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Excitement mounting. Our shakedown is today. A shakedown is a trial run with all gear. We will depart around 11:00am from the lab, head to our snowmobiles which have been prepped with all of our gear for the field. The New Zealand team will arrive around 11:15 and we will have a quick "tool box"

Sharp Dressed (and Thermally Insulated) Man The word summer conjures up thoughts of warm weather, swimsuits, flip flops, and suntan lotion and most are a necessity on a suitcase pack list to anywhere… except Antarctica that is. Antarctica holds the distinctions of being the coldest, windiest, and

Happy Halloween from McMurdo! One of my favorite holidays and certainly McMurdo does it up right! I had heard there was a big party planned and that residents would go all out. I had heard correctly! Unfortunately, I left no room in my suitcase for a costume, but clearly others managed to bring

You’ve Got a Friend (And a Penguin Named Kiwi) In Me As a PolarTREC teacher, one of my primary duties throughout the entire experience, but particularly out in the field, is to convey the scientific nature and explanations of my observations and engage in a dialogue with various audiences to

Games People (in this case, Polar Research Wannabes) Play As I mentioned before in a prior blog entry, PolarTREC is an exceptional professional development program for teachers. But exactly why did I decide to apply to the program? It wasn’t a personal fulfillment of a bucket list item. Nor was

I am struggling with tonight's journal. I can't seem to find the right words... how to begin a journal on a day when your life was perhaps hanging in the balance. I am safe, now, but earlier, well, that is questionable. A bit dramatic perhaps, but when you are in Antarctica, the margin for error is

Weather can change rapidly in Antarctica. Be prepared. A sentiment that is often repeated in our many training sessions. It is said for good reason – it is true. I am five days into my time in Antarctica and today the weather did exactly that. It is Sunday here and the day after the big halloween

It is Saturday in McMurdo, but it is not a day of rest. Here, everyone works six days a week. Sunday is the only day "off" for most of the workers here. However, food staffers, a few lab techs, scientists and administrators are working everyday, though hours are not necessarily consistent