First Day in Poland

We all have our own expectations and thoughts about the upcoming COP19.  Some of us are excited to meet people with the same thoughts and feelings about climate change, others are anticipating being a sponge and soaking up all the information they can, and some can’t wait to be a part of something much bigger then SES and themselves.  It is amazing to think that someday it will be our generation that runs these conferences.  It is also hard to believe we will be the ones changing the world for the better or worse.  By going to this conference I feel our generation has the chance to be a part of something changing the world for the good.  This is going to help us learn how to point others in this direction too.  We all are unsure of the adventures ahead but what we do know is that we will not be the same people when we return.

With our first day in Poland came our first impressions of this new country!  It was great to see all of the smiling faces as we began our decent into Warsaw.  Some of us were excited to be in a country overseas and some of us more experienced travelers were happy to be visiting a whole new place.  I think the conference became real when we went and registered.  We received a badge that will allow us to enter the conference.  Even though it is a little piece of paper with our faces attached to a lanyard, to all of us it signified much more; the opportunity to be present among the most intellectual people in the world addressing the climate change issue.  Overall, our first impressions were that we are now a part of something MUCH bigger than we ever expected.