27 Mothers

-37.9C (-36.2F)
Wind chill: -49.2C (-56.6F)

I apologize for my sparse blogging, but I have been very busy these past several days at the South Pole. My body has been slowly adjusting to the harsh conditions here once again. They medi-evac’d the 7th HAPE person last week, which is a record since Raytheon has been the contractor of the NSF Antarctic operations. What that means to me being one of the first evacuees and one of the first returnees is that the corporate office is watching us carefully for any signs of acclimating problems. Extra precautions were taken and I was asked to rest an additional day. I first worked two half-days and started full days of work as of Monday (that would be your Sunday). The satellite hours are now 2:30am-2pm, but are worthless after 1pm as the satellite is low on the horizon and the signal is poor. (The South Pole web link is only working during these times as well.) I usually wake up at 6am, (go to the gym, get breakfast, get ready for work, check in at Medical) and work from 8am-6pm. I only have a few minutes here and there to quickly check the internet. I have Wednesday’s off (Tuesday’s for you) in which I’ll be diligent about updating everyone on my adventures.

For those of you confused about what time of day it is for me compared to you, here is a simple way. For CST, subtract 5 hours from your current time and that’s what time of day it is at the Pole (MST, subtract 4 hours; EST, subtract 6 hours). Then I'm usually a day ahead unless its in the wee hours of the morning (e.g., 3am) then we are on the same day it would just be 9pm for me.

Antarctic was featured on Good Morning America last week. Apparently they did a 2-minute live spot from McMurdo and aired a segment of everyone from Pole gathered around the South Pole saying “Good Morning America.” I was still on “medical leave” but was able to see clips of everyone around the Pole.

The Antarctic Sun published some facts about the Raytheon contractor population this week that I thought you’d be interested in. Out of 863 RPSC working at McMurdo, Palmer, and South Pole Stations as well as the 2 research vessels, the Nathaniel B. Palmer and the Laurence M. Gould the following statistics apply: Race: white 94.67%, black 0.70%, Hispanic 2.90%, Asian/Pacific Islander 1.51%, Native American, 0.23%; Gender: female 32.33%; Age: mean 37 yrs, mode (most common) 28 yrs, youngest 18 yrs, oldest 68 yrs. The most popular name for males is David and for females is Susan. The top three most-represented states are Colorado, Washington, and California with 48 states being represented. No one claims being from Delaware and Rhode Island. Number of people I’ve run into from McMurdo & Pole from North Dakota: 3. The current population of the South Pole is 231. (FYI: Every Antarctic Sun details what those research vessels are up to. Also, in this week’s edition you’ll find details of the underwater sea life in the Antarctic that I’ve briefly talked about in earlier posts.)

My mother is an amazing woman who has the strength and ability to do the job of at least 27 ordinary mothers. At the Pole, I have been so touched and overwhelmed by everyone’s caring and sincerity in my well-being that I feel as if I have 27 mothers and they are lurking around every corner. One of my “mothers” saw me walking to the gym and scolded me as I’m not supposed to be working out, yet. I’m just walking and stretching, I tell her. Do your doctors know, she replies? You better go and tell them. JB watches me in the kitchen and continually asks are you drinking your water? Don’t overdo it and work too hard. (What kind of a rare breed of a boss tells you not to work hard?) JB commented on working too hard so often that it’s now a running joke between us. I get tons of caring advice every day and many inquiries into how I’m feeling. It’s not the type of “how are you feeling” just to be polite and not care to hear an answer, but the kind when people really want to know and they stand there and listen as I relate to them my latest temporary hypochondriac ailments. I now over-analyze every bump and hurt being I missed the symptoms last time. This Thanksgiving I am very thankful for my mother traveling with me and caring for me at the bottom of the world even if it is in the form of 27 pseudo-mothers standing in her place. With this kind of family you are never very far from home.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday instead of Thursday. This way, the majority of people will have 2 consecutive days off for the holiday. In the galley, we’ve been busy preparing for the feast for several days now. We solicit volunteers and hold pie baking parties and potato peeling parties. We dig out the fancy linens for the tables, serve wine, and block out the windows with card board so it feels like night time. It’s my understanding that several people dress up for the occasion. Those of us in the galley will get an extra day off next Saturday when all of the station managers will cook.

Yesterday, (Tuesday) is the PM sous chef, Will’s, day off. On this day, it’s only Francie and I in the afternoon in the kitchen who are responsible for supper. Along the two DA’s on shift, Leah & Michelle, it’s the only time of the week where we have an all female kitchen crew. Since this is the first Tuesday I’ve worked, this is the first this has happened. I volunteered to come in early to make soup and ease the workload of those getting out lunch and to get a jump start on Will’s duties as well as my own. After the morning crew left and a few hours into the all women PM crew, when one person commented on how great she felt at work. The best she had felt in a long time. We all agreed we felt a difference in the air, a difference of the energy in the day. We attributed it to the positive energies of the women working cohesively together and being on the same wavelength. We blasted music over the kitchen speakers and working and dancing the day away. Absolutely nothing against men, but just as men need a “boy’s night out” or an “all male weekend,” we women need our time to connect and feed off each other’s energies. It felt great! I’m especially proud to report that JB commented supper was “awesome!” I was also taken quietly aside by a few people who commented that it was one of the best evening meals they had at Pole. This goes to strengthen my theory that positive attitudes and energies are directly reflected in the food you cook. Despite all the positives of yesterday, the atrophy that had set in over the past 2 weeks combined with the long hours and heavy work on the feet and back, I feel as if I’ve been hit with a Mac truck today.

Today is my day off and it’s my first official one in which I’m now healthy enough to be able to do normal activities. I’m moving back out to the James-ways today. I haven’t seen my room in over 2 weeks I’m a little concerned that I may find a squatter. I’m very excited to go there as I’ve been sleeping and living in the same two changes of clothes for the past 17 days. I haven’t been outside for the past 7 days and despite the frigid cold, it looks really beautiful out there and I miss being out. I’ve long run out of my daily supplies which I can now replenish with access to my cache back in my J-way room. I’m going to relax on my day off by getting a new razor blade, shaving my legs in the sauna, taking a nap, and watching a movie. Believe me, on this harsh continent, it’s all about the little things.

I’ve had a few friends asking me to further explain the James-ways, Summer Camp, and what we do for entertainment. Now that I’m able to be out and about more, I’ll start working on explaining these things in future posts. I’ll be able to take more pictures to help explain life at the South Pole, finally walk those 40 yards out to the real Pole, take you on a more complete tour of the station, as well as tell you about how we keep entertained. If you have questions or are curious about life in Antarctica or at the South Pole drop me an email or just write a comment and I'll address it in future blogs.