Month: March 2026

Josh Kowal et al.

What is remarkable about the power of the internet is the ability for everyone in the world to recieve exactly the same information at the same time. Despite the instantaneous spread, how that information is interpreted by news outlets and ultimatly the many readers worldwide could not be more different. For us in Doha, we want to know what this information will mean for the airspace above us and our safety or ability to get home. Governments and news outlets want to tell a story, a narrative of events that picks through our lived experiences, and replaying only the most news worthy moments upon televisions sets disconnected from the reality happening half a world away. We are forced to care about the geopolitics or the opinions of orange men who are only seeking a short-sighted outcome ignoring the impacts their actions have upon the lives of regular people.

Tonight, the sun is setting on the third day of the second more unexpected leg of our journey. So here’s our play by play since February 27th at 10:45 pm when we left the curiously Scottish Seuarts &Co restaurant in Colombo come in to: 24 hours waiting in lines, many strolls around the airport forest, 3 hours in an airport lounge, 2-3 showers, 6 stellar meals at a 5 star hotel restaurant, and a shopping outing expressly for more underwear. Most importantly, the entirety of yesterday was a chance to not only catch up on sleep from the last 48 hours of travel but also from the last 2 weeks of our course.

The flight to Doha, Qatar was uneventful, with our sleepy check-in attendant causing us the most grief. Between yawns she would ask to weigh our carry on bags forcing us to frivolously shuffle items between us until we all met the posted maximum weight. Arriving in Qatar, reintroduced us to the building that would unbeknownst to us become our home for the next 24 hours.Approximately an hour after departing the Doha Airport, our captain came on the intercom explaining that airspace was closed and we would be promptly returning Doha. Quickly, information of what was happening became accessible via our complimentary StarLink connection and a rapid decent landing at 11:30am brought our group of 17 back to the same terminal we left from. With brave faces the Qatar Airways staff led us to a central area in which we settled in to wait for more information. We set up our space among the benches, ‘NewSteveLand’ we called it. With our phones charging and ears peeled for more information from the staff, we refreshed our phones for live news updates in the meantime. The Qatar Airways staff maintained an impressively level headed demeanor answering travelers questions to the best of their ability. Meal vouchers began to be issued and eventually they told us that only our boarding passes were needed for the promise of a meal in the food court. There were a few options but the best one people pointed out was humbly called ‘Burger’ or something to that effect. They sure knew what they were talking about because damn that was a good burger!

It became clear that leaving the airport would require: a hotel voucher and an approved visa. Long lines were formed and passport information was shared but it was clear that this ordeal was going to take quite some time. In shifts we waited for the call of our names, we strained our ears to hear the quiet voices of attendants over the rumble of growing irateness from the crowd. The hours continued to pass by and for our families in Canada morning had come, spelling the first time we could call our dear parents and reassure each other that all would be okay.

9:30pm, we were told that at this time we would not be getting hotel accommodations. The Qatar Airways hospitality team offered to move us to the much more comfortable Maha Lounge. This oasis was truly a sight for tired eyes and boy were our eyes tired. Dreamy couches with plush seats, free food and private showers helped eased the pits in our stomachs. Let me tell you that was one of the most refreshing showers I have had in a long time. Claire Haffner even treated Global News with a short interview about our experiences so far. Like cats we curled up in our seats for the chance at sleep.

March 1st 1am, we were awoken back to our feet, along with packing we stuffed muffins and water bottles into our pockets. This tired group of 17 was herded from the lounge to a gate where a hand written voucher to the Pullman Hotel was prescribed. Most relieving to learn was that despite our groups size we would all be assigned to the same accommodations, however; getting there would take the next five and a half hours most of which was spent in a line with hundreds of other travelers. In this line we formed ‘NewNewSteveLand’ where in what can only be described as a people puddle we slept upon our packed backpacks (and unfortunately the muffins in our pockets) for support. Finally, we reached the front and were reassigned to buses destined not for the already packed Pullman hotel. The ride on the buses was surreal, we along with thousands of other travelers had entered a country we had never intended to visit. The downtown of Doha literally towers over everything with seemingly not a building shorter than 15 stories. Of course the tourist instincts we had honed during our time in Sri Lanka took over, forcing us to admire these sights even snapping photos of the most interesting landmarks to send back to our anxious parents.
6:30am, though we had made it to the hotel the reality of what was going on around us was inescapable and the booms of missile interceptions could be heard high above us. In this moment we were most thankful we had each other. Staff here were incredibly sympathetic providing water and explaining that after dropping our things in our rooms we would find a warm breakfast buffet on the first floor.

Monday March 2nd 9:00am, after checking in yesterday sleep came quickly, the beds here are leagues above what the airport had to offer. Apart form waking for meals and a couple games of cards organized by Vanessa and Aili most of us slept have slept for almost 24 hours stright. Catching up on the sleep deficit accumulated during our adventures in Sir Lanka. Yesterday, in the interest of a quick and unhindered exit we chose to leave our checked bags in the care of the airport thus, creating our next most pressing issue: the need more more undergarments. With my fellow grad students Meg, Andy and Victoria we embarked upon a small expedition to a local mall which we knew to be home to stores such as ‘Brands for Less’ (similar to Winners) and ‘Carrefour’ (similar to Loblaws back home). On top of everything else we are here during Ramadan, a time of celebration and fasting for muslim people. If there was no conflict, visiting now would be an ideal time to experience the muslim culture! The 20 minute walk to the mall was mostly along a wide 3 lane boulevard surrounded by well watered hedges and trees. We couldn’t help but get some bird watching in as we noticed Common mynas and White-eared bulbuls inhabiting this stretch of road. We also couldn’t help but notice the trees in a park on our walk to the mall were labeled with their species name. Our inner biology nerds were ecstatic. As with everything we have thus far experienced in this country this mall found a way to elevate all the sights you might expect: a grand atrium opening up to four stories of shopping, with ornate decorations encrusting a dome of glass, all surround an expansive children’s play apparatus. Every store was open but some were busier than others with shoppers favoring a hunt for the essentials. We browsed the racks of ‘Brands For Less’ selecting many sets of undergarments for the group, for ourselves we chose a couple new shirts and I even chose a fancy new pair of purple crocs! Along with tums for Steve the Carrefour sold an arrangement of shirts aimed at tourists with the words ‘Doha Qatar’, these we of course bought to commemorate the sudden experience we have had so far. Due to Ramadan all the restaurants and coffee shops we passed within the mall are closed apart from one, Tim Hortons of course. Before leaving the mall we all picked up a taste of home, but by law our coffees had to be covered with paper bags until we returned to our hotel. Our group of 17 ended the day with a surprise birthday party for Alex Bandt. During a second outing to the mall birthday essentials such as candles and balloons were gathered by Aili, Claire, Alex Beer, and Vennila ensuring this was a special event. Even room service happily provided a chocolate brownie to help us celebrate!

Written by Dilini.

After 10 wonderful days travelling around Sri Lanka, it was finally time to end our academic tour and depart Sri Lanka. We started our final day with a frenzy of packing, then the two last article presentations by Induja and Kalindu. Next was one of our favourite activities – breakfast! with a buffet full of local food like coconut roti, milk rice, tea buns, crocodile buns, roast paan with several other side dishes and delicious Ceylon tea and coffee.

Following the breakfast, some of our students went to enjoy the sea breeze at the beach adjoining the hostel, while others completed packing their bags. An academic field course is never complete without a final test. Moving away from regular final paper, we held a quiz about Sri Lanka geography and biodiversity, where each group spent about 4 minutes at each of multiple stations answering the questions. Although students were not very happy with all the questions, they did very well in the end.

After loading our bags onto our buses, we left the 234 Weligama. On our way to Colombo, we stopped for lunch at Galle Fort. While everyone else was enjoying regular meals and drinks from the menu, Olin, Aili, Induja, and Ravindi decided to build their own dishes mixing different food and drinks that they ordered – fusion-fusion cuisine. After the delicious lunch, we all walked along the fort wall enjoying the scenery of the attractive Galle beach, some buying coffee and others baked goods from a tuk-tuk bakery. We took a modern toll highway most of the way to Colombo arriving at dusk.

In Colombo we stopped at the Laksala Souvenir Shop. Most students spent their remaining rupees buying gifts for friends and loved ones back home. Some of us had hard time deciding which item to buy as there were myriad handmade items ranging from small keychains and fridge magnets to huge elephant carvings and traditional wooden masks plus a range of teas, coffees and spices. We stopped at the Independence Memorial Hall, a national monument in Sri Lanka built for the commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from British rule, Ravindi, Induja, and Kalindu gave all of us gifts to thank for the wonderful opportunity they had over the last 10 days. Then we headed to The Steuart by Citrus, to enjoy the farewell dinner organized by Ashan, our outfitter. We then drove to the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport with heavy hearts and said our goodbyes to, Steve and our Canadian students departing for Toronto, and Dilini, Ravindi, Induja and Kalindu remaining behind and wishing all safe travels.

Normally, when one wakes up early in the morning—or at least for many of us university students—there is a bit of a sigh. It would just be so nice to stay in bed! On this field course, we’ve had a number of early mornings, each touched with a bit of exhaustion but largely filled with the excitement and promise of a hike through the Runakanda Forest Restoration Site or a safari through Yala. Today, there were the usual sighs and excitement, but it was also bittersweet. This was our last early morning in Sri Lanka.

We soon pushed aside this reality to embrace the marine adventures to come. Arriving at the docks, we skirted past bikes and tuk-tuks, scrambling our way to the top deck of our boat. All around us, colourful, almost tie-dyed fishing boats in the Sri Lankan style lined the protected harbour—steep-bowed and sitting high in the water, waiting to be filled with their catch. The boats filled with tourists and, by 6:30, we were off.

Despite the calm seas, a number of us had to endure the woes of seasickness—but it was all worth it as soon as we heard the call: “Bottlenose dolphins—three o’clock!” Everyone clambered to the starboard side of the vessel. It didn’t matter. Soon, the dolphins were dancing through our bow wake, manoeuvring in a display that proved difficult to capture, even for the most experienced photographers. Next came the smaller cousins of the bottlenose—the spinners—followed by Risso’s dolphins. The top-heavy boat swayed from side to side, listing toward whichever direction the dolphins emerged. Garry, an ornithologist living in Colombo, and his son Jude proved invaluable with their knowledge of the fauna all around us.

After we had passed Sri Lanka’s famous coastal shelf, we received the greatest treat: pilot whales. Our boat raced toward the call from nearby vessels. In the distance, they were manoeuvring separately, trying to catch a glimpse of these behemoths as thirty-odd whales dove for squid undertaking their daily vertical migration. We finally joined the party. For over 30 minutes, we watched as the pod resurfaced for air, caught their breath, and rolled into a dive—water streaming off their tails on the final descent. Then we would set our timers and keep watch until, ten minutes later, the pod emerged again. It was incredible.

By this point, we had been on the boat for nearly six hours, so it was time to head back. Some of us slept, some chatted about favourite mementos from the course, and some simply watched the horizon. But all were anticipating the final debate, prepared by yours truly: Meg, Olin, Rivindi, Hannah, and Claire. Some might say it was the highlight of the entire trip—though you may be hard-pressed to find them.

Four o’clock came around, and the fiery exchange came to an end. Beach time!

We all rushed to change into our swimsuits before boarding the buses and heading to Turtle Beach, hoping to snorkel alongside sea turtles. Unfortunately, our time underwater didn’t quite live up to the beach’s name, as the turtles had since moved on and we didn’t see any. We did, however, see coral restoration projects in action, attracting a variety of tropical fish and adding to the experience. We stayed in the water for over an hour before being gathered for a photo taken by another tourist who knew all the right angles.

We then said a sad goodbye to Turtle Beach before heading back to our hostel for one last dinner, where we shared stories and laughs from the day. We decided that this amazing course deserved a celebration, leading us to the restaurant next door for a few drinks and some time to hang out before heading to bed ahead of our long day of travel the next morning.