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Please Note: The background on this page is an aerial photo of the sea ice near the island of Svalbard, Norway
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| Greetings to all my friends and
family, especially to those of you who are cold-weather-challenged!
As the title in the Subject heading
above indicates, yes, here I go... again. Onward in my ongoing quest to
see how cold I can get before I've had enough of it. As many of you already
know, I have subjected myself to sleeping at the Ice Hotel above Sweden's
Arctic Circle a few winter's ago, only to complete a repeat-feat the following
year just outside of Quebec. Those two trips, although an icicle
shy of balmy at their respective MINUS 5 and MINUS 4 C degree sleeping
temperatures (INDOORS), were merely practice for the trip I am about
to embark upon. This trip is a realization of one of my most precious childhood
dreams (never you mind that I fell out of that bunk-bed at camp, and left
my head impression on the floor). Yes, folks, I am heading North.
Waaaaaaaay North. As far North as anyone can go! I am signed on as a member
of the Global Adventures Expedition to the North Pole! Yes, I know. Some
of you have dropped your jaws. Some of you are wondering how tall that
bunk-bed really was. And still NORTH POLE OR BUST! So...... I am about to live out that childhood dream of mine. Assuming that the arctic weather gods are not too angry for all the global warming we've inflicted on them, we should all be standing on the pole itself, on the 90-th degree, on April 17-th, 2003. The conditions are rather iffy at best as I type this letter, with MINUS 25 temperatures, not taking wind chills into account, but I am hopeful that things will settle down by the time we are ready to leave for the ice-cap. We are to sleep at the Drifting Ice Base Research Station at degree-89 for two nights --- in tents, a la scout camp, albeit without the chirping of crickets or the marauding raccoons. Polar bears maybe, but thankfully no raccoons. I can feel your envy as you read my words <uhuh....>. So... as I set my sights due North,
to search for my frozen white world, I bid all of you a warm farewell.
And as most of you are watching the daffodils poke their yellow heads out
of the ground, think of me, On that note..... I will go continue packing. Question is, should I take a bathing suit? You will be hearing from me again - after I return, hopefully without any polar bear teeth-mark souvenirs. And perhaps I will collect an adequate plethora of factual information to be able to finally write that: "SLEEPING ON ICE FOR DUMMIES" book. I already know for a fact that drool freezes.... to your face, no less! Arctically yours,
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| A tidbit of trivia:
Fewer people have stood on the North Pole than have summited Mt. Everest! Wish me luck! Moki Kokoris is a freelance graphic artist/designer/illustrator, as well as a teacher of graphic design, piano, and polar ecology in Ridgefield, CT. Kokoris holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cooper Union and is also a graduate of the Ukrainian Music Institute. She is the United Nations Representative for the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations (WFUWO), a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Department of Public Information of the UN, having been appointed to the Planning Committee for the Conference on Climate Change. Moki Kokoris was the first woman of Ukrainian descent to reach the North Pole (April 18, 2003) and is a lifetime member of the American Polar Society. She is also an active member of Polar Bears International and has recently launched a new outreach in-classroom educational program named 90-north which includes a collaborative exchange with the United States Polar Rock Repository at the Byrd Polar Research Center. Moki’s research interests and presentation materials center on general studies of the polar regions, with a concentration on the Arctic, including its flora, fauna, indigenous peoples, climate change issues, as well as the importance of conservation of these areas. She also worked as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). |
others
of you are just shaking your heads. But I doubt that any of you are genuinely
shocked at this news. After all, my Nissan Pathfinder sports a license
plate which reads: LOVE ICE, and a bumper sticker which says:
because the chances are quite good that I will,
myself, be occupied with pastimes such as poking gobbets of snow out of
my more intimate creases with a warm toothpick..... So, how's THAT
for a lovely mental image?!? Well, don't complain because I had intended
to end this letter with telling all of you that I will be researching
whether, at MINUS 25-degrees F, pee freezes BEFORE or AFTER it hits the
ground... Now, aren't you happy I chose the first ending?
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CURRICULUM VITAE Motrya (AKA Moki) Kokoris •Graduate of the Cooper Union School of Architecture - Bachelor of Architecture 1979. Full academic scholarship. •Highest professional position held in the field: Production Manager at APAD, an architectural firm in Manhattan, NY – 1982-1984 •Graduate of the Ukrainian Music Institute (piano) - diploma 1974 •Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - 1992-2005 •Supplement to NYSDEC license from the Department of the Interior's Fish & Wildlife Service Bureau •Private piano teacher - 1976-2004 •Freelance graphic artist and illustrator - 1974-present •Freelance calligrapher - 1979-present (Society of Scribes member since 2001) •Participant (by invitation from Ukraine's Federal Bank and President Kravchuk) and finalist in the numismatic competition for the design of paper money for a newly independent Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union - 1992 •Participant (by invitation and approval from the IOC) and semi-finalist in the logo competition for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens •First woman of Ukrainian descent to reach the North Pole - April, 2003 •14-th woman to reach the North Pole via Borneo (Russian Ice Base at degree 89N) •United Nations representative for WFUWO (World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations) NGO, DPI (Department of Public Information) since 2004 •Appointed to the Planning Committee and the Networking Sub-Committee for the United Nations conference on Climate Change to be held in September, 2007 •Member of the Ukrainian Scouts Organization, having held posts of counselor, commander of summer camps, and currently the head of the Arts Judging Committee. •Co-Chair of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund "Viktory for Kids" figure skating benefit event - October, 2003 •Teacher workshop as well as class instructor of graphic design and calligraphy for the Connecticut Arts Council - 2000, 2001 Affiliations:
•American Polar Society
•Arctic Research Consortium of the US (ARCUS)
•Polar Bears International Partial List of Illustration and Publication: •Architectural and technical illustration in “House Design: Art and Practice” Author: Alfredo DeVido, Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 1996 •Technical and medical illustration in “Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf Injuries” Author: Dr. Larry Foster, 2004 •Article “Finding One’s True North” in the Ukrainian Woman in the World 2007 Journal •Preliminary script for the Children of Chernobyl Relief Fund documentary aired on The Learning Network
•Article “Sharing Arctic Tidbits with Kids” in Polar Bears International
newsletter
Biographical write-up as posted on the ARCUS Arctic Visiting Speakers List: Moki Kokoris is a freelance graphic artist/designer/illustrator, as well as a teacher of graphic design, piano, and polar ecology in Ridgefield, CT. Kokoris holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cooper Union and is also a graduate of the Ukrainian Music Institute. She is the United Nations Representative for the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations (WFUWO), a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Department of Public Information of the UN, having been appointed to the Planning Committee for the Conference on Climate Change. Kokoris was the first woman of Ukrainian descent to reach the North Pole (April 18, 2003) and is a lifetime member of the American Polar Society. She is also an active member of Polar Bears International and has recently launched a new outreach in-classroom educational program named 90-north which includes a collaborative exchange with the United States Polar Rock Repository at the Byrd Polar Research Center. Moki’s research interests and presentation materials center on general studies of the polar regions, with a concentration on the Arctic, including its flora, fauna, indigenous peoples, climate change issues, as well as the importance of conservation of these areas. She also worked as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). Moki has made numerous visits to various schools and Scout groups in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Her lectures are typically tailored to match current classroom curriculum and have included talks on polar history and exploration, geography, ecology, zoology, paleontology, as well as indigenous anthropology. Representative lecture titles include:
* The Polar Bear and Its Habitat Moki’s presentation topics are predominantly geared towards grades 3-5. She also prefers to cover a maximum 3-hour (one way) driving distance in the New England area due to the large amount of accompanying equipment, polar gear, and hands-on artifacts that are an integral part of her presentations. Please note though that interested parties should call to discuss the above in case options are available. Moki is excited about being an Arctic Visiting Speaker and is looking forward to broadening her affiliations and scope of environmental education, thereby promoting additional methods of reaching students who would otherwise not have access to such subjects and experiences. http://www.arcus.org/arctic_speaker/speakers/kokoris.html Moki in the RIDGEFIELD Magazine, Call of the Wild, Moki Kokoris realizes her dream.
From the Evening Post News, Local Bob Takes UN By Storm. |
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