9.11.2003
Hello all! Welcome to Antarcticamy. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up and running. I'm experiencing technical difficulties - please stand by. You'll notice there are no photos yet. I hope to have that part of the blog working next week pending some software updates. Also, please note that the design of the blog is a template (my designer ego HAD to mention this -- someday I'll learn HTML!) I will be updating this site at least once a week, and will send out periodic reminders, but not every time I update. To access whenever you're in the mood, just bookmark this link in your favorites folder, and visit as often as you like. As always, you can email me at amy@origingraphicdesign.com. Love to you all! -- Amy
8.30.03 Hello from Antarctica!
I am on a volcanic island at the bottom of the planet, on the edge of the ice shelf that is the Ross Sea. Our plane landed on the Pegasus runway, created on this permanent ice. Mount Erebus, the volcano that created the island, smolders and smokes a few dozen miles away -- its plume visible every day. The "town" of 280 people (the largest one on the continent -- will be a bustling 1200 strong come October) is the McMurdo research station, planted on the edge of the McMurdo Sound. Our sole purpose is to support the National Science Foundation grantees who are doing various scientific research here.
Most of the people here (besides the scientists) are in the trades/physical laborers -- carpenters, power plant operators, machinists, equipment operators (of which Erik is one). Then there's the support staff and administrators in housing, janitorial, kitchen. That's where I come in, as one of 11 town dish washers. My hands are already chapped and red -- but not yet cracked and bleeding (like they promise). I also brew the coffee and stock the juices, tea and cereal, and smile and greet the hungry, cold masses. 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. More about that later.
Today's high temperature is forecasted at -11º F, the low -45º F. Those numbers are so low that they lose meaning. It's so cold that I can't walk the distance of a parking lot without a huge coat (you'll notice in my pictures everyone wears a standard-issue red down jacket the size of a sleeping bag), gloves, and a hat -- and my legs start to sting through my jeans. So cold that my eyelashes and water bottle froze on a 1.5 hour hike. So cold that it hurts to breathe deep.
It's dry, too. The most arid continent on earth -- as dry as the Sahara they say. Ironic, since the continent also holds the greatest supply of fresh water on the planet, though frozen. If melted, enough pure water to supply the entire population of the United States ALL of its water for a year.
I think the harshness of the continent has something (if not everything) to do with how remarkable the community is here. There's an openness, outgoingness, and humor that's bred by our obvious interdependency. And don't forget humility. More than once someone has offered to help me wash dishes, smiling through the window where they deposit their dirty dishes. Every 5 minutes on the job, someone says hi, remembers my name, and asks how my day is going. This wouldn't happen at your local Denny's.
The town rises by 6 am and retires early every night but Saturday, when the 3 bars are open till 1am. Nevertheless, the town is not short on entertainment during the week. Bingo was a big hit this week, with a $200 cash prize among others. The letter/number-callers were all fellow DAs (dining attendants), and were funnier than most stand-up comics. Last night the nearby Kiwi (New Zealand) base hosted an American night, and tonight there's a disco party at the non-smoking bar, Gallager's. I'm steering clear of the smoking bar, Southern Exposure, which resembles a college keg party complete with Girls Gone Wild.
My favorite hangout is the Coffee House, which serves cappuccino (albeit Folgers with powdered milk) and wine (they have good wine). There are games (Lonny, I've lost 2 Scrabble matches already, I need the 2-letter word cheat sheet!) and computers for surfing the net. There's a small screening room attached where they show movies and host small events like a quarterly art show and concerts. I'll be training next week to be a bartender there on my day off.
Erik and I are sharing a room in dorm 203a -- a 2-story co-ed dorm like the one you had in college. Fairly modern facility, with heat and electricity. It's not like the South Pole where you're sleeping basically in tents on concrete where your pee freezes in a cup on the floor at night. Here we're lucky to have mini refrigerators, particle-board furniture, florescent lighting and cork-boards. Laundry on our floor, and a big screen TV in the lounge.
Stay tuned for the next installment: life in the galley!
8.30.03 Hello from Antarctica!
I am on a volcanic island at the bottom of the planet, on the edge of the ice shelf that is the Ross Sea. Our plane landed on the Pegasus runway, created on this permanent ice. Mount Erebus, the volcano that created the island, smolders and smokes a few dozen miles away -- its plume visible every day. The "town" of 280 people (the largest one on the continent -- will be a bustling 1200 strong come October) is the McMurdo research station, planted on the edge of the McMurdo Sound. Our sole purpose is to support the National Science Foundation grantees who are doing various scientific research here.
Most of the people here (besides the scientists) are in the trades/physical laborers -- carpenters, power plant operators, machinists, equipment operators (of which Erik is one). Then there's the support staff and administrators in housing, janitorial, kitchen. That's where I come in, as one of 11 town dish washers. My hands are already chapped and red -- but not yet cracked and bleeding (like they promise). I also brew the coffee and stock the juices, tea and cereal, and smile and greet the hungry, cold masses. 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. More about that later.
Today's high temperature is forecasted at -11º F, the low -45º F. Those numbers are so low that they lose meaning. It's so cold that I can't walk the distance of a parking lot without a huge coat (you'll notice in my pictures everyone wears a standard-issue red down jacket the size of a sleeping bag), gloves, and a hat -- and my legs start to sting through my jeans. So cold that my eyelashes and water bottle froze on a 1.5 hour hike. So cold that it hurts to breathe deep.
It's dry, too. The most arid continent on earth -- as dry as the Sahara they say. Ironic, since the continent also holds the greatest supply of fresh water on the planet, though frozen. If melted, enough pure water to supply the entire population of the United States ALL of its water for a year.
I think the harshness of the continent has something (if not everything) to do with how remarkable the community is here. There's an openness, outgoingness, and humor that's bred by our obvious interdependency. And don't forget humility. More than once someone has offered to help me wash dishes, smiling through the window where they deposit their dirty dishes. Every 5 minutes on the job, someone says hi, remembers my name, and asks how my day is going. This wouldn't happen at your local Denny's.
The town rises by 6 am and retires early every night but Saturday, when the 3 bars are open till 1am. Nevertheless, the town is not short on entertainment during the week. Bingo was a big hit this week, with a $200 cash prize among others. The letter/number-callers were all fellow DAs (dining attendants), and were funnier than most stand-up comics. Last night the nearby Kiwi (New Zealand) base hosted an American night, and tonight there's a disco party at the non-smoking bar, Gallager's. I'm steering clear of the smoking bar, Southern Exposure, which resembles a college keg party complete with Girls Gone Wild.
My favorite hangout is the Coffee House, which serves cappuccino (albeit Folgers with powdered milk) and wine (they have good wine). There are games (Lonny, I've lost 2 Scrabble matches already, I need the 2-letter word cheat sheet!) and computers for surfing the net. There's a small screening room attached where they show movies and host small events like a quarterly art show and concerts. I'll be training next week to be a bartender there on my day off.
Erik and I are sharing a room in dorm 203a -- a 2-story co-ed dorm like the one you had in college. Fairly modern facility, with heat and electricity. It's not like the South Pole where you're sleeping basically in tents on concrete where your pee freezes in a cup on the floor at night. Here we're lucky to have mini refrigerators, particle-board furniture, florescent lighting and cork-boards. Laundry on our floor, and a big screen TV in the lounge.
Stay tuned for the next installment: life in the galley!
