August 8, 2014
Dear Lillianne -One final sleep before we head out on our grand adventure! This will be Sami's first experience on an airplane, which is perfect considering he has - over the past few weeks - been enthusiastically pointing out every airplane that he spots in the sky. This exuberance has even led him to mistakenly identify birds as planes on some occasions, so we can't wait to see his expression when he is actually sitting IN a plane!
My dear, ultra-organized sister has been repeatedly asking if we are prepared to leave, and even at this point we are not quite packed. Since our excitement over Elizabeth's Wish Trip has been steadily building over the past year, the narrow focus over the last few days has been on rereading our previous research and trying to learn a few words in Inuktitut such as kannuipit (how are you) and mutna (thank you). How can we limit ourselves to a task as mundane as packing when we can learn more about the many invigorating elements related to our trip? But of course, to ensure our comfort over the next eight days, we do have to plan well so I will follow my big sister's advice. Packing will be the priority project immediately following this blog post.
Chris and I are so pleased that Elizabeth thinks outside the box the way she does. We would not have ever thought to plan a trip up north; the uniqueness of her wish trip represents her vivacious spirit extraordinarily well. The initial planning stages involved hours of research until we narrowed down three primary goals for exploring higher latitudes:
1. To observe northern wildlife in their natural habitats (emphasis on polar bears, beluga whales, arctic tern, and arctic foxes)
2. To learn more about the research being undertaken in the Canadian Arctic (biological and ecological, as well as anything related to the night sky - would love to see the aurora borealis from an open, uninhibited vantage point!)
3. To experience Inuit culture (including survival strategies, language, history, arts, and legends)
Developed by The Children's Wish Foundation and The Great Canadian Travel Company Ltd., our subsequent itinerary is truly going to be a dream come true for Elizabeth. We will maintain posts about each of our adventures over the next eight days to not only keep family and friends up to speed with the travels, but also to forever cherish our in-the-moment reactions as adventures unfold.
As the Nanuk above would say, ulluqatsiarit!
Ania, of ACES
Image copied from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear
Addendum by Elizabeth:
I just wanted to mention how grateful we all are for this trip which was made possible by generous donations from the community. Thank you to everyone who has donated not only money but time and energy to make the world a better and happier place for sick kids.
I have been reading through the itinerary and other info and am so excited for this trip! The Children's Wish Foundation has also surprised me with a powershot canon camera so I will be taking pictures with Rory (the Children's Wish Foundation lion mascot) and my "sister", Lillianne (long story, ask my mom :). So look out for new posts in the upcoming days and we will continue to share our thoughts and stories!
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