The first winfly flight arrived Thursday night August 23rd. 120 passengers arrived and 20 left. Before the flight left Christchurch eight people were removed because they exhibited flu symptoms. Yesterday medical gave flu shots to those that wanted one. I always get a flu shot and glad I got this one as I heard this morning two people arrived with the flu. It will be interesting to see how it passes through the town. The two have been confined to their rooms. When I first arrived in February I along with most others came down with the McMurdo Crud.
The day after the new people arrived was very strange as us winterovers just kind of stared at them. Most were loud and full of energy and we were told to have extreme patience with them and to accept them into the community. Since I am pretty easy going with everyone I have no problem but I can tell others were not so accepting. A lot of the winterovers are now taking their food to their rooms because of this and also to avoid any illnesses. I have talked with several people who are trying to get sick right away so that their off the ice plans are not disturbed. All and all it is a pretty interesting experience.
We continue to get literally pummeled by another storm. I was caught out in a condition 1 this morning leaving the galley. It is funny hearing several of the new people exclaiming at breakfast this morning "What in the heck did I come here for?". It is so awesome to experience these Antarctic storms that I have just read about. It makes me even more in awe of the old Antarctic explorers and how they survived. I love Antarctica!
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| C-17 landing on the ice shelf. All photos by Justin. |
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| C-17 Globemaster |
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| Winter-overs heading home. |
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| Unloading cargo of 991 pounds of food along with mail. |
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| Runway operations. |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCS_C7yU3R0&feature=youtu.be
A YouTube link walking to work Saturday morning during condition 1.
Overnight there were several power outages/fluctuations. We were paged to work several times. As soon as there was a break in the weather we traveled to our work sites up the hill. It is indeed an adventurous job. Here are three short videos.
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| It's off to work we go. |
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| More freshies! |
As usual your reports are outstanding. It sounds like the new arrivals are welcome in some cases (the freshies) but not others. It must be interesting to see new faces and hear new stories. Are you ready to return to sunny Florida? Hang in there and keep posting Andy M
ReplyDeleteThanks Andy. It's pretty strange here. The winfly/summer people have the attitude "We're here now so you guys can leave." Most of the winter people are here on a caretaker status. A lot of my good friends are leaving today.
ReplyDeleteHehe. The winter-overs are so adapted to the environment that they do not want new things to deal with. "Loud" and "full of energy" doesn't seem to fit the general flow of things out there. Would be an interesting social experiment to document.
ReplyDeleteI agree Cary-son! We live in our home with vastly different dynamics and I appreciate the quiet...after a long day with kids and coworkers! You are an awesome roomie! Love, mom/Andee
DeleteI know you will keep in touch with those friends and hope you make a few temporary ones. Stay safe inside and carefully drive to work. I couldn't see the short video clips on the home laptop, so I will check my settings. I shared that at school with some of my classes. One of the boys from last year asked me how you were doing! The kids and I admire the work you and your friends do in such a remote location. Follow your dreams and share what you see and do. Love always, Andee
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