Finally!

October 9, 2009

Arrival

After about a week of orientations, trainings, briefings, some downtime, checkpoints, layovers, and flights - FINALLY arrived at Antarctica, also known as the ice.

Flight pattern:
Departed 10/3 and Arrived 10/9
San Diego, USA - Denver, USA - Los Angeles, USA - Sydney, AUS - Christchurch, NZ - McMurdo Station, Antartica

Interesting note: Actually landed on the ice shelf and not on land, so technically didn't actually arrive on Antarctica until some time into the 45-minute ride to McMurdo station. It was -30 degrees on arrival.

First Oh-yeah-I'm-in-Antartica Experience

On the flight down, we flew in this massive C-170 US Air Force Plane. My first experience on the ice took place on the plane: with 45 minutes left until landing, the flight crew announced that anyone who needed to use the lavoratory should use it now. Now, on this plane there was only one lavoratory for approximately 100 people and since the time it was allowed to use the lavoratory, there had been a constant line of 3-15 people. So at this last call, immediately a long line formed and I decided to wait until it dwindled down to try and urinate one last time (I didn't need to go that bad at this time). Anyways, the line dwindled but before I could get up and go, the air crew announced that everyone needed to be in there seats with seatbelts fastened. So I just decided to hold it, thinking there was 15 minutes left on the flight. But when they announced 5 minutes later that there was 25 minutes left I started to get antsy and was worried I wouldn't be able to hold it. So I asked a crew member if I could use the lavatory and he said I'd have to wait. Anyways once we landed and had finished taxiing, I beelined for lavoratory and made it. As I was urinating - I noticed that I was peeing onto a little frozen toilet water lake. It didn't even melt with my urine. So that was my first on ice experience.

Arrival (continued)

First Thought on arrival: Wow! Really have No Words though. Part of me is just relieved to finally have made it, other part is just trying to orient myself. Very picturesque. I snapped a few photos right after landing, but then my hands got really, really cold - especially my fingers. May not take as many photos as I would like until later in the summer, when it warms up a little more.

Definitely a different feeling being somewhere where you are completely new, don't really know too many people, don't know where anything is, not sure how everything works.

Really reminds of freshmen year in college: dorm, cafeteria, community-life, different social scenes, etc.

My second Oh-yeah-I'm-in-Antartica experience - after yet another orientation and briefing, grabbing my bags, picking up my dorm keys, picking up my linens, and then having dinner in the cafeteria I went to my room to unpack. At 8:30 pm I went to meet some coworkers at a place called the coffeehouse that was having open mic nite and serves coffee, whiskey, wine, and Baileys. As I walked out of the building I was expecting darkness, but yet it was light outside - which I know happens, but I just unconciously was expecting darkness. So far it seems to be kind of an overcast late morning light all day.