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The Polar Bear Express

May 18 - Longyearbyen

5/18/2018

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Written sometime in September & posted on 11/18/18
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago situated between the mainland of Norway and the North Pole. In 2016, population of Svalbard was 2,667, with over 2,000 residing in the small, northern town of Longyearbyen. (Fun fact: there are approximately 3,000 polar bears in Svalbard!) The infrastructure of Longyearbyen was built primarily because of coal mining, and while mining remains a major industry, tourism and research also play a part in the economy of Svalbard.
Picture
Thanks to fellow passenger Pete Benoit for this list of facts about Longyearbyen:
  • Established in 1920 by American entrepreneur John Longyear of Boston, MA
  • Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative center of Svalbard
  • 2,200 residents from 53 nations including 35% non-Norwegians *There are more snowmobiles than people!
  • 150,00 tourists per year arrive via the harbor and the airport
  • The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was established 2008 to preserve varieties of plant seeds. It's one of 1,750 global seed banks.
  • There are fenced in children’s playgrounds to protect children from polar bears
  • University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degrees in topics relating to the Arctic including the one-year Arctic Guide Program
  • The Northern Light Observatory includes two massive satellite dishes on a peak above the town

We spent just a few hours in Longyearbyen, getting a few glimpses of how geography shapes life in this remote place before boarding the National Geographic Explorer. Click through the slideshow to read about my day in Longyearbyen!

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    Author

    As a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, I traveled to Svalbard in May 2018! Thanks to Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic for supporting teachers and encouraging us to be explorers.

    Learn more about the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship!

    Author's Note


    Some of the text shared here was written in my journal or through social media posts while I was on expedition.

    But much of the writing shared here was written in the months following my return home.


    I had this idea that I would embark on my journey and, in real time, reflect and write and create blog posts and videos and online albums and photo books and postcards. I had fantasies of sitting in the ship's library with my pen and notebook, collecting and composing what I'd seen and experienced and manifesting deep, profound thoughts.

    Yeah. That didn't happen.

    My experience was so intense, so surreal, that I had difficulty finding adequate words to describe it all. Silly, inconsequential, and unsatisfying words were all I had - great, amazing, unbelievable, incredible. At the end of each day I would try. After dinner, somewhere between 10pm and midnight, I'd make my way up to the library to write. But I would get distracted. The large, glorious, gorgeous windows were too inviting and each moment was unique. The clouds were shifting, the water was moving, the ship was in motion, the ice upon the water was drifting.
    Each and every moment was unique.

    My eyes were up and wide open. I was outside on the deck feeling the cold air and the lightly falling snow on my face. Or I was sitting on the bridge, snuggled in warmth, with a pair of binoculars looking looking looking. Oh, I tried to shift my thinking to writing something more than a bulleted list, but I just couldn't pull it off.

    To put it simply, I couldn't focus.

    I coined my condition Wonder-Induced ADD.


    It is a beautiful affliction to have.

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    This blog is dedicated to my aunt, Tina Chavez, who is always my biggest fan and supporter. When I told her about my expedition to the Arctic, she asked, "So, when do you go on the Polar Bear Express?"

    She also told me to run fast from the polar bears, but naming this blog "Run, Jen, Run!" isn't as charming as calling it "The Polar Bear Express."

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  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Think Global - Svalbard
    • The Polar Bear Express
  • Vamos Explorar!
    • Background and Inspiration
    • The Geo-Inquiry Process >
      • Student Blog Posts
    • Expeditions into New Mexico Wilderness Areas
    • Content and Curriculum Resources
  • Think Global - Finland
    • Introduction
    • Education in Finland
    • International Expressions of Global Education >
      • Global Education Concepts and Definitions
    • Case Study: Global Education in Finland >
      • Global Education Initiatives Timeline
      • Themes of Global Education in Finland
    • Curriculum Development >
      • Resources for Teachers
      • Finland Blog
    • Gratitude and Dedication
  • Think Global - Germany
    • Teach Global - Germany
  • Think Global - Colombia
    • Journal
    • Think Global Resource Guide >
      • Essential Question
      • Standards Based Global Education
      • Global Education Unit: American Indians and Indigenous Peoples of the World – Past, Present and Future
      • Digital Learning Environment Inventory
      • Local Resource Guide
      • Global Education Unit: Being American: An examination of the struggle for civil liberties for historically disenfranchised groups of Americans
      • Global Education Student Assessment Tools Inventory
      • International Project -Based Learning Opportunities
      • TGC Teacher Blogs
  • Teach Global
    • Think Global - Peru >
      • Virtual Field Trip to Peru >
        • Tasty Peru Tour
      • Peru Teacher Resources
    • Virtual Field Trip to Pakistan
    • Social Justice Heroes from Across the Americas
    • Global Leadership Odyssey Project: Introduction Videos to Students in Cartagena, Colombia
    • Colombia Lessons and Presentations
    • Schools Around the World
    • Ancient China
    • iEARN Global Learning Circle - Spring 2014
  • Chaco Canyon Trek 2018
  • Non-clickable Page