I got a quick email from John today- it's his one day off.
So he's been at McMurdo for five days (or six...the International Dateline plays hob with my ability to keep track). He was part of the Winfly (Winter Flight - the flights to McMurdo after the end of the winter season, before the MainBody arrives).
His work schedule is 10 AM to 8 PM, six days a week. He'll be working the dining hall (so he said) but I gather duties are flexible - people do what needs to be done. His assignments will rotate so he'll never do any one thing longer than two hours at a stretch. Once the full complement of residents arrive in October I suspect work life will develop more of a routine.
There are some established trails set up outside but one has to go through a safety lecture before being authorized to venture outside. John completed one of those one evening and is waiting for the weather to clear up a bit before venturing out.
Living accommodations are dormitory style. John has a roommate and speculates he may get another once more people start arriving. Today, on his day off, he was going to do laundry and get a hair cut.
By the way, I ran across a glossary of Antarctica slang, which looks to be a few years old. Don't know how much is current but what's there is pretty amusing.
No comments:
Post a Comment