ClubMed

I'm still at the McMurdo research station. The scheduled flights to the South Pole were cancelled again today as the weather still isn't cooperating. (-57.6C, -71.7F) (wind chill: -75.8C, -104.4F) They've set a limit of -50C for the flights to land and I'm on the 4th flight out.

The first 48 hours here at McMurdo were really long for me. It felt as if I had been here for weeks. Now that I've had some time to recover, I finally felt 100% today and I took advantage of it. It now feels as if I've relocated to a retirement community. I was booked solid with activities. After helping out in the kitchen for a few hours and attending a sanitation lecture, several of us went for a short hike, then I went to yoga, and finally attended a science lecture on the guys who study the B15 iceberg that was in the news last year. At McMurdo (aka Mac Town) there are so many activities and facilities that besides putting on 30lbs of gear to take a hike, you wouldn't notice anything different from any other small town in the US. They have several bars, a bowling alley, craft shop, ceramic hut, workout gyms and aerobic facilities, and cross country skiing.

The Poleys (people going to the South Pole) are putting a strain on Mac Town's resources. There are an extra 200 people or so hanging out here waiting to get out. People are having to sleep 6 to a room and the people working here seemed annoyed that we are taking up there space. I'm fortunate that I'm rooming with only one other fellow Poley.

We are encouraged to work in our areas while we are waiting. After all, they aren't paying us to go to yoga. I helped out in the kitchen today and it was great to get my feet wet. I haven't been in a production kitchen for a long time so my confidence was lacking. Today it was restored a little bit as everything starting coming back to me. Most of us Poleys are trying to eat as much fresheys (fresh fruit & veg) as possible because they become very rare as the season progresses. I'm constantly eating salads, bananas, and drinking fresh milk. We'll only have powdered milk at the Pole.

I'll try to post pictures soon.

Cheers, Steph