Chico Sez.....Spanish Word of the Day

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Spanish Word of the Day
Al fin	2/19/2004
Vaya (yah-yah)	2/18/2004
MAS Palabras

Al fin, 2/19/2004

Cheers once again from McTown, Antarctica on a bright, windless, gorgeous Thursday morning that is one day away from the first sunset of the year and the last flight of the 2003-04 summer season. Today's fantastic weather may be a benevolent omen for the end of the summer and the beginning of the United States Antarctic Program winter season. The regional summary says that the upper level ridge to the north remains the dominant factor for today and continue to be so for the next few days. That's good news for those that are left to say goodbye to those that will stay. So the forecast and extended forecast calls for today and tomorrow is calling for partly cloudy skies with light and variable winds. The current ambient temperature in town is at a -10C/+14F with the winds calm in clear skies. At South Pole Station the ambient temperature this morning is at -45C/-48F with the wind blowing at 11mph dropping the wind-chill to a numbing -60C/-77F in partly cloudy conditions. Today's crown and straight jacket for the coldest place on the continent and location on the continent that someone would actually want to be there goes to Concordia Station, the French-Italian research station on the East Antarctic plateau.

Well here at McTown we are down to two flights before the door closes and the music starts a different tune but the song remains the same. For the crews of the lone C141 it's been a grueling week of nonstop flights to and from the continent. Saturday it heads north while on the water the Nathanial B. Palmer heads out of here as well. The notorious end of season weather has yet to hit and will. Maybe not tomorrow or next week but sooner or later it will. And when it does it will quickly remind everyone why Antarctic is a synonym for desolate, cold, and brutal. The sun goes under the horizon for the first time in months tomorrow morning. After that the sunlight gets noticeably less and less each day. One day it ceases to come up again and darkness quickly sets in. You don't know what dark is until you've been in it with the lights on and the lights off. Step away from the light and you find it out it's still as dark as an abyss. The darkness and the cold for days unending tests your very soul. Who you are and what you are about. This is all true. The secret to staying for the winter is to look at it as a personal challenge...which it is... and to come out of it physically and mentally better than you went in. If not it will chew you and spit you out for those who know you to pick up the pieces. If you do then the rewards are immeasurable. It really is up to you.

The last Spanish word of the day for the summer season are two words that mean one in English: "Al fin." Which means: "Finally." You hate to say it but when you do, you do it with a sigh of relief...and sadness. It's true even though for some of us our pride sometimes puts on a different face because looking venerable is not a sign of strength. Or so the myth says so. This place is like anywhere else where you've made a lot of good friends and then it's time to go. A part of you stays and a part of them leaves with you. They all can't fit in your home so they can't all come and live with you. Besides the septic tank can only take so much. So you say goodbye. It's easier and cheaper. Promises of sending a postcard and you find out a lot of people never learned to write. Some haven't > discovered the telephone. Parents are witness to that. Here and where you are at. It's never to late to say hello again. Now if only many of us would practice that. Now that the time has come to say adios, it's also the time to say keep in touch.

The Spanish phrase of the day I have nothing profound to quote because I have so many things going through my mind right now so will end it with this". "Hasta que nos vemos otra ves.".."Until we meet again." Hopefully we will. Either on a street in Bangkok, Sidney, or northeast El Paso. Or maybe in the afterlife. You never know. Saying goodbye is like saying hello. You say it but there's more to it than that. For those who are leaving today may your travels going back to the place where you first climbed that first plane to get here, be as wonderful and thrilling as it was when you first started telling others about where you were going. If you're going straight home may you find whatever it is that you are going back to as your wishes and prayers hope so. For those that are staying for the winter at all three stations, whether it's your first one, the next one, or your last one, take the lessons learned from what you will be going through to make you more special than you already are and may it help you achieve whatever it is you are striving for at this time in your life.
Chico. Out...........

Vaya (yah-yah), 2/18/2004

Cheers from McTown, Antarctica on the last Wednesday morning of the United States Antarctic Program summer season as the clock continues to click towards the last day a plane will be here until next August. Hopefully anyway because modern technology has proven that even the world's most inhospitable and hard to get to location (South Pole Station) can be reached if it has to. This has been proven by the slew of medivacs over the last decade. Still it takes a lot for a plane to come and get anyone out. The weather all this week has teetered on a tightrope in which by the time the scheduled C-141 is due to land, the winds have picked up and visibility decreased. There is a lot of anticipation because anyone who has been here before knows the plane hasn't landed until it's landed. It's the same as the other common phrase heard, "You're not out of here until you're there." The regional weather summary for today is that an upper level low on the Ross Ice Shelf is moving to the southeast as an Upper Level Ridge pushes south across Cape Adare and into the Ross Sea. The upper level ridge is expected to become the dominant factor for the next several days. What does this all mean? I have no idea and you probably don't either so now we both know. The forecast and extended forecast for today is for partly cloudy skies today with winds between 6 to 12 knots with it becoming mostly cloudy by tomorrow and the winds increasing up to 20 knots in the afternoon. The current ambient temperature in town this morning is at a warm -10C/+14F with the wind blowing at 11 knots out of the northeast dropping the wind-chill to a cool -23C/-09F with partly cloudy skies. At South Pole Station, where after Mctown closes, will become even harder for anyone over there to go home before next late October or early November (depending on when it warms up to around -50F so that a plane can land), the ambient temperature this morning has warmed back up a tad to > -43C/-45F but with 10 mph winds has dropped the wind-chill to a not-so-friendly -58C/-72F in clear conditions. The coldest temperature on the continent title for today once again goes to Dome C on the East Antarctic plateau and where Concordia, a French-Italian station is located.

On the air today the LC-130 Hercs are wrapping things up and heading north while the same lone C141 that has been doing the sorties this week getting the personnel out is scheduled again for today, tomorrow and Saturday. Unless they decide to fly on Friday and get the hell out before the weather turns and then the end of the season stretches longer than anyone anticipated as has happened before. On the water, the Nathanial B. Palmer is back for it's last port-a-call while late last night a small tour ship also came into the channel and is now parked in front of the station to get one last look. After the NBP leaves, it's not going to take long for the channel to re-freeze and the door shut for anything coming in by water until late December when the Coast Guard cutter(s) arrive for the annual ritual of going head to head with the thickened sea ice.

The Spanish word of the day is "Vaya (yah-yah)." Which means: "Go." Do not pass go do not collect 200 dollars. That's what you don't want to hear when you're working in the Antarctic, you're officially finished working and you're waiting for your turn to get out. Experience teaches you not to get too excited until your feet touch the grounds in New Zealand or Chile (for those who work at Palmer Station). That's because saying goodbye can become so repetitious to the point of embarrassing. It's true and it's happ> ened about as many times as there are crystals on the plateau. You think you're going and then the weather suddenly turns nasty and then just like that you're here for a few more days. Or it's a nice day with no wind but you the flight is cancelled due to mechanical problems. Or the weather can be nasty and the plane has mechanical problems. At Palmer Station it's worse. The ship that is coming to get you out sometimes is> late by weeks because of thick pack ice, stormy seas, mechanical problems etc. Saying goodbye turns can be an excruciating rehearsal for saying goodbye. The first time you get bumped and people realize you're still here they are very sympathetic. The next day less so. Four days later and the smiles turn to frowns. Now it's "You're still here?" and "Quit eating our food." By then you hope no one sees you for fear of being tarred and feathered. Who would've known saying good-bye would turn into an horror novel. Moral to this diatribe on exit signs, lack of customer service, swimming when you should be flying, and living with wolves in sheep's clothing is...A tree across a raging river is crossed by all at the same place.

The Spanish phrase of the day is for those who are leaving today and those that are staying today: "Si tienes deseo de viajar lejos y rapido...quitate todos tus triviales, celosas, sin perdon, egoismo, y miedos." (something like that) Which means: "If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. take off all of your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears." It's true. When you're stuck living somewhere, anywhere, with other people, many of who you do not know, those are the things that will make your stay a memorable one or one that you just as soon forget. Anyone who has ever lived through an Antarctic winter knows that. . It's great when you love your job but greater when you enjoy who you're working with. Learning to be more tolerant, patient, compassionate, and forgiving than we think we already are all qualities that are tested more so in the winters here and on the travels with others afterwards. The rewards gained will make us more tolerable more wiser and give others less of a reason to want to wring our necks.
Have a great day.
Chico.over.