So weird

I've noticed a few weird things here, some cultural, some scientific, and some environmental. Here is a list of those weird things I just can't get over...

1. It's daylight all the time. I knew this coming here, but I just can't get used to it. I have no sense of time anyway but here I can't tell if it's 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning.
2. Twenty four hour daylight does not mean it is warm all day, this is especially applicable when sleeping outside. Don't let the sunlight fool you. 
3. There are no bugs. These are the first outhouses where I don't have to worry about spiders lurking in the corners.
4. The air is so dry, I don't need a blow dryer. However, this can also be attributed to the lower standards of personal appearance.
5. Everyone knows you are new. It feels like my 7th grade move to Melba all over again. Awkward.
6. The live music here is ridiculously good. 
7. There are 3 bars. There are a lot of similarities to Melba. 
8. Skua will attack for food. Skua are basically aggressive seagulls, and one was circling me this morning. 
9. Frosty boy is the best part of every meal.
10. People here are extreme in whatever it is they do- travel, cook, study science... Extreme. 
11. Some people wear shorts. Short shorts. It's weird. 
12. No cell phone. I have to admit it is nice to be unplugged for a little bit, but I miss talking to everyone back home. 
13. Sometimes people dress up as clowns. I don't ask questions. 
14. Famous people come here, like Nobel Prize winners and the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
15. I have an awesome tan, but only on my face. 
16. It is not as cold as Rexburg. 

The weirdness is what gives this place its personality, and as strange as everything gets, I really do love it.  I'll update the list as more weird things come up, and I know more weird things will come up.

Field Work

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are ~30 miles away across sea ice and awesome glacial shaped mountains, so helicopter is the only option for transportation. I had my first flight Wednesday! You have to wear all your gear (Big Red, snow pants, bunny boots) which isn't bad because it gets cold in there fast. Then you fasten your seat belt which is as complicated as a child's car seat. Each helmet has a microphone so you can talk to each other and the pilot, and you can hear the pilot communicating with his team on the ground. The flight is about half an hour and the sights are beautiful- I only wish the commute was longer.

We can request how much time we would like on the ground, but ultimately it depends on the helo schedule. Most of our trips will be day trips, but there are members of our team that go out and camp for a few days, and there are members who camp the whole season. There are huts set up at the major sites so camping there doesn't look too rough, and they are equipped with everything except running water.

Ruth enjoying the ride

Helicopter preparing to abandon us in the field

And he's off!

Martijn using this time for a much needed nap

Dr. Ross Virgina catching up on some sleep

View of MacTown from the helo. That giant blue building is my dorm!

The field work is really fun and most of my time is spent staring up at the mountains and glaciers. It's crazy to look out and not see any life, but know that we will find hundreds of nematodes in our soil samples.

Camp site at F6

Adding water to one of the experiments

Dr. Diana Wall

Behind me is my Master's project

I was really excited to see my project

Ruth at F6

Learning how to collect samples

I wish you could see how beautiful it is here- my photos just don't do it justice. In addition to being a poor photographer, the bright skies and dark sunglasses make it impossible to see the camera screen so there are a lot of blind point-and-shoot pictures...

Happy Camper

Anyone who ventures out past town needs to complete a happy camper course. We did ours the morning after we arrived- I was so tired. We didn't get to bed until around 2am and had to wake up at 6:30 for breakfast, training, and then off to school. But it was a blast!

The morning started with some basic training in the classroom and then we went to the snow to learn how to stake our tents, cook, and build walls and trenches. It was a lot of work but worth it. Most of our camp slept in their trenches, but my claustrophobia won and I stayed in a nice, warm, cozy tent. The next morning we acted out scenarios and cleaned up camp. Now I have a great group of friends around town.

In all my gear and on my way to Happy Camper!

Building a Scott tent (Scott was one of the first scientists to explore Antarctica and has an amazing/ tragic story).

In the quarry cutting bricks for our wall. 

Mount Erebus

Mt. Erebus. The flags show safe walking paths.

Tents with the wall behind to protect us from the wind. Mine is the far right!

My trench. I dug it but couldn't get myself to actually sleep in it.

Does it look like a coffin to you too?

Ashley's trench. She stuck it out the whole night! Crazy girl.

The people here are awesome. McMurdo is a small town, and I feel like all the different personalities would make the perfect Hallmark movie. Because there is so much going on, McMurdo needs a whole assortment of skill sets to function. There are the cooks and galley workers, construction workers, engineers, electricians, students, professors, mountaineers and guides, drivers, pilots, doctors, a chaplain, and basically any thing you can think of that makes a city run.