem to escape my vocabulary.
Anyone who has studied abroad can empathize with my frustration at trying to answer the question “How was it?” and the way each response seems to get more cliché every day.
Because it wasn’t just good, just great or even amazing. It was a chance to see the world in a different way. It was a chance to feel the innocent excitement of discovery again. It was a chance to redefine my relationship with the world. It was a chance to stand in rapt awe at the power of nature and remember my insignificance in the grand schemes of the planet earth.
Now back at PLU, what seemed so clear, so imminent just a month ago, can so easily be forgotten in the daily routines of class, work and meetings. I don’t get to sit and get to know a penguin for half an hour anymore. Class doesn’t get interrupted by Orca or Humpback sightings. And there are definitely no icebergs in Parkland.
Holding on to what I saw, what I thought, and what I felt only a month ago has proved incredibly challenging so far. Pictures and conversations definitely help, but all too often this month I have found myself forgetting the things I promised myself I would remember every day.
To me, Antarctica is now the embodiment of our world: spectacular, genuine and on the verge of destruction by our modern lifestyles. I have been re-examining the way I live, and the impacts that my choices have on the world since returning home.
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Above: Left to right: Juniors Nate Hulings and Kristin Korvell, sophomore Bradley Ballinger, junior Isaac Van Mecehlen, senior Erin Fry and junior Susan Reader-Meyers explore the desert outside of Dubai. The communication class, “Peace Journalism” explored many facets of modern media in the United Arab Emirates.
Below: Members of the J-term class to London pose in front of Westminster Abbey. A group of 17 students spent the month studying the arts in London through a Communication Department class led by Professors Ed Inch and Amanda Feller
![[Headline: Integrating a global lens; Subheadline: Ever wonder the real answer to the question, How was your trip? A month later, three sojourners offer their individual analyses of study away]](02-29-08/intl/world-map.jpg)
