Mariam Punjani
the ice has melted *mic drop*
On September 3rd, I was the most anxious that I have ever been in my whole life. In just a day, I was starting at The York School, super scary, right? On June 5th, I realized that this was the best year that I could ever ask for. I made friendships that would last a lifetime, learned so many new things, and grew as a person. But let’s talk about everything that happened within those 10 months.
9c at Camp Wanakita
Flashback to September really quickly. I was starting at a brand new school, with new people, and this program called “ICE.” Integrated Canadian Experience. I could not tell you what I even expected to expect. Well actually, I may or may not have been slightly dreading what I thought ICE would be like. I thought it was sitting in the classroom, just learning civics, history, english, and geography, like any other school. Oh, boy was I wrong. I guess you could call ICE unique. It brought an adventure into the classroom unlike any other. Just a couple days into our first ICE trip, Wanakita, I realized what this year would really be all about. It would be challenging yourself to learn new things, to bond with the people around you, to discover yourself, and grow as not only a person, a class, and a community. I got on the bus to Wanakita (Wanakita blog). A bus full of old yorkies, and new yorkies, but that didn’t stop us from all bonding on the bus ride. I instantly knew we were all in this together from the moment I walked on the bus and saw everyone talking to each other. From the moment I walked on the bus, I could tell that this year was going to be interesting
Above: Inside look of the quinzee and my awesome quinzee-mates
Below: Shoshana, Emi, and I, working our way to our quinzee campsite
Now you might be wondering, or you might not, how has ICE specifically changed me? You might be thinking, “yeah, you might walk the walk, but can you talk the talk?” Well, in fact, I can. I learned things about myself that I never even thought about in the past years. I learned that I have risk-taking in me. If you told me a year ago that I would spend a night in a quinzee that I built from scratch, I would have never believed it. Yet, here I am, a successful quinzee builder (and sleeper). I won’t say that it was easy, because it most definitely was not, but that’s what it is all about, the challenge and risk. I persevered through the cold (more like the white death) and I woke up the next morning, all snuggled in my quinzee (and alive).
My winter camping blog. Check it out!
As I did uncover my deeply hidden skill of risk-taking, I got the opportunity to learn more about my student self. ICE has taught me in a way I have never been taught before. It was an active learning experience. Getting hands-on learning helped me in so many ways. It kept me motivated and on my feet. I would always be looking for the next adventure, also known as an “ICE trip.” Ottawa was an experience that I learned so much from. I could go on and on, but I just want to point out the War Museum. Before traveling to Ottawa in December, we were learning about the World Wars. We learned about life in the trenches, countries' contributions, historical significance, and everything else there is to know. Learning about it is one thing, but being able to go see the artifacts, and learn about it with visuals is something different. At one point, we even went into an exhibit of what the trenches were truly like.
9c in the trenches of Ottawa
Lastly, what did I learn as a Canadian? I had to think about this a little more. I have lived in Canada my whole life and have always been learning about its past and present. But something that I think was hidden deep inside its “perfect” image, is what people a part of the indigenous communities face on the day-to-day bases. We studied in the north. We studied their culture, traditions, and history. In the end, we had to make something that represented the north, based on the book we read, "Indian Horse" by Richard Wagamese. This book taught us about residential schools.
My approach to the north: Confinement
People like to assume that Canada isn’t racist, and to be completely honest, I thought this before learning about the north, but the indigenous people constantly go through obstacles due to their race. Everything from not enough resources, to completely being shrugged off by the rest of Canada. We had the chance to hear from an indigenous woman herself. She came to our school and told us about life in the north. One specific detail that I remember to this day was when her friend had to take numerous plane rides across the country just to give birth. The hospital in her territory did not have the resources to help her with child labor. This is something that I didn’t know I cared deeply about until I got educated on it, and as a Canadian, I hope that someday this oppression will change.
ICE was definitely a journey, and I am so grateful that I could be a part of it. Class of 2023, we made it through our first year of high school!
Shelly and I winter camping
As our final project, we had to discuss a struggle that COVID-19 is creating. I chose to discuss its affect on real estate. Click here to listen to my podcast!