A view of McMurdo Station, Antarctica taken sometime in 1996. For those who don’t know, I worked in Mactown for six month after graduating from college. It was a good experience although I’m not sure I’d do it again. I started out as a Dining-room Attendant (dish washer) and eventually was promoted to Baker’s Assistant (bread guy). The best things about being on the ice were the other people I was stuck there with and the trip to NZ afterwards. Here is what I wrote on my first day there:

“Oct 14, 1996. I made it! It has been a very long day. 4:30am got up and left for the airport, [Christchurch, NZ] put on cold weather gear and sat around. 9am got on a plane and sat around. 10am plane turns around due to mechanical problems, lands. Sat around some more. While uncomfortable the C-141 was an adventure, like being in a Tom Clancy book. It was a constant rush during landing, ice everywhere. The runway must have been 1.5 miles long. I stepped out on to the ice and see nothing but whiteness and mountains in the distance. We hopped on a bus a came into “town” which is really an ugly place – black dirt roads and a fuel smell everywhere. Ate a decent dinner and then was orientated.”