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Sandra Borton possesses the true spirit of an adventurer — just not the stomach.
So, spending more than two weeks on an icebreaker ship in the Antarctic peninsula will be a sheer test of her endurance.
But, for her, pushing the boundaries is what it’s all about.
Borton, a 26-year-old, fourth-year adventure-tourism student at Thompson Rivers University, is one of just 70 students chosen from around the world to participate in the Antarctic University Expedition with Students On Ice, an award-winning organization that offers unique educational expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic.
Yesterday, the Nanoose Bay native set sail for the peninsula from the southern tip of Chile — right through the Drake Passage, notorious for its turbulent waters.
"I shouldn’t have done this, but I Google-imaged the Drake and we’re talking 50-foot waves and we can expect the boat to be listing 30 degrees on either side for a total movement of 60 degrees for 48 hours straight — I’m not looking forward to that," Borton said, admitting she gets sick on the B.C. ferry that goes down the Inside Passage of the province.
"I know, I’m toast."
But a couple days of sea-sickness is a small sacrifice for the many rewards Borton will take away from the once-in-a lifetime experience.
While there, she’ll be learning more about polar tourism — her major at TRU — as well as the environmental and climate-change issues in the Antarctic.
These aspects combined is what Borton calls travel with a purpose, which she talks about with great spiritedness.
"From my previous experiences as a teenager in the outdoors, you get to learn who you are and what role the outdoors play in your life — and one of the big things that came out of those experiences for me was to adventure with purpose and to live and travel in a way that did something for more than just your own travel experience," she said, adding she’s taken trips to remote beaches to pick up garbage and has worked with children in various communities.
"I’ve tried to travel with the purpose of doing something or helping something along the way."
And what does she want to see while there?
A penguin, of course.
"The academic side is the draw...but, in terms of that sort of classic tourism experience, I really want to see penguins," Borton said with a laugh, adding her friends in the Grade 2 class at Dallas elementary have given her very specific instructions to take photos of every penguin she sees to show them when she gets back.
"I know, it’s geeky. I know everyone wants to see penguins.
I just think it will be so cool to see the penguin — the Antarctic penguin.
Specifically, I’d like to see chinstrap penguins.
They’re cool."
And to share her zeal for travel and her Antarctic adventure, Borton will be organizing public presentations when she returns in March, complete with photos from the trip.
She will also be attending the TRU Undergraduate Conference in April and will be working with students to encourage others to take advantage of field-study programs like Students On Ice.
"I have a blast giving the slide shows and I get to spread the Students On Ice message and whatever else we might learn while we’re down there," Borton said, noting she’ll be studying climate change, the impacts of tourism, geology and the history of the Antarctic.
"And I think that those are important bits of knowledge to bring back to our community — especially since the community has been so supportive in helping go there."
Though she’s certainly had plenty of support, her fundraising efforts — which included a silent auction, polar swim and pledges — didn’t go as well as planned.
Borton needed about $13,500 to go, but managed to raise $2,000.
The rest she’s paying for herself.
"It’s incredibly expensive," Borton said, adding how grateful she is to those who helped out.
"And, it was really poor timing with the economic crash and there’s lots happening in the financial world for people."
Original source taken from: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/kamloopsthisweek/news/39509059.html