Aug 4, evening

After spending nearly my entire summer with an alarm clock set for past eight in the morning, the fourth day of waking up “early” for me was rather challenging. I stumbled downstairs, unable to calm my swollen eyes or tame my wrangled mess of bed hair. But as soon as I reached the communal kitchen, the natural light spilling through the windows, the mummer of people speaking with mouths full, and the smell of Laura’s pancakes and hot chocolate brought me to my senses – I was in my place of comfort. I was in my home away from home.

Our site for the morning was a fen, a notorious location for braking probes and many muscles in the biceps. The afternoon consisted of life-jackets and zodiacs as we were to boat out to the Churchill River Estuary in search of belugas. Still, our task at hand was the first excitement, and I had to consistently remind myself to experience every moment of the trip, not just those of the near future. The ground below was wet and our hip waders sunk down deep, the sky above and tundra around my playground and classroom for the rest of the trip.

Exhausted and feeling complete, our work was done surprisingly sooner than expected. Suddenly Natalie and I, sweaty and filled with adrenaline, ran to the nearest pool of water and mud and allowed our hip waders to cool in the shallow water.

Sabina Diaz-Rimal

The Park School of Baltimore