Antarctic Reflection Blog: Jessica Wadhams-Mountain
I’m currently studying Kinesiology at Vancouver Island University. My main focus was to pursue something in the sciences, but this trip has helped me want to shift into public health or more into the tourism side of my degree. Out of school that’s what I usually focus on, so it is weird that I didn’t see that until this trip. I’m truly grateful for everything that came out of this trip for me. Every day was perfect and all the people I met helped me see myself as who I am and what I’m capable of doing.
I learned a lot about myself on this trip; the best thing I learned is to be in the moment by disconnecting from my media to reconnect with the ones around me. There was some wifi on the ship, but I knew I would get trapped with what else is happening in the world rather than see where I am. When I was able to detach from my phone I was able to meet some amazing people. I was able to fully show who I am to people from all around the world. I learned I am more than a “like” on Facebook and that making a real connection is better than an Instagram follower.
There was one day when I was a tad grumpy but we had a zodiac ride that completely brought me out of it. The ride started off really nice as we explored but the waves started to pick up and we all were getting soaked from the splashing. The waves hitting us made me realize how nature is so fascinating, and while we were getting splashed and as the high winds gave us all windburn, there was a moment where I closed my eyes for a few seconds and really valued that moment. This experience gave me a better understanding that I want to pursue the tourism aspect of my kinesiology degree.
My favourite wildlife encounter was seeing my first leopard seal. I personally thought my excitement for the penguins was extreme until I saw the seal. Just the way it looks like the closest thing to a real-life sea monster, and how it swims from point A to point B in a matter of seconds. I first saw the leopard seal travelling back to the ship. His head popped up then went back under, and when his head popped back up again he was at least 40 metres away, so fast that some people didn’t even see it. It felt that in the moment his head was the full size of my body – but I believe I’m overexaggerating.
On the science boat, I also learned that phytoplankton contribute to over half of the earth’s oxygen and they’re the base of the food web. Phytoplankton provides food for Antarctic krill and ultimately penguins, seals, and whales. With waters warming, it may have a major impact on the phytoplankton.
I loved every single moment with our SOI delegation as well. Everyone had a different impact on me throughout the trip and being with them made me feel like I just heard my favourite song for the first time. The energy was so safe, that I spent the full 20+ days with my heart open. I can’t name a moment that I would change. All nine of the other delegates became my instant family, they will be in the stories I tell for the rest of my life. There is no other feeling I can describe besides feeling like I belong when I’m with them.
My favourite part of the trip was the people I met and the relationships I made. I loved the crew and built genuine connections. I also loved learning about my fellow delegates. I think that’s important because you can have shared experiences with people and also have your name networked all around the world. My favourite thing to do on the ship was to learn who everyone was. I’m the type that only remembers certain memories because I shared them with someone rather than being by myself. I loved learning everyone’s stories and they loved hearing mine. I even met someone that has visited my hometown recently and we built a bond even though he was five years older than me.
The most interesting person I met on the trip was a woman that worked as a politician for 23 years. She said she loved her job but she also was only working so she could travel on her time off. In 2019 she made the hard decision of going back to school for tourism so she can pursue her passion for travelling. She took it upon herself to take as many classes as she could so she could secure a job anywhere in the world. To this day she has been to over 100 countries and is planning on venturing to more. This wonderful woman is full of knowledge and stories; I was so privileged to sit down and learn a small part of her lovely life story.
One thing that I found challenging in both my expedition to the Arctic in 2019 and this delegation was to identify as an Indigenous person because I’m from British Columbia, not the north. My community gets snow three to four times a year that lasts less than a week. Going to both the north and south poles was a culture shock because I looked Indigenous with zero life experience or knowledge of what was going on. My home and the north can share some impacts of global warming, but I also feel like I’m more of an ally rather than the one being affected. With that being said, I will further my education on this subject and will try to teach more to my community about what’s going on in the world rather than purely focusing on just our area.
One ship can say they’re only disturbing the wildlife a smidge, but if you add them all up per trip/ship, the wildlife isn’t living that freely.
– Jessica Wadhams-Mountain, Antarctic delegate
When I think about whether or not Antarctic tourism is good or bad I don’t feel like I’m in a position to say because I was a tourist in Antarctica. This opportunity led me to have some pretty interesting discussions with people. I will say some of the things happening that I don’t respect – such as tourism going from 60,000 people visiting in a season to 100,000+ in a season. One ship can say they’re only disturbing the wildlife a smidge, but if you add them all up per trip/ship, the wildlife isn’t living that freely. The penguins are getting so stressed that they aren’t reproducing. Another fact was that people were going so that they could hold a “7th continent,” sign when Antarctica is so much more than that. I do recommend people visit the continent because it is a mind-blowing experience, but I recommend going to learn and see why the continent is the symbol of peace.
It took me almost the full trip to learn why I was selected for this delegation. Debriefing with everyone I learned that it was me that brought me to the trip. In my opinion, I believe it was my documentary that pushed my name to be networked with the right people. The documentary shows my leadership skills and my willingness to learn and teach in my community. The hardest thing for human beings is to see their impact on people, so I think it will take more than this trip to fully see my impact on my community.
If you are scared of failure, you will fail to try, so take every opportunity that is handed to you; it may be beneficial for your next step.
– Jessica Wadhams-Mountain, Antarctic delegate
My advice to people at home is to not let being scared hold you back from living your dream. If you are scared of failure, you will fail to try, so take every opportunity that is handed to you; it may be beneficial for your next step. I never thought I would have accomplished all the things I’ve done at this age, but taking that step into being uncomfortable has guided me to meet life-changing people and see life-changing things. If it makes you nervous, it is most likely worth it.