The Journey Begins Day 0 December 26, 2011

Well Drewy caught up with the SOI team and has posted a couple of entries to the blog. You can follow it here - www.studentsonice.com/antarctic2011/daily.html - and click on the daily menu on the left hand side. He has two entries on December 27 (scroll down a bit to see the beginning of the entry; there's a big blank space at the top of the page).

He is still making his way on flights to Argentina; in about ten hours the three groups from the gateway cities (Toronto, Miami and BA) should all have met up. He sounds very excited and I am feeling settled. It's a nice change!

Monday, December 26, 2011 (www.studentsonice.com/antarctic2011/day0.html)

SOI Headquarters Gatineau, Quebec, Canada Expedition Update #1 Good morning and welcome to the first update of the Students on Ice Antarctic Youth Expedition 2011! Today most students are at home reviewing their packing lists and preparing for the upcoming adventure. There are a few students already en route and we wish them safe travels as they make their way to one of the gateway cities (Toronto, Miami, or Buenos Aires) to join SOI Meet and Greet team members. These staff members are waiting for students to arrive at the various airport hubs today and tomorrow. The staff at SOI headquarters are monitoring the weather and the flight status of the students itineraries. We are available to assist with any travel changes required to get students to destinations on time. Please feel free to contact the SOI office if you have any questions or require assistance: Toll-free (Canada & US): 1-866-336-6423 Direct: 1-819-827-3300 Email: expedition@studentsonice.com Over the next few days, we will be providing updates and status reports on the whereabouts of the expedition team on the 'Daily Journey Updates' pages. By Wednesday evening, the entire expedition team will be together in Ushuaia, Argentina to kick off the education program! Once the team is onboard the ship, we can expect daily updates from Expedition Leader GG which include amazing photographs and educational videos. There are occasions (such as poor weather conditions or when the ship is anchored in fjords between mountain ranges) when the team will not be able to establish a strong satellite signal and updates will be delayed. In those cases, we will receive a phone call from the ship and we will update the website accordingly. We try our best throughout this "journey-of-a-lifetime" to give you a front-row seat to this adventure! ...And while you wait for further updates, please feel free to explore the rest of the expedition site, especially our  Partners page. This extraordinary adventure could not have happened without their generous support! In the expedition spirit, The SOI team