On the flight on the way to Neumayer sleeping was not an option. I could not tear my gaze away from the wonderful landscape. The mountain peaks below would be the last that I would see for 15 months – so time to stay awake!

On the flight to Frankfurt I was caught up in my thoughts: How would the next 15 months be far away from home – cut off from the outside world? How would we get along in our small group with our different characters and flaws?

Hi, my name is Claudia Rudolph. I am from Cottbus, am 29 years old and I am currently working as a meteorologist on the Neumeyer Station in Antarctica, where I will spend 15 months in total. This is the first of my bimonthly...