The final 2 weeks

(Warning: a long post!)

So, now I am back home in the UK. I’ve missed so many things: the warmth, the trees, a landscape with features, food options that don’t cost the Earth… That being said, despite the rough patches, I’m very glad that I went to Svalbard, and am glad that I have left with such happy memories and new friends.

Exam season was long and boring as ever. I don’t think you can escape that, wherever you study! The first exam was a 5 hour written, and the second was an oral one, where we got questioned for half an hour. I just found out that I got two B’s, enough for a first, so I’m happy!

The first night of freedom, to celebrate, we got drunk and watched Eurovision, with very posh whisky and champagne and ice from a glacier. We already knew who had won as we were watching it a few days late, but it was fun to watch with so many different European nationalities in the room. The next day we celebrated with even more champagne, as it was Norwegian constitution day, and Betty’s birthday! I was kindly invited to Brakke 11 for a communal breakfast, where there was every food you can imagine, and I drank Bolanger champagne out of a thermos flask (the champagne was Elliot’s. We teased him a lot for buying such an expensive drink when he doesn’t like alcohol, but he was kind enough to do it for the group to celebrate). Then, very full and happy, we walked down to join the parade. The whole atmosphere was so cheerful, and safe. You could just not worry about crime of ill intentions, as you might do in most other places of the world where there are large crowds. It was just the whole town celebrating a happy day.

The UK beating Norway by a whole point ;)

The rest of the time was spent playing lots of cards, a couple of big group meals, a visit to Svalsat and three boat trips. The first was a trip that nearly all of UNIS went on, to Barentsburg, a Russian mining settlement. The first excitement of the day was when so many of us stood on the metal bridge to the boats that it bent in half. CCTV has since revealed that there were around 60 of us on it, so no wonder! I dropped about a foot. The funny thing was that once they assessed that no one was hurt, they were very relaxed about it. People stuck on the wrong side just started running across one by one. I think in the UK the whole trip would have been cancelled, psychological trauma counselling offered,  people suing the guide company... a good example of the relaxed attitude of Norwegians.

This bridge should be straight

Anyway, the boat party was a lot of fun as it was nice to look around Barentsburg, which a few of us elected to do instead of the 78% shot (called "see you tomorrow" and definitely illegal in a lot of places). It was easy to tell on the way back who had done this shot and who hadn’t! I think my favourite part was the little church, which seemed so warm and friendly inside, in stark contrast to the cold, mostly empty town outside

The second boat trip was meant to be a trip to see a spot with lots of Walrus’s, but unfortunately, the sea was too rough to get there. This was sad, but I was secretly quite relived as the boat had started to rock a lot!! Instead we got a tour of a few glaciers. The boat itself was brand new, and we were the first tourists to use it. It was so nice and comfortable that we all got rocked to sleep towards the end… 

On Saturday, luckily there was an open day at Svalsat, a satellite monitoring centre where my friend Magnus now works. We were meant to go in March as a class trip, but it was cancelled. It was a beautiful day, and it an interesting place to look around, with lots of big domes with antennae inside.

ayyyy

ayyyyy

Finally, our last trip was to Pyramiden. Initially we were meant to go on an open topped boat, but that trip got cancelled and we ended up on the same boat we went to Barentsburg in. We weren’t feeling very optimistic as we had heard there was still too much ice to dock, but thought we might see a Walrus this time as they’re common to the area, or maybe even a whale. Brandon and I kept watch up on top of the boat all morning. We gave up, had a really nice lunch cooked on a big barbecue, and then one of the crew comes in giving out more food, saying

“You guys are lucky, for there to be a bear”

Us: “What? Where?”

Him: “oh, out there” *vague gestures outside*

Brandon sprinted out so fast he sent Gabrielle’s lunch flying. We rushed out, but saw nothing, and thought at first the guy had been joking, especially as he’d said it so casually. But then we were assured by the guide that yes, there was a bear, hiding behind a piece of ice. Everyone crowded outside, and there it was, poking its head out! We were thrilled that we’d finally managed to see one. For quite a while we watched it hiding, and were very grateful. But we weren’t prepared for what happened next.

As if putting on a show, it strolled out from his hiding place, right along the edge of the ice in front of the glacier. Seals appeared in the water, teasing it, swimming up to edge and then away again. It continued to stroll along, in clear view. It stopped by some broken up ice where a seal popped its head up about a meter away from it, and quickly swam away. Then the most exciting part- it spotted a sleeping baby seal on the edge of the ice up ahead. Very slowly it slid into the water, and as slow as drift ice swam towards the seal. It was genuinely like watching Planet Earth, we couldn't believe it! A couple of meters away, it disappeared under the water, and it was so tense- it stayed underwater for about a minute, but something spooked the seal and got swam away. The bear quickly transformed from a deadly hunter to a puppy as it rolled around to get the water off.
I think we were as close as we could realistically get. Even the captain of the boat and the guides said a view like that was rare, especially to see it hunting. We watched it for over an hour, and it was really so special to see it in its natural habitat like that.

I've made two videos, one of the pre-exam festivities, and one of the wildlife and the bear. I hope you enjoy! This will likely be my last update, so thank you if you've been reading along. I had a blast, and am looking forward to graduating next week!