Working as a D.A. at McMurdo
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2003
1
2
43
Trip End
Jul 29, 2008
McMurdo Station,
Antarctica
Monday, June 14, 2004
Since I'm starting this travelogue 8 months into my time here at McMurdo, I thought I'd try to catch up. So today's entry will be about my summer. The seasons here are opposite of what they are in the states-it's June right now but it's winter. My first season down here, starting in October 2003-was working as a Dining Attendant (aka D.A.) in the Galley.
It's a really tough job (physically and mentally)--10 hours a day of mostly washing dishes with some sweeping, mopping, garbage-hauling, bathroom cleaning and wiping tables mixed in. I've had a few pretty crappy jobs but this definitely topped them all. One of the things that bugged me the most was the dorky uniform they make us wear. While everyone else is walking around looking cool in their Carhart overalls, we all looked like we worked at McDonalds.
The one good thing about being a D.A. is your coworkers, or at least the ones I had the pleasure of working with. It would have really, truly sucked if it hadn't been for some of them.
I made it through the summer though and now I have a better job--(big woohoo!), working in Supply. Now I wear Carharts too. So in the end it was worth it to get here. My words of advice for anyone applying....try for a Janitor position first but if you do end up a D.A., at least you're in Antarctica!
