Walking on ice

Siddharth Bhagwat, a second year environmental science student at Fergusson College, Pune, shares his travel to Antarctica.
Never in the wildest of my dreams had I ever imagined of going to Antarctica, walking on a moving iceberg and swimming in freezing waters. But, I did all of that as part of an expedition to Antarctica.
On March 13, 2015, the expedition started at Ushuaia, which is the southernmost city in the world located at the tip of Argentina.We had introductory sessions, a safety briefing and a few lectures on climate change. On March 15th, we embarked on the ship and for two days we had a roller-coaster ride on the Drake Passage. On March 17th, I saw my first iceberg.
On March 18th, we went for our first Zodiac rides. Zodiacs are small inflatable rubber boats with an ability to cut through thin ice, go at high speeds and carry 10 passengers at a time. We were in an area called `planeau channel,' also commonly known as the iceberg graveyard because of the pieces of ice scattered around to show its beauty. On this cruise we saw Humpback whales, penguins, Weddell seals and leopard seals. Later in the evening, we went to a place called `Port Charot' to practice our rope skills and prepare for hikes.
Antarctica taught me many life's lessons. It taught me to listen, be an inspiration, keep high goals in life and since everything about Antarctica is so pristine it taught me to do quality work. So I decided, instead of telling people what to do to prevent climate change and global warming, I would take the first step myself and prove it to people that it is possible.
The LEADearthSHIP programme, a collaboration between Tetra Pak and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), is aimed at creating awareness among graduates and postgraduates.