Pour Viviane: d'un arctique à l'autre

Je vérifie trop peu souvent mes courriels sur Yahoo!... J'ai reçu le message suivant le 30 mars - Patricia, une amie de McGill, est de retour en Finlande pour une petite visite, après y avoir complété un Certificat en études arctiques à l'automne (nord-hémisphérien) 2006. Inutile de dire que je suis jalouse de ses aventures (nonobstant le soap-opera qui se déroule dans mon salon).

Hei Hei!

I don't have much time to write, but I just wanted to tell you all that I just spent a week in the high Arctic... It was magnificent. I'm writing from Svalbard, situated at the 78th degree latitude north. Yes, there are polar bears and we have to carry riffles when we get out of the city limits. (The city, as you might imagine, is not very big... Limits happen fast.) There are also tiny reindeer, seals, walruses and a bunch of other animals we read about in books. But since most of the species are protected, get this, the souvenirs are imported from Canada!!!! Yes yes, I found leather mits made in Alberta and polar bear skins from Nunavut. When the saleslady asked me if she could help me with something, I told her that I really really wanted something made in NORWAY.

Anyways, you can imagine that this place is gorgeous. There's glaciers and snowy mountains and the most beautiful thing of all is the silence. There's something intoxicating about it. Of course, I have pictures. You'll get to see them.

I'll tell you more when I come back...

Take care!!

T.

Incidemment, Hei Hei est le nom d'un quartier de Chch, à l'ouest de la ville, tout près de Shirley.