A Send Off and a Quiz

Last Sunday, several friends got together to toast to my trip. It was great! For a little topical entertainment, Josh and I made a quiz about Antarctica. The answers are at the bottom of this post.

1. What the name of the base that Murphy is staying at in Antarctica?

   A - Palmer

   B - Byrd station

   C - McMurdo

   D - Ice House

2. What type of climate is Antarctica?

   A - tundra

   B - desert

   C - cold

   D - real damn cold

3. Name of the training program that Murphy will go through in Antarctica.

   A - Artic Survival

   B - Party with Penguins Prep

   C - Happy Camper

   D - Igloo and Outdoor Training

4. How long is the summer season in Antarctica?

   A - 6 months

   B - 3 months

   C - 1.5 months

   D - never

5. What is the temperature range at McMurdo Station in summer?

6. About how many penguins live there

   A - 1.2 million

   B - 150,000

   C - 10 million

   D - Shit, i don't know. like, 50 million

7. Which animal is not found in Antarctica?

   A - seabirds

   B - seals

   C - penguins

   D - polar bears

8. Name the only two countries you can enter Antarctica from?

9. How deep is the ice in the deepest glacier in Antarctica?

10. How long ago did Antarctica loose all it's plant life and become a frozen state?

11. How many people live in Antarctica during the summer?

12. Is Antarctica bigger or smaller than the continental USA?

13. What year did the first person set foot on Antarctica

   A - 1971

   B - 1722

   C - 1821 

   D - 2001

14. What does name Antarctica mean?

15. How much of the earth's ice is found in Antarctica?

   A - 25%

   B - 50%

   C - 15%

   D - 90%





ANSWERS : 1) C, 2) B, 3) C, 4) A, 5) 0 to -40F, 6) D, 7) D, 8) Chile & New Zealand, 9) 15,670 ft. thick, 10) 35 million years ago, 11) summer = 4,000 on and off, 12) 1.4x bigger, 13) C, 14) A Greek word meaning "Opposite to the North", 15) D 

Inspiration and Expectations

I've watched Encounters at the End of the World a handful of times now. If you haven't seen it and want to understand what I'll be doing and seeing, please watch it! It's a great film! Along with Encounters, I've watched all of the Frozen Planet series, and a few other movies about Antarctica; one of my favorites was Secrets Beneath the Ice: Nova. Most of those films include a bit about McMurdo Station, which is where I'll be staying!

In the middle of this amazing fall weather, it's hard to consider that I'll be transported to the bottom of the world and working in -35F weather for a while. It truly feels as if I'm headed to the moon, so foreign, and so hard to wrap my brain around what to expect. The films have helped me understand what I'm getting myself into, and I've also came across a few online blogs from Antarctica grantees talking about their experiences, their favorite cold weather gear, and whatnot.

Aside from the freezing cold weather, I'll also be experiencing 24 hours of daylight for the first time in my life! Just about a week after arriving, the sun will be up all the time.

I can't wait to see what Antarctica is all about!

Down to TWO weeks!

Everything is in order, except my National Science Foundation flights... which makes me nervous, but I know they've had so many to book and that I'm on the list coming up.  Maybe in the next couple of days I'll get my flight assignments.  I do know that I'm scheduled to be in Christchurch, NZ on Oct 6 for training and an Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear fitting.  After that, I'm on an Oct 8 ice flight to Antarctica!

It's gonna be wild!

Antarctica Postcard Anyone?

I've begun my two-week countdown preparations for my Antarctic adventure already! There's so much to prepare for, so much to pack, and so many things that could be forgotten. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm as prepared as I think I am... we'll see.

I'll be mailing out some postcards at some point while I'm in Antarctica. If you'd like me to send you one, please share your address with me! You can do that by posting a comment, or emailing me mundaypaul(at)gmail.com

On a similar note, I'd love a postcard from you! Postcards, letters, and packages should be sent early as it takes a while for things to ship to Antarctica. If you would like to mail me something, send it to this address :

Murphy Munday-Goleman

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Project #W-493-M

PSC 469 Box 800

APO AP 96599-1035

Cheers!