Special Report
seeing these majestic animals, remained quiet, took my ear. I suggested to my teacher, “Let’s sit down
pictures with caution, and lowered our voices. The quietly for a while.”
penguins became less nervous and started feeling
their way forward with their small, dark eyes. My teacher softly responded, “Okay.”
Having received a warm message of friendship Sitting on the snow, I closed my eyes and sank
from the strange visitors, the penguins steadily into a moment of bliss and serenity. The sound of
walked downhill with a sense of confidence. It Antarctica is as pure as the continent itself. What
was somewhat a poignant moment as I witnessed surrounded our ears was a sense of serenity that
firsthand the mutual respect and heart-to-heart felt somewhat unusual on our eardrums. But it was
communication between two completely different not complete silence as you could still hear the
species. sounds of the gentle breeze, people chatting in the
distance, the chirping of the birds flying above, and
In addition to penguins, we also had the privilege
the gentle ocean waves.
of observing humpback whales in close range. The
captain of our ship enthusiastically shared that If someone were to ask me, “What is the most beau-
this was the closest humpback whale observation tiful sound you have ever heard?”, my response
he ever had in his entire career, which was a very would be a bit complicated.
historical moment for him.
Before my trip to Antarctica, I would say that it was
The humans stood on the ship deck while the the voice of my parents when they tell me that they
whales swam beneath the deck. Three humpback love me, the melody of “The Ode to Virgin Mary”
whales circled around our boat with their large and that I and my friends have performed in the choir,
agile bodies. They examined the boat curiously and and the end-of-class bell against the sound of
then blew air out of the water, creating a spectac- cicadas during blistering summers in Beijing.
ular scene, as if you could hear the pulse of the sea
if you listen close enough with your heart! There But now I will tell you that the most beautiful sound
was a peculiar fragrance in the air. One could smell I have ever heard is the breath of Antarctica. The
the freshness and sweetness of the air they, too, best gift I have given myself during this trip is this
breathed. moment of solitude with Antarctica.
For thousands of years, Antarctica has always
“60 Seconds of Silence”
been shrouded in such serenity, but in the most
recent century, it has faced more and more fre-
On one occasion, my teacher and I had to climb quent intrusions. Humans have signed a series
over a challenging slope where the snow was so of treaties to protect Antarctica’s glaciers, water,
thick that it almost completely covered our ankle. minerals, and life. But as more and more tourists
As we were halfway up the slope, we glanced back flock the continent and more research activities
at the rest of the team and realized that we were are conducted there, what can we do to protect
far ahead of the others also on the expedition. We Antarctica’s serenity?
were so exhausted that we both took deep breaths
and sat down to rest. After a short break, I suddenly
As can be seen from maps chronicling the changes
realized that there was nothing in the air but our to the Antarctic landscape in recent years, the
heavy gasping, masking other sounds that caught speed of melting ice shelves is accelerating because
The Keystone Magazine 56