What am I looking forward to?

My fellowship requires some specific pre trip journaling, and with only ten days till arctic departure, I need to address these questions. The first question asks, "What are you looking forward to?" I am tempted to write all the obvious responses here: seeing a polar bear, seeing a beluga, learning new things, and meeting new people... While all these are certainly true, what I am really looking forward to is improving my "climate change conversation skills". Just the other day I stopped at a fancy coffee shop in the middle of the mall and the barista, an older gentleman, was complaining about the heat and humidity, which I thought was odd because it seemed he had spent the afternoon in an air conditioned mall kiosk. As I regretted ordering a drink that took a few minutes to prepare, he sarcastically brought up the topic of global warming, a subject I hate to discuss with strangers. Of course he was joking about how Al Gore was a "bunko artist" (his words), and how global warming was a way to scare people and spend more tax payer money. I thought to myself, how does one go about mentioning carbon emissions, melting permafrost, coastal erosion, coastal flooding, the difficulties many species face, and all the other pieces to the evidence puzzle? I suppose I shouldn't worry about my friend the barista, but more importantly, how do I have responsible conversations with my students about climate change. Is there a creative way to get a seventh grade scientist to discover their personal contribution to the problem of global warming, and guide them into being problem solvers for the future of our world? I am looking forward to listening to the conversations of experts, learning from other amazing educators, and finding my own "words" about climate change.