Welcome to South Pole

Is it cold?

Yes! Be very careful out in the open air! The temperature is between -21℃ in the summer and -78℃ in the winter, and you can become numb with cold without realizing. There’s heavy frost even on the warmest summer days, and if it’s quiet you can hear your breath freeze. So if you leave the station, dress warmly and carry dry clothing and a portable radio.

Is there anything good about the weather?

The air is very pure, and it doesn’t snow very much — only about four millimetres a year. There’s very little wind and the sky is usually clear. It’s possibly the calmest place on Earth.

Is it safe?

Because the South Pole is a high altitude site, the glare of the sunlight here is very terrible. It’s also reflected by the snow, so if you go outside, remember to wear sunglasses and use suncream. If you don’t, there’s a severe risk that you’ll damage your eyesight or get badly sunburnt.

What’s it like to live here?

Life is quite abnormal. Sunrise and sunset come once every six months, and in the winter the total absence of daylight can be tiresome, and for some, depressing. We’re totally isolated except for radio and electronic communications, as no aircraft can fly here for about eight months. Usual equipment doesn’t always work as it should do. If you use an electric drill, the power cord will snap. Photography is tricky too, as film is fragile and the camera battery doesn’t work in the cold.

I tend to go slowly when I drive in the mountains of my home, because the forest scenery is beautiful no matter what the season. This morning I was driving slower than usual because an early March snow had turned the roads slippery. Going up a mountain road, at a sharp, snowy curve, I saw a big buck deer standing in the middle of the road. I came to a full stop and for a few seconds we just stared at each other. His eyes seemed wise and he stood still there. Finally, he nodded his head at me. I nodded in return and motioned with my hand for him to go on. He then jumped across the road, up the hill, and back into the woods. I drove on smiling at the magic of this moment and thanked that I had been going slowly enough not to hit this beautiful creature.

Most of us rush through this life not knowing what we are missing. We rarely get to enjoy what each day brings us. Life is meant to be savored. Days are meant to be lived in love and joy not flown through at a crazy speed.

The next time you find yourself going too fast, slow down. Take the time to watch the sunrise and fill the world with light. Take the time to look your children in their eyes, hug them, and tell them that you love them. Take the time to live your life with love and delight in all the miracles each day brings you. And you might even end up not hitting a deer on your way home.

Reading and writing poetry is a very personal experience. Poets use language as a way of expressing their feelings. Poems can describe the beauty of nature, a person, a dream or a memorable event. Most people have tried writing poetry at some time. For children, it is a good way to explore language and have fun with words as well as to express themselves.

But teachers and psychologists have found another use for poetry as a form of therapy (疗法) to help people with problems. Writing poetry can help people deal with changes in their lives, death or feelings of sadness, drug or alcohol problems or serious illness. By writing down your feelings, you can learn to understand yourself better and give yourself a voice if you feel you are being ignored. Poem might be a way of telling someone something when you do not feel able to talk about it face to face. And just because people are ill or having difficulties in their lives, it doesn’t mean they have lost their sense of humor. Poems written as therapy can be funny too, as laughter is also considered to be very good medicine.

Students at a special school in Dudley, in England, read and write poems every day. Some of the poems they write are very good, but their reason for writing is not just to be creative. All of them have problems. Some of them have long-term medical conditions, such as cancer, while others have personality disorders or psychological problems. By writing poems students are growing in self-confidence. The poems provide a channel through which they can communicate with the world, and express their feelings. They also help them to recognize and explore their problems and to develop a positive attitude to life.

But the poems are helping other people, too. The school has collected some of the students’ poems and published them in a book which is being sold to raise funds for a local hospital. The book has proved very popular, giving students a sense of motivation and achievement.

When Benjamin Cherkasky was in eighth grade, he quit the swim team. It wasn’t because he lacked the passion; he just couldn’t accept failures in matches.

A US therapist who researches perfectionism at Northwestern University realized years later what had happened. Cherkasky’s perfectionism was creating unrealistic standards. Unable to meet them, he quit.

“My perfectionism contributed to very high expectations, and that caused real suffering,” he said.

Cherkasky is not alone in feeling that perfectionism can cause anxiety. So many millennials suffer from the ills of perfectionism that psychologists are issuing warnings and schools are pointing up the need to accept failure.

Northwestern had held several lectures that offered tips on how students could deal with a perfectionism problem.

Jessica Rohlfing Pryor, a psychologist leading the events, said every generation is a sponge for the messages it receives. “Millennials, more than any other generation in American society, are receiving clear messages around achieving,” she said. “There’s an absence of messaging that trying your hardest is still OK.”

Researchers also mentioned that social media adds comparative pressure, along with the drive to earn money and achieve career goals. Perfectionists often create even higher goals, which can lead to a higher risk of failure.

In college, Cherkasky found himself surrounded by so many intelligent people that he felt he should have been achieving a higher level than he was. “It makes you feel kind of crazy,” he said.

This type of thinking can lead people to putting in less effort, which, as they fall behind, can create more anxiety. “It makes people feel kind of isolated.” And that, Cherkasky added, “can cause students to move away from their school”.

Northwestern is not the only school eager to help students.

Brown University includes perfectionism in its advising services, asking students if they ever feel that what they achieve isn’t good enough.