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As her boat steamed for Argentina to end a two-week expedition to the Antarctica, Glynis Frey was still thinking about her first day on the southern continent.

She got off the boat and stepped into a world of exotic wildlife and a horizon stuffed with icebergs.

"Our first landing was amazing," said the 22-year-old University of Calgary student. "We saw seals and penguins everywhere and they didn't care at all that we were there. I saw things I've never seen before."

Frey was part of the Students On Ice Antarctic University Expedition 2009.

She was one of 71 students from 12 countries to take part in the two-week excursion which started Feb. 12 and ended Friday, when they started their journeys home from Argentina.

The Canadian non-profit group based in Gatineau, Que.,was started in 1999 with annual trips to both the arctic and Antarctica. It was begun as a program for high school students and this was the first trip to include university applicants.

"We want to expose more students to the Antarctic and issues around the global ecosystem, glaciology and scientific history," said Geoff Green, expedition leader. "And we want to give them a life changing experience."

After leaving the southern tip of Argentina, the group -- including academic staff, polar explorers and a videographer--spent their time on the Ushuaia, a full-service research vessel equipped with sleeping and eating quarters, classrooms and lab space.

They took several field trips to the ice and surrounding islands on inflatable Zodiac boats and visited some of the continent's research stations. They were given scientific tasks and conducted tests on ice core samples.

The course, a credit program for many of the students, features a broad curriculum covering wildlife, history, politics and environmental issues.

Most of the students have science backgrounds and some say they may change their academic focus based on their experiences in the Antarctic.

"I never thought I'd be one to be interested in glaciology," said Meaghan Cox, 21, currently taking biological sciences at the U of C.

"I thought this would be a good way to diversify my degree but I am definitely a changed person after seeing this. You don't realize the scope of the world until you see this . . . so far away from everything you know."

The trip cost $10,000 per student with the group fundraising about half the money. But for the students, the financial cost was dwarfed by the rewards of the trip.

"It was indescribable, breathtaking," said Christina Dymond, 21, a Calgarian attending the University of Alberta where she studies biology and chemistry.

"I saw giant glaciers, bigger than anything I've seen before. It hasn't all soaked in yet for me. It makes you think about how little your part of the world really is."

Original source taken from: http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=4927f2e3-34ff-4117-a0a7-5782e2ba2334

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