The NOLS Bus Comes to Town
Spirits are high as the students for the Outdoor Educator Wilderness (OEW) and North Cascades Wilderness (NCW) courses arrive at the NOLS Pacific Northwest (PNW) and notice a very large bus with beautiful scenes of nature and large variety fruit on it. You may ask, “What does fruit have to do with nature?” Well, Stonyfield Farm, the makers of organic yogurt sponsor the NOLS Bus. In addition to the bus being here to welcome the students they also have a chance to be in the NOLS video. Brad Christensen, NOLS Webmaster, and his film crew will be making a “Welcome to NOLS PNW” video so future students and families can see what it is like to go through the branch before embarking on their expedition.
Students will be shown making their rations, getting equipment issued, as well as the wonderful meals made during their stay. Not only the student will be leaving today but the NOLS Bus must be at their next stop soon. As all the PNW staff wave good-bye to the students and the bus crew we will be smiling as we see a big cow on the back on the bus and wonder... why is that really there?
Photo by Dave Nathanson
Posted by Dave Nathanson on July 23, 2008 in Pacific Northwest | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Issues, cleaning, and stocking OH MY!
Today I am here talking with our International Equipment Connoisseurs. The dream team came from all over the world to issue and help our students for their expeditions. In the issuing crew there is Tamara Prins coming from Melbourne, Australia, Gaurav Gongola flying from Ranikhet, India, and the issue room manager, Peter Gatundu, going on his tenth year at NOLS all the way from Narumoru, Kenya.
These three not only issue, de-issue, clean, stock, and repair, but they brighten up the issue room with their unique personalities as well. I went in the issue room today to ask what was their first experience with the National Outdoor Leadership School that got them where they are today?
“I was the intern at NOLS Mexico, working in the issue room, and I started in the Fall of 2006,” Tamara tells me. Gaurav was part of a NOLS route finding team in 2005 in India which helped set the routes today for our trips through India, and Peter was a student in NOLS Kenya Semester, through the NOLS East Africa branch, and he did that in 1995 and right after his trip was over he started to work in the issue room and has been doing it since. Good job Peter!
Photo taken by Dave Nathanson
Posted by Dave Nathanson on July 2, 2008 in Pacific Northwest | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Introductions
Hi, my name is Dave Nathanson and not only am I the new intern of the NOLS PNW branch but I am also the person who will be writing most of the blogs for this summer. I am from Connecticut and got into NOLS by doing a Semester in India in the Fall of 2007 and got offered to return as a NOLS intern for this summer.
Being part of the NOLS family this summer has been amazing and with this blog I will get to share my experiences and life at NOLS Pacific Northwest with everyone who reads them. Since I’ve been here I have seen students come through this branch every week, issuing and de-issuing gear, board members visiting for the weekend, and have made friends along the way. One thing I find fascinating is when NOLS Alumni visit the branch and talk about how NOLS had an impact on their lives whether it is a year ago to decades ago and that they still talk about their trip to this day with their friends.
Photo taken by Tamara Prins
Posted by Dave Nathanson on July 1, 2008 in Pacific Northwest | Permalink | TrackBack
