Midwinter dinner is a week from tomorrow. Midwinter is kind of like the Winterover equivalent of Christmas. It takes place around the austral winter solstice, and for many folks, it’s halfway through the winter contract. From what I know, we have a big, fancy dinner in the galley, people dress up, and then we have a party at Gallagher’s. I will be playing music with my supervisor, Victoria, and decorating Gallagher’s for the dance party after dinner. And I’m hoping to make a fancy dress!
In other news…..
Back in April, one of my friends was interviewed by an online magazine about what it’s like to be LGBTQ at McMurdo. He and a half dozen other LGBTQ and allied folks, myself included, took a photo with a rainbow flag in front of one of the McMurdo signs. That photo and article has reappeared in a few dozen publications, including National Geographic Online, which I’m especially excited about. My bundled-up mug is somewhere on Nat Geo’s website! (Full disclosure: I’ve only seen the link, not the article)
I wrote another article for The Antarctic Sun, about the McMurdo science fair we had a few weeks ago. That can be found here: We Are All Scientists.
And my colleague Sabrina’s friends, who run a podcast called Radio Survivor, interviewed me last week. We talked about Ice Radio and adventures using shortwave radio in Mac Ops: Volunteer Radio from Antarctica.
The Radio Survivor interview was fun because the folks interviewing me sounded so in awe of where I was living. I’ve been here for so long now that McMurdo just feels like my normal life. Nothing special. Hearing the awe and wonder in peoples’ voices when they talk about Antarctica reminded me that for most of the world, Antarctica is still a pretty extraordinary place.
It’s good to be reminded. I forget sometimes.
Elizabeth Delaquess 
Your smiling over your latte is priceless! Will you make me one when you are home?
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