Have you heard of ‘the last greatest wilderness on earth’? I’ve been there – to the Antarctic, on an expedition lead by Robert Swan O.B, the only polar explorer who has walked to both the North and South poles. I was selected to represent India on the International Antarctic Treaty Expedition. After experiencing first-hand the effects of global warming, my pledge was to lead convenient solutions to the inconvenient truth of climate change, through sharing my story with young people around the world.

 

When I took a decision to participate in the expedition, I was faced with several questions to which I didn’t know the answers. Ambiguity had wrapped her pretty little arms around me, and my only option was to make the most of it.

 

Physical ambiguity: I was headed to a part of the world where few people have been, crossing the Drake Passage, the roughest sea in the world. I knew it would be physically challenging, but the extent was still unknown. Once we landed on the continent, the fear of the unknown mixed with the continent's majesty was a heady feeling. Standing at the top of a mountain and looking out at an endless expanse of blue white ice dotted with the black and orange of penguins, was magic.

 

Emotional ambiguity: Through the course of one month while in the Antarctic, we would have no communication with our family. I had traveled the world, but always in the comfort of being connected to my family. This was a new feeling of uncertainty. Exploring a distant and dangerous continent, no way of communicating with family and dealing with unfamiliar situations on a daily basis – it was intense, and I’m thankful for everything I learned through this experience.

 

Intellectual ambiguity: Representing India in the Antarctic, along with 59 other well-accomplished business leaders from different countries was a huge responsibility. While my area of expertise was youth leadership, other participants were achievers in the field of energy modeling and climate change. Keeping up intellectually was challenging, and required a steep learning curve.