The Planet’s Coolest Jobs: Antarctic Base Workers全球最酷：工作在南極

埃米莉·弗羅斯特

For most of us， the world’s southernmost point seems like a pretty hostile place， but for a certain four women， it’s home. Each year， Hannah， Hannalore， Sophie and Julia spend five months living and working in Port Lockroy， a British base in Antarctica that also serves as a museum， shop and post office. With Hannalore as Base Leader， this team works hard to preserve the port， welcoming visiting ships and， best of all， watching over the native colony of gentoo penguins. We caught up with the team to find out what it’s like to live on the very edge of the world.

What is an Antarctic Base Worker？

Hannalore： We work for the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust （UKAHT）， which is a small charity based in Cambridge in the UK. It looks after six historical sites along the Antarctic Peninsula， of which Port Lockroy is the most visited. My team and I work to keep Antarctic history alive， sharing it with visitors from all over the world. Back in the UK， the UKAHT visit schools to educate younger generations about our work on the Antarctic Peninsula.

What’s it like living in the Antarctic？

Hannah： It’s very cool living here， literally！ We live on a tiny island the size of a football pitch， but share it with about 2000 gentoo penguins and their chicks， as well as other birds. Although we are here mainly in the summer there’s still lots of snow， which slowly melts throughout the season. We are surrounded by beautiful snowy mountains and glaciers and clear blue water， so we’re not at a loss for fantastic scenery.

Tell us a little bit about your typical day.

Hannalore： Life here is different every day and depends on weather and ice conditions， as well as the visiting ships’ schedules. Port Lockroy is one of the most visited places in Antarctica， with one to three ships visiting a day. Between ship visits we have other duties to attend to. These include maintenance jobs， sending postcards from the post office， checking conditions on the historical items in the museum and monitoring the penguin colonies and other wildlife. There is always something to do at Port Lockroy！

How did you become an Antarctic Base Worker？

Julia： I’ve always been fascinated by the polar regions and have visited the Antarctic on a small passenger ship twice， stopping in at Port Lockroy both times. On the second visit I asked the team about working and living on the base. Up for the challenge， I applied that year， but didn’t have any experience in tourism or customer services. Undeterred I started guiding on whale and dolphin watching boats and small passenger ships， reapplied to work for the UKAHT and got the job！

Hannah： I was working on a round-the-world cruise ship seven years ago and we sailed through Antarctica. I fell in love with the natural beauty here and started researching how I could come back and work here. I finally got the job after three years of applications.

What’s the coolest thing about your job？

Hannah： As part of my role as Deputy Sub-Post Mistress I spend a lot of time stamping people’s postcards. It makes me happy to think of the joy over 70，000 people per year get when they receive a postcard from Antarctica， and the most southerly post office in the world！

Sophie： The most amazing thing about my job is being able to live and work with my feathery friends， the gentoo penguins. There are over 2000 of them on our little island， and they are fascinating to observe. I can’t tell them apart yet， but I am starting to get familiar with their different behaviours—and soon the team and I will get to watch the new season’s chicks grow up！

How do you look after the gentoo penguins？

Sophie：? As they’re wild we largely leave them be， but as we share their home and have many people visiting us， we have to make sure the penguins are not disturbed when they are resting or waddling their way back to their nests. To help them， we mark specific routes for visitors to walk on so that they don’t use the penguins’ highways. Part of our job is also to count the penguin colony when after they’ve laid their eggs， then again when the chicks are born and when the chicks are old enough to venture beyond the nest. The information collected will help scientists know if the breeding season has been a successful one or not. So far so good this year！

What other Antarctic wildlife have you seen？

Hannah： Skuas and snowy sheathbills are birds that nest on our island， so we see them every day. We see visiting crabeater and weddell seals most days， which venture onto the ice for a snooze. It’s so quiet here that you can hear them breathing if you’re close enough. If we are lucky we may see a leopard seal， Antarctic terns， Wilson’s storm petrels and southern giant petrels too.

What do you miss most about home when living in the Antarctic？

Sophie： The thing I miss most about home is the variety of smells when you walk outside; the freshly cut grass， the roses in gardens， the rain in the forest， baked bread from the bakery or exotic foods from restaurants. In Antarctica， the snow and the rocks don’t really smell of anything， well except penguin poo！

What do you miss the most about the Antarctic when you’re home？

Julia： I miss the penguins most of all， but also the peace and quiet. There’s no traffic here at all， only two ships visiting each day. In the Antarctic， people are always happy and smiling as they’re on holiday and not rushing around constantly using their mobile phones. It’s good to get away from all the hustle and bustle， enjoy a simple life without technology and take in the beauty of the natural world.

世界的最南端在我們大多數人眼里似乎是艱險之地，但那兒卻是四位女性的安居之所。每年，漢娜、漢娜洛、索菲和朱莉婭要在英國的南極基地拉克羅港度過五個月的時光，生活之余還要工作。這個基地同時集博物館、商店和郵局為一身。組長漢娜洛要帶領大家下很大功夫維護港口、接待游船，最棒的是照管本土種群巴布亞企鵝。我們和小組取得聯系，想看世界最邊緣的生活是什么樣子。

南極基地工作者是做什么的？

漢娜洛：我們效力于英國南極遺產信托基金會，它是位于劍橋的一個小型慈善機構，負責維護南極半島沿岸的六處歷史遺跡，拉克羅港是其中之一，游客最多。我和我的小組給世界各地的旅客講述南極的歷史，希望能讓它得以延續。在英國，英國南極遺產信托基金會走進校園，讓年輕一代了解我們在南極的工作。

住在南極洲感覺如何？

漢娜：太酷了，毫不夸張！我們住的小島不過足球場大小，但卻有大約2000只巴布亞企鵝和其幼雛以及其他鳥類和我們相伴。我們主要是夏季待在這里，但秋雪依然很厚，整個夏天才會慢慢融化。有美麗的雪山、冰川和澄澈的深海這些迷人的風景環繞四周，我們也不會感到失落。

簡要講一下你們日常的工作。

漢娜洛：這兒的生活每天都不一樣，取決于天氣、冰況以及游船的日程。拉克羅港是游客來南極到訪最多的地方之一，每天要接待一到三艘游船。閑余時間我們有其他事要干，包括維修工作、從郵局寄出明信片、檢查博物館里歷史遺物的狀況以及監測企鵝種群和其他野生生物。在拉克羅港總是閑不住！

你們是如何到南極基地工作的？

朱莉婭：我一直向往極地地區，坐小型客船來過南極兩次，每次都在拉克羅港停留。第二次我向小組詢問了基地的工作和生活，決意迎難而上，當年就提出了申請，但我之前沒有任何提供旅游或客戶服務的經驗。我沒有泄氣，開始在鯨豚觀光船和小型客輪上做導游，再次申請英國南極遺產基金會的工作，終于成功了！

漢娜：七年前我在一艘環球游輪上工作，駛遍了整個南極洲。我愛上了這兒的自然風光，就著手研究怎樣才能回到這里工作，申請了三年終于得到了這份工作。

工作中最酷的事是什么？

漢娜：我的職責包括協助管理郵政支局，得花大量時間給明信片貼郵票。想到每年有7萬多人會因收到從南極洲的郵局，并且是世界最南端的郵局寄出的明信片而歡欣雀躍，我就高興極了。

索菲：我的任務中最棒的就是無論生活還是工作都可以和巴布亞企鵝這群毛絨絨的朋友們在一起。我們的小島上有2000多只企鵝，觀察起來特別有趣。盡管還不能把它們分得一清二楚，但我開始熟悉它們的不同行為——不久我和我們小組就能看著新一季出生的小家伙們長大了！

你們怎樣照顧巴布亞企鵝？

索菲：企鵝是野生的，我們基本不用管，但因為我們也住在這里，又有很多游客前來，所以我們必須確保它們在休息或返巢時不會被打擾。我們還標記出特定的游客路線，這樣企鵝的固定通道就不會被占用。我們的工作還包括數清楚企鵝在下蛋后、幼雛出生、雛鳥大到能離開巢穴時的種群數量。收集的信息會幫助科學家了解這一季繁殖是否成功。目前為止今年一切順利！

你們還見過哪些其他野生生物？

漢娜：我們每天都能見到賊鷗和潔白的南極海鳥，因為它們會在島上筑巢。大多日子里還能看到食蟹海豹和威德爾海豹擁到冰上打盹兒。這里靜悄悄的，如果離得夠近，完全可以聽到它們的呼吸。幸運的話我們或許還能看到豹海豹、南極燕鷗、威爾遜風暴海燕和南部的大海燕。

住在南極時最想念家鄉的什么？

索菲：最想念外出散步時聞到的各種氣息：剛修剪的青草、花園里的玫瑰、森林中的雨、面包房烘焙的面包或飯店里的異國美食。在南極洲，雪和巖石聞起來其實沒有任何味道，除了企鵝的便便！

在家的時候最想念南極的什么？

朱莉婭：最想念的是企鵝，還有這里的寧靜平和。 這兒沒有任何車輛來往，每天只有兩趟游船到訪。在南極，人們總是掛著笑意，開開心心，因為大家都在度假，不用東奔西跑，手機打個不停。能遠離一切喧囂，享受遠離科技的簡單生活，融入美麗的自然世界，真的很美好。

（譯者單位：復旦大學奇境譯坊）