A new life

I used to work as a college lecturer in the north of England, running photography courses. It wasn’t a bad job and I really liked my students, but I began to feel tired of doing the same thing every day. Select

I’d always loved travelling, so one weekend I typed ‘international volunteering’ into an internet search engine. At the top of the results page was the opportunity to go and stay on an island in the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles away, and help to protect the beaches and the sea life. Select I had some diving experience, and the more I talked about it, the more I wanted to do it. So I contacted the organisation. One week later they offered to send me to the island and I accepted. Select After all, the volunteer job was only for two months during the summer holidays. I thought after I’d finished, I’d come home.

As soon as I got to the island, I was sure I’d done the right thing. My first dive was incredible. Select I felt so lucky to be able to experience that every day.

In fact, I loved it so much that I never came home! I’ve now been on the island for ten years and I have a permanent job. I’m working as a marine educator, teaching volunteers about the sea life and taking them snorkelling and diving. My desk is a picnic table 10 metres from the best beach on the island. Of course not everything about my new life is perfect. Select However, I can’t imagine going back to my old life.

Antarctica

Antarctica is the coldest, emptiest, and driest place on Earth. Ninety-nine percent of Antarctica is covered by ice about 5 metres thick. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was minus 89.2 degrees Celsius, registered on July 21, 1983, at Antarctica’s Vostok station. This continent is dry, windy, and very cold. Select There is an area called Dry Valleys that has not had rain for more than a million years!

The existence of Antarctica was completely unknown until the continent was first discovered in 1820. Antarctica doesn’t have a government and belongs to no country. Select There are 30 various countries that operate 80 research stations located around the continent. In summer, more than 4000 scientists from all over the world work in research stations. Tourists arrive here, too. Select

Antarctica has no trees or bushes. The only plants that can live in such a cold place are algae, moss, and fungi. Select They live close together in large colonies and build their nests on the ice. In the ocean around the continent, you can see seals, whales, and orcas, but there are no big or large native land animals on the continent. Select