life at quest a.k.a. this blog is dead

This has been "in the works" for four months now (and when I say "in the works" I mean "written on my to-do list and completely ignored"), but now I've finally taken an hour and made it happen.

Now, instead of blogging here on "Blogger," my new internet posts about what I am learning at the Best University Ever (and what I do when I'm not officially 'learning') will show up on "Life at Quest."

Here's the link:

http://www.lifeatquest.ca/champion/champion.aspx?asset=501

The inaugural "Life at Quest" post is about Tallulah Bankhead, rowboats, hydro-halogenation, and freight trains, so you for sure want to check it out! In addition, my fellow "Quest Ambassadors" are blogging about THEIR lives here at Quest. You can learn about them by going to:

http://www.lifeatquest.ca/project/project.aspx?asset=251

Thanks and Happy Christmas!

keels and kinetics

Hmmm... that was my attempt to create a sailing/chemistry alliteration. Not a success. But I will push on and talk about these two sweet activities that currently dominate my day-to-day existence anyway.

First, Chemistry. It turns out that there are six, not four, students in my Chem 2 class - crowded, I know - and yesterday we took our first exam. I think it went well, but only time will tell (well, actually Bob Browne, chemistry mastermind and distributor of grades, will tell). We've been focused on thermochemistry and are now starting to focus on kinetics - I'm not sure I enjoy it quite as much as Chem 1, but it's still chemistry aka. the equivalent of Potions in the non-wizarding world. It's a decent amount of work, but nothing insane (unlike Spherical Trig or Global Perspectives), which leaves me with time (barely) to...

Go sailing! Twice a week! At the West Vancouver Yacht Club! Classy! Yesterday there was an odd number of us so we ended up with 3 people in a little Pirate (yes, that is the model of boat... um, I mean SHIP, we sail). Then the wind picked up, our jib came un-cleated and started to fall down around us, knots untied themselves, and we heeled over so hard so many times that our little boat became a bathtub, barley above the water. So amazing. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a very long time. Apparently, water was leaking into the hull as well... what I am saying is, THE SEA TRIED TO TAKE US but we survived. This is the kind of intense thing that happens all the time if you come to Quest. Sorry that I keep sneaking in these little hints that you should come to school here. It's just my opinion, but it's true.

rubber cement and lake lovelywater round 2

I spent last week running about town looking for the elusive rubber cement (the only acceptable adhesive for serious poster-makers) and putting together my final project for Earth, Oceans, Space. Here is an insider tip: Garibaldi Graphics. The dollar store, the hardware store, and Shoppers Drug-mart will only disappoint. And if you don't have rubber cement, why are you even making a poster?

With my poster done I was free to take the weekend and gallivant off into the Tantalus Mountains across the Squamish River and visit, once again, the lovely Lake Lovelywater! The hike was moderately epic... there were giant cables to cross, 8-foot snowbanks to climb, backpacks (and boots, and socks) to soak, pasta and he-man chili to eat, and giant windstorms to experience. The snow was deeper and tougher to negotiate than last time, we used an alternate cable-crossing method, and we camped up at the lake. It was a full value little adventure, and today I think we're all feeling it (in a good/painful way). This is one of the most awesome things about Quest - I can find a group of kids who want to spend the weekend hiking up and down giant snow-covered mountains.

time flies...

Only one week left of Earth Oceans Space! Then I have one more class (Chemistry 2... which currently has only 4 students enrolled) before summer vacation! In just over a month I'll be back in Alaska.

Spring is doing its best to emerge here in Squamish - last weekend was beautiful, and although I was trapped inside learning "Workplace First Aid" (exciting, I know) on Saturday, I got out to the Smoke Bluffs Friday afternoon and threw down some sweet climbing with Jonathan and Shandel. "Neat and Cool" was probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing routes I've ever enjoyed! I'm toying with the idea of joining the brand-new Quest sailing team in April, but the truth is my adventure-funds are quickly running out and if I choose to sail I'll be left with little time to enjoy the world-class climbing of Squamish. We shall see. Speaking of adventures, I'm off to Tofino for block break, to be pounded by very cold, very salty water. Hooray!

With all these sweet plans and activities, it might be a little tough to leave at the end of next block. However, I was recently accepted into a guide school program in central Alaska in May, so that ought to take the sting out of leaving Quest (that, and the prospect of yet another fabulous summer in Juneau, Alaska).

return to classrooms and the pacific northwest

The last two months have felt like a wormhole - I was in Indonesia just over a week ago! Speaking of which, our final documentaries are now online! My group's documentary is called "Perjalanan" ("Journey" in Bahasa Indonesia) and you can watch it here: http://ethicalexpeditions.ning.com/video/perjalanan-part-i

Surprisingly, I've re-entered the world of nine-to-noon class and real homework with relative ease. This is in part because my new course, Earth Oceans Space, is pretty fantastic. We spent our second day of class learning about the formation of stars and solar systems... just like elementary school (in a very academic and university-appropriate way, of course). Our professor, a visiting astronomer named Jeff Hester, invited us all over on Friday night to learn about time-space relativity and nearly half the class came. On the first Friday night back at school! Quest is truly a place of academic magic (also, free snacks).

In addition, I'm enjoying jeans, sweaters, comfy rain boots, reuniting with Quest friends, and hearing about everyone's incredible adventures over the past two months. On my flight back from Borneo I was a little jealous of the people who were taking a block off to spend some time at home before returning to Squamish - but as soon as I got back on campus, I realized I was ready to be back, and while I'm excited to go home this summer, I'm stoked for the many Quest adventures that will no doubt take place before then.

Tantulus Mountains camping trip next weekend?

a shameless promotion

(…and I’m not even being paid for it!)

Here in Borneo we’ve had a lot of time to think, and one of the things I find myself thinking about with relative frequency is Quest. I keep meaning to write these thoughts down, but there are so many that up until now the task has been too daunting. Yesterday, however, during my kindle time (we’ve got a lot of required reading here in Borneo and dragging books around would be pretty tough, so instead all our reading is on Amazon Kindles) I came across a quote that really helps me convey why Quest is so fantastic:

“What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.” Quest has hit upon an education style that presents knowledge in a way that promotes seeing and understanding more effectively than the traditional model. I’ll elaborate:

I really like details – history and biology are my favorite subjects. But while I can memorize the proteins and processes of the Krebs cycle or the names and dates of the Battle of the Bulge, the truth is that I’m memorizing them for a test. The interdisciplinary Quest approach provides such details but also highlights connections and patterns in a way that leads to a more complete understanding of the world. Those 113 words didn’t even begin to do justice to the sweet education I am receiving in the hands of this visionary group of educators in the southwestern corner of Canada, but it’s a start.

So, that was the abstract “educational value” part of why you should come to Quest. But nobody wants to spend thousands of dollars and four years of ones life at a place that isn’t fun. In the past month I’ve had class on the roof of a houseboat at sunset, on the porch of a ranger station in the middle of a tropical jungle, and in the living room of an indigenous Dayak chief. We discussed the carbon market, forest management systems of Indonesia, and our own big ideas for reducing environmental impact. Last night we rode for 8 hours in 4x4s along the heavily potholed trans-Kalimantan highway while watching an impressive selection of 20-minuite long Indian music videos.

Are you excited yet? Come to Quest!

the other side of the world

I'm here! In Borneo! Watching monkeys! Speaking (well, trying to speak) Indonesian! If you are interested in all of the way cool things I'm doing/seeing/discovering, check out my two other blogging venues (tech-y!):

RYSE (the Rainforest Action Networks Youth Blog) - http://ryse.ran.org/ and

Ethical Expeditions - http://ethicalexpeditions.ning.com/

Both of these are group blogs, so you might have to dig to find my stuff... enjoy the other postings on those sites as well! Ethical Expeditions has lots of blogs (and videos: check out "Bridge Development in the Bay of Balikpapan") by the other Quest students currently in Borneo.

Here are some of my favorite things about East Kalimantan (the region of Borneo that we're exploring) so far:

1. take-out iced tea in plastic bags

2. the beautiful children of Kampung Baru, a rural district on the outskirts of Balikpapan

3. nasi pecel! a spicy veggie and rice dish that we eat at least once a day

4. Stanislav Lhota, a czech environmentalist and "recreational" proboscis monkey researcher who we just spend two days with in the mangroves of Balikpapan Bay.

5. the busses of Balikpapan: 30 cents will get you wherever you need to go...

6. smiles wherever we go (are they laughing at our goofy quick-dry rip-stop outfits? probably...)

Selamat Malam!