By Suh Yoo-ji
To be frank, I’m not much interested in going green. I do not care even the slightest about what happens to sea levels, the world’s average temperature, or even to the polar bears in the North Pole, much less to the pandas in Si Chuan Province.
I have always believed that all of the above problems were part of a scheme to divert attention away from other more imminent issues.
That was me before the trip.
My trip to China on a “2011 Green Explorers” program was organized by Cathay Pacific.
I had applied to the program on a completely selfish motive: to enjoy a free trip. To make that into a reality, I submitted a two page English essay and attended two interviews to get selected as a Korean member of the green explorer along with two other Korean colleagues.
With the kick-off ceremony, I, with 41 other students from all parts of the world, began a long journey into nature, away from man-made civilization.
The long bus rides got weary after a few days and every once in a while, the air conditioning on the bus would malfunction, and we would all sit sweating and shaking up and down due to the unpaved roads.
Making new acquaintances, playing games, talking into the night and going to spas together with friends from distinctive backgrounds was by no means easy ― but everyone had an open mind, and we managed to form some strong friendships.
So immersed in all the cultural exchanges, I had not turned my eye to nature until one night at the Hulin Ecological Resort, a wooden building located in a forest.
It was a damp evening, just after a rain shower, and the air was moist and cozy.
After a heated gathering and a frenzy of photo shooting, I took a shower with freezing water, swearing I would never come here for vacation, and sat on the balcony.
I was watching my fellow explorers playing games in the yard when it suddenly started to rain again. I could smell the wet meadow and the wind from the nearby mountains tickling my cheeks. Leaning on the guardrail, I could see the impressive silhouette of the mountains lit by occasional lightning ― a yellow stroke of luminescence from the sky.
All of it was ever so sweet and comforting; only then did I comprehend the passion of environmentalists ― those whom I had deemed before with much skepticism.
A certain thought swept past my mind.
What if this wondrous scenery is swept out due to our misbehaviors? What if posterity never gets a chance to delve into this indescribable nature, be it my kids or others?
I realized that here lay the reason why I came here, all the way from Korea. It was to feel Mother Nature and to realize, finally, that we must preserve what we have.
I had read numerous articles, seen astounding pictures, and heard from so many people about how we had to save the nature. I had even talked about environmental issues myself in competitions like the Model United Nations or Model Congress ― but none of these experiences had ever motivated me to take any action.
On the other hand, a single rain shower in Hulin managed to make me feel sheepish for using two pieces of tissue at a time.
When I came back to Korea, I changed.
Now I know what is at stake and what must be done. I have already made a presentation to my fellow colleagues at school on raising awareness about the endangered pandas.
I have volunteered to take responsibility on environmental issues in my classroom. I have joined the program to pass down used text books to our juniors.
And I am currently creating a blueprint for a club that will move to create a greener environment inside the school campus by planting trees, holding campaigns and so on.
We are so absorbed in material values today that we forget how much nature is worth.
Nature is an invaluable present for all of us and right now, it needs our attention. Raising awareness, however, has its limits when done with books or speeches in classes because all of the issues seem so distant in a classroom.
I believe that programs like the “green explorer” should be expanded so more teenagers can learn the true meaning of Mother Nature because it provides us with a hands-on experience of the real treasures of the Earth.
The writer is a sophomore at CheongShim International Academy.