I didn't ever think about this. About sitting here, at 5 in the morning, writing my final journal entry. I actually wrote this on the plane. Can I just say an overall thank you to everybody involved. It's been amazing. I really miss you guys so much. I will see you soon.
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I don't think I will ever forget how much they have impacted me. I've always looked to the older generation for inspiration - the people that believe in us. But coming to the PBI Leadership camp has changed that. The older generation have failed. They created a subtle mess and now its our role to clean it up. I believe that strongly. These people are mature enough to accept that and understand the importance of change. That comes down to their attitude, and I cannot stress enough how their attitudes have changed mine. All across the world are a strong group of amazing, level headed 'sub adults' ready to take action.

It is better to regret something you have done, than something you should have done.

That quote sticks in my mind, even 3 days after being home. Sean said it to me on the plane back to Winnipeg. I won't forget that. I'm going to stop worrying about my mistakes and look heavily at the fact that I am taking risks and learning from them - making experiences. If I hadn't of taken this opportunity and acted on it, I cannot imagine how unhappy I would have been.

The people I have met have changed my view on the world. I'm sick of giving people time who don't have time for me. I am going to surround myself with people like the ones I have met.

Jess, for a start, was my rock. She is an excellent ambassador for the Arctic and for Australia. She was always there for me, when I thought I lost my passport, or I was in absolute tears at the airport. Thank you so much Jess, only you know the importance of what I've said.

Sean, you will always remain one of my closest friends. The connection we shared is indescribable. We just got each other. And we may be on opposite sides of the world but I honestly will still feel that connection with you somehow. I cannot thank you enough for being my best friend out there.

When I first met Annie, I knew we were going to be friends. Annie, you are like a big sister to me. I know strongly that we will keep in touch.

Charlotte, you social skills are amazing. You are never afraid to say what you think, and you are honestly one of the kindest people I have ever met.

That also goes for Lisa-Joy, and JB, my friendship with both of you is so strong, I feel really comfortable around the both of you. Thank you for nurturing change.

Omar, you are one of the most honest people I have ever come across. You not only stay true to other people, you stay true to yourself. That is very important, so thank you.

Ronit, you are always so bright in your personality and your intelligence. You are a clear example of a leader, and you will never give up. Keep shining.

Astrid, you were always there for me. I never ever once saw you upset. You are an over the top optimist and I love it. You never looked at the negative side of a problem. Thank you for making me smile.

Cesar and Stephan, both of you were really funny, but I also saw a serous side to both of you and it came out occasionally. I want to thank you for being well balanced. I enjoyed your company.

Connor - so mature for your age. I can definitely see you in big places in the near future.

Katie, you and I shared a very strong friendship, which was definitely a big help whenever I felt upset or sad. Plus we are such great lyric poets :)

Cassidy, you know how to make anything fun. Don't let anybody tell you that that isn't important. I live by it. You have opened up a lot of doors for me. I think it was more important than you will ever know.

Kaitlin, you are such a caring person, ultra-sensitive, but very caring. I can't imagine sharing the helicopter experience with anyone else.

Bethers, Becky, both of you have amazing passion for the environment, and it shows every time you speak. It really inspires me.

Robert and Carolyn, I cannot say enough how much this experience has meant to me. It's so important. I don't even know what to write. Just know that PBI Australia has a lot more coming.

It was these people that have made me look for more in life. Solutions will most likely not come without searching and discovering. I feel like I can change that process.

Attitude is everything.

It's time for me to close this chapter and start the next. It pains me so much to not be with all of you. I have to accept that this is the way it is supposed to be.

With all of my heart,
Michael

The other night I broke down in tears after a presentation which Stacey gave about the Ozone and Global Dimming and how we have a huge problem at hand. I guess that was the moment where everything just sunk in. Why are people so ignorant? As a small group of people facing a world problem, we can only do so much. People need to wake up to themselves and realise, whether they are skeptics of climate change or not, this is our world. This is earth. And, this is our future. It’s nobody else’s so we have to take responsibility. I feel so supported by these people. I can talk to them, any one of them, like I can talk to my parents or my friends. Although we might be on the other side of the world, I know the connection we share will not be lost, but only strengthened. And we may never have a 10 year “save the world” reunion as Sean suggested, but we will have each other. And it is this strength in the relationship that we all share, that will empower me to create change.

Something I have realized is that I can’t do everything on my own. I may appear happy or contented on the outside, but without support I would never be here. My parents have never said no to me, so if they do end up reading this (which I’m sure they will), thank you. If I had time I would go through every single person but I wouldn’t be able to write less than a page each on how great each of these people really are.

I’m no longer going to surround myself with people who don’t have time for me, because I feel like I can give anybody the time of day. There isn’t enough time left to waste – the time to change is now. The question is not “Does global warming exist?” or “How will global warming affect us?”, it is “Are we going to face up to the biggest challenge that our world has ever seen?”. These people have shown me it is our generation that is going to face up to the forces of nature and the forces of human industry. And I’m no longer afraid.

Forget what I said before, today has been the best so far. It started in the morning when I woke up half an hour earlier because I was cooking breakfast with my group (I know, I got up half an hour early! What a feat!). But breakfast wasn’t just breakfast to us. We decided to make it a restaurant, named ‘Australian Influence’ because Jess and myself are in the group. The traditional “bacon and eggs” was on the menu, along with an Australian favourite – Vegemite on toast. I didn’t see anyone dare to try it, but they said that they would “try it at home” – psh, yeah right! Although we didn’t see anyone react with cringing faces, it was pretty fun.

During the day we went out on the buggy and I got some amazing photos of the bears. The one below is one that I am so happy with:
(coming soon)
Thanks to Fujifilm for the incredible camera.

The main highlight of the day was the preparation of our dinner restaurant. We called it “The Arctic Swan” because we were folding origami swans out of serviettes and we are all really creative. We cut up pizza that we had left over from lunch and called them ‘appertisers’ and we made mocktails out of Sprite and Orange Juice. We then dimmed the lights in the kitchen which we turned into a restaurant and people ate their swan lasagna (it was actually beef). We then were interrupted by an amazing light show – Aurora Borealis or northern lights. I got these photos of them which I am also very proud of.
(coming soon)
Connor helped me out with how to take wonderful photos using my camera such as these.

The light show topped the day off. It was the spectacle of being on the arctic tundra. It is a symbol of what beauty and magnificence is in jeopardy as a result of our actions.

The group is beginning to think about taking action when we get home. We are working with each other on answering questions, making decisions and formulating ideas. I think I have learnt to become more aware of other people’s opinions and to learn to respect them even if I still believe they are wrong.

It's been raining all day here on the shore of Hudson Bay. I'm feeling happy to be in the buggy which has windows everywhere, and I can see a panoramic view of the tundra. In fact, a bear can be seen in the distance right now; it's been there all day as I could see it from my bunk window when I woke up this morning.

Today was interesting. I was awoken to the sound of an alarming "Oh what a beautiful morning" rendition by Mr. Robert Buchanan. I thought someone was singing in their sleep. I actually woke up last night talking in my sleep yet again! That's so embarrassing. I don't know why though! I'm really exhausted, Astrid has been telling me to smile - and I am, just not on the outside. I'm too tired to make my cheeks move, but it's a good tired!

I don't think I can comprehend how amazing it is to be here and look out onto this dense, flat land and see as far as the horizon stretches. There is just so much range of animal and plant life in one area. It's an indescribable feeling to look out onto this.

We had another encounter with a bear just before. He came over, covered in dirt, and jumped up the side of the buggy! I got the best photo! They are so majestic and intuitive, even when they are covered in mud.

By the way, the picture above is our first bear, and the buggy in the distance. I've taken so many photos that I've had to delete the songs off my iPod and use it as a memory stick! I can't wait to get out onto the buggy again from the lodge and see more.

*By the way, thank you to the people who have donated money. It is amazing to be part of such a greatly supported cause.

A MESSAGE FROM THE TUNDRA

Hello! This is Annie and Michael and we are live from the tundra with the polar bears. Let’s interview them now!

Polar Bear: Good evening associates.

Annie: Today when we saw you after a 1 hour trip in the gigantic tundra buggy, which we boarded after a night at the Tundra Lodge, and some brekky at Gypsy’s, what was your initial reaction?

Polar Bear: I was quite shocked. To see a giant machine with wheels, out here, on the tundra? I was like, no way bearfriend.

Michael: Our breakfast was great, thanks for asking.

Polar Bear: I didn’t ask.

Michael: I know.

Annie: What is it like out here on the tundra?

Polar Bear: It’s very cold, well not for me, but maybe for you. It’s extremely flat, there’s some water around but it’s also very rocky and bumpy. And you can see to the edge of the earth!

Michael: What do you think of the people?

Polar Bear: They are scary, especially when they set up the bear traps that you saw today at the Polar Bear jail. But these are in place to keep the wild teenage bears out of the main city of Churchill. It’s also scary when they set up a Polar Bear testing laboratory and conduct experiments on us, such as drowning us in oil. My great grandfathers friends sisters pets dogs brothers cats mothers owners daughter (in other words, my son) was actually killed in one of these experiments.

Michael: That’s sad, dude.

Annie: Well don’t you think the killing of your son to preserve the whole species is more important than your loss?

Polar Bear: Perhaps, however you already discussed issues surrounding this question today in the bus. How about you tell me about the Tundra Buggy?

Michael: No, let’s talk about snow.

Polar Bear: But I don’t rea…
Michael: *interrupts* Well tonight it snowed! It was so exciting because I have never seen it snow before! It fell from the sky like ptarmigan feathers.

Annie: Yeah it was sweet, man! Bloody oath!

Michael: You are turning Australian.

Annie: I’ll be Australian when Bob’s your uncle.

Polar Bear: Okay.

THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE

COLD! I can’t believe how cold it is! It’s amazingly freezing here in Churchill – the ‘polar bear capital’ of the world. I guess what I’ve been saying all day is right; it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and I love it! Churchill is a really nice place, the small town aspect of it reminds me of a country town in Australia. Normally I’m not a fan of isolation but this is amazing. I can’t put it into words!

Today started after a complete night’s sleep (woohoo!) and I was so happy at my wake up call to realize that during that sleep I hadn’t actually woken up. It’s kind of funny because I have a vague idea that I woke up in the middle of the night and said something to my room mate Sean about checking out of the hotel – I guess I was half asleep. That was pretty embarrassing.

The flight with CalmAir to Churchill was great and I had a good chat to Astrid from Denmark. I found out some pretty interesting things. Everyone is getting along fine and we are all enjoying finding out about each other’s way of life in their country.

To stand on the edge of Hudson Bay and look out this afternoon… Wow. That was an experience. I don’t think any words could put into place the feeling I had at that moment. This is the place that is representative of everything I have come to the top of the world for. It’s incredibly special.

We haven’t seen any snow yet but I’m not giving up hope. Tomorrow we are out on the tundra and hopefully see some bears. This is more than an education experience, it’s an incredible and hands on learning experience and I can’t get enough.

SIGNS OF THINGS TO COME

My previous experience with traveling could not have prepared me for the amazingly long transit which I faced on Thursday morning at Brisbane airport. After a quick coffee we headed to Sydney and then almost missed our connecting flight to Honolulu. That was an experience and a half. Following that was the longest 12 hours of my life! It dragged on and on and on and on, and because we were pretty much chasing the sun across the earth, we barely had any sleep; the anticipation of getting to Canada (and getting into bed) exacerbated this. After getting into Four Points Winnipeg I ate a whole pizza (I am in North America) and pretty much crashed. I slept about five hours and soon enough it was the next day and I was at the lobby greeting people from all across the world. Socialising at dinner last night, I found weird and amazing differences between Australian, American and Canadian culture. That was pretty cool. I didn’t get much sleep last night (try three hours) and I’ve just woken up after a 20-minute “micro-sleep” as Jess and I have colloquially named them. I feel like I’m about to pass out on the keyboard! Today we had a tour around Winnipeg which is an amazing and beautiful city. I have never experienced something so different before. It is absolutely brilliant and so pretty, it makes the jet lag worth it. Signs of things to come, I’m guessing! I was amazed by the leaves on the ground and I saw a squirrel which was pretty cool. Everybody is so amazing and diverse, and there is a huge dynamic in the group. I’m guessing this will come in handy because tomorrow we leave for the tundra and get to see the real icon of our cause that we have all passionately spoken about. I couldn’t ask for more.