I've Made It!

Finally, after an extra 3 day vacation in Christchurch, New Zealand, I've made it to McMurdo Station, Antarctica! The weather here has not been good at all. I was supposed to arrive on the Ice on October 9th but because of bad weather at McMurdo I did not arrive until October 11th late in the evening. By the time I got done with yet another orientation and got my room key and bed  linens, it was 10 pm. I got to bed at 11 and had to be at work the next morning at 7 am. Needless to say I am still a little jet lagged!

I'm on dayshift and it looks like I may be on the dayshift for the whole season. I think that's a good thing but I guess that remains to be seen! I've worked 2 shifts so far and have wreaked havoc on the fire crews. I've toned out 3 calls and have had 2 hazardous spills - one of which was one of our fire vehicles that had an active leak of foam and had leaked 10 gallons with a potential of leaking 700 gallons! Thankfully, everything turned out OK.

I met my roommate last night and she is very nice. She is a dispatcher at MacOps and is currently on the night shift. So it works out very well because when I am at work as she is sleeping and visa versa...except when I am off. I am staying out of the room and not running in and out of it so she can sleep. I have to go find somewhere to go so I hang out in a lounge as the coffee house isn't open quite yet. What is MacOps? That is the dispatch center that tracks all of the science groups.

Here are some photos of Christchurch, my room and what things look like around here at the moment.

On one of the delay days we took a bus to the mountains where there was a gondola. We didn't take the gondola up, we hiked up a trail! I made it half way and that was good enough for me!

The cathedral in Christchurch. It was damaged in the earthquake. One evening they had a food truck festival here! I had Chicken Tikka and it was fantastic! 

My room and my sleeping area. My friend Cindy gave me the blanket, sheets and bedspread. It feels more homey but my walls are still a little bare. I'm working on that.

The view out over the ice. Thankfully, today it is sunny and not as windy. Temp is -18!