Twelve Months in Antarctica

Minus thirty degrees! That's what greeted me when I stepped off the plane.

零下三十度！这就是我走下飞机时迎接我的温度。

I'd signed up for twelve months at a research station in Antarctica.

我报名在南极的一个科考站工作十二个月。

My job was to study the ice, and how quickly it's changing.

我的工作是研究冰层，以及它变化得有多快。

In summer, the sun never sets, not even at midnight!

夏天太阳从不落下，连半夜都不会！

We worked around the clock, drilling ice cores thousands of years old!

我们昼夜不停地工作，钻取几千年前的冰芯！

Each layer is like a page in the planet's diary.

每一层都像是地球日记里的一页。

Holding that ancient ice, I felt incredibly privileged.

捧着那块古老的冰，我觉得自己无比幸运。

Then, in February, the last plane left.

后来到了二月，最后一班飞机离开了。

After that, there was no way in or out for eight months.

从那以后，整整八个月都没法进出。

By May, the sun had vanished altogether.

到了五月，太阳已经彻底消失了。

Total darkness... for weeks on end.

完全的黑暗……一连好几个星期。

Well... people often ask me what the hardest part was.

嗯……常有人问我，最难熬的是什么。

Honestly, it wasn't the cold. It was the isolation.

说实话，不是寒冷，而是与世隔绝。

There were just fourteen of us, cut off from the world.

我们只有十四个人，与外界完全隔绝。

Some nights, I'd stare at photos of my family for hours.

有些夜晚，我会盯着家人的照片看上好几个小时。

But winter had its own kind of magic, too.

但冬天也有它独特的魔力。

One night, the sky exploded into green and purple light!

有一天晚上，天空突然绽放出绿色和紫色的光芒！

And not far from the station lived a colony of emperor penguins.

离科考站不远的地方，住着一群帝企鹅。

Thousands of fathers huddled together, keeping their eggs warm through the storms.

成千上万的企鹅爸爸挤在一起，在暴风雪中为蛋保暖。

Then, one August morning, I heard someone shouting in the corridor.

后来，八月的一个早晨，我听见有人在走廊里大喊。

The sun was back! A thin orange line on the horizon!

太阳回来了！地平线上一道细细的橙色光线！

We all ran outside and just stood there, laughing and crying.

我们全都跑到外面，就站在那里，又笑又哭。

I'd never been so grateful for an ordinary sunrise.

我从来没有这样感激过一次普通的日出。

When I finally flew home, well... everything felt overwhelming.

当我终于飞回家时，嗯……一切都让我应接不暇。

Traffic, crowds, fresh fruit... it was all too much!

车流、人群、新鲜水果……一切都太多了！

But Antarctica taught me something I'll never forget.

但南极教会了我一件永远不会忘记的事。

Light means far more when you've lived without it.

当你经历过没有光的日子，光的意义就大得多。