No Penguins

Today was just another day at McMurdo base. Wakeup, get to breakfast before the galley closes at 7:30 am, and then off to work. Today work was getting all our equipment sorted - or at least starting to. Here, the cargo building and next door Berg Field Center (BFC - also stands for Big F(rea)king Closet) is home to everything you'll ever need out in the field, from the necessities (sleeping bags and tents) to the academically important (tape measures and chisels) to things you wouldn't otherwise think of (rock drill and portable toilet system). It is also the closest we’ve come to a penguin yet…on the international Do Not Freeze symbol. 

Although we still have some equipment to organize and obtain, the BFC will be closed for the weekend in observance of Thanksgiving. So, besides working today we also went to an outdoor safety lecture which means we are now allowed to use the hiking and skiing trails around McMurdo. Hopefully there will be some spare time this weekend for that.

Also, this morning Jenny and I got a tour of McMurdo Base. We saw all the dorms, admin buildings, firehouse, hospital, cargo area, helipad, cardio gym, multi-purpose gym, rec center with bowling alley and bouldering cave, and of course the three bars (smoking bar, pub, and wine bar/coffee house). This place is really a little city.

 Since there wasn't that much exciting today, just thought I would mention some of the people we've met so far. Kaycee, who Jenny and I sat next to on the flight to McMurdo and has spent a full year at McMurdo working as a dining assistant, says that Antarctica hosts a "kaleidoscope of awesome people and whackjobs." So far we've only seen the awesome side - like Claire, a cycle racer from Madison, Wisconsin who has wintered at South Pole station maintaining the instrumentation for the IceCube project, or Ian, the scientist who has come down to the Ice for decades. Yesterday we met some of the Crary Lab staff (Paulene, Amy, Kevin...) and today we met some of the BFC staff (Rebecca, Martha, Craig...) who make sure scientists like us are all taken care of. It is truly amazing how many people are in this city on the end of the world (up to 1200) and the diversity of backgrounds that come together for the common goal of advancing science.

 Okay, enough philosophizing - it's time for dinner. Hope you all are enjoying the blog! And please, tell us any comments you have or if there's anything in particular you want to know.