Sunday, July 8, 2001

Independence Days

The ceremonial South Pole is an impressive sight in the summer. The colorful flags of all the original Antarctic Treaty nations encircling the candy-striped pole gesticulate the peaceful international cooperation that defines this frozen laboratory at the bottom of the world.

It is only natural for people to presume the research station at the geographic South Pole to be some kind of international cooperative effort. In actuality, the base is decidedly American.

There are certainly scientists from other countries that use the facilities here to conduct research, but the United States hosts these researchers and partially funds their research.

This winter, there are five non-Americans: an Australian, two Germans, and a Canadian couple. The rest of us are U.S. citizens. (Actually, one of the Canadians became a U.S. citizen to be able to work for the contractor, so I guess you could say there are four and a half non-Americans)

So Independence Day was celebrated twice here this week. On 1 July, the Canadian couple observed their country's holiday with a low-key celebration on their own.

For the American residents of South Pole City, the official Fourth of July festivities were moved to July 6 and 7 to coincide with the extra long weekend (for most Poleys).

However, there was another reason to stay up and have a party on the fourth. In the early morning hours of the Fifth of July we were treated to a partial lunar eclipse.

The Skylab Lounge was the best indoor venue from which to observe the Earth's shadow being cast on the moon, and at 2:55 AM on Thursday, the shadow's bite was the biggest at about fifty percent. It certainly wasn't anything incredible as far as eclipses go, but about average for a lunar eclipse.

For me, now working nights, it was easy to take a break from work and wander up to the lounge to take a look, but the inconvenient timing definitely limited the number of fellow Poleys who stayed up to observe the display. Some hung around Skylab Lounge for most of the night and brought munchies and beverages to render it a true party.

The Saturday afternoon "all hands" meeting usually marks the beginning of the weekend. On holiday weekends, the meeting is moved to Friday. This gathering is a time for everyone on station to talk about what's going on in the next week. Friday's meeting marked a chance for "The South Pole Barbershop Quartet" (a.k.a. "SoPoBaShoQua") to finally make its public debut. We enjoyed ourselves and were glad to perform after nearly five months of practice, even managing the difficult task of singing three songs in five different keys (some intended, some not).

Friday night we ignited the first bonfire of the winter season. It wasn't all that huge, but gave off plenty of heat nonetheless. The real challenge for the Poleys who swarmed around its light for any period of time was to find the fine line between the intense radiant and convective heat close to the flames and the extreme cold of the winter night just a few feet away. I have certainly never experienced such stark juxtaposition of extremes. For a few, the warmth of the fire was too enticing, and their outer clothes were singed well before feeling the heat that caused the damage.

It was captivating just to stand around an open fire again and talk softly among friends. The smell and hypnotizing dance of flames incited sensations that had lain dormant within me for many months. There is some basic primitive yearning not only to gaze into a vibrant fire, but also to watch the firelight flicker upon the enraptured faces of others and enjoy their fellowship.

The Fourth of July provided yet another excuse to roast a pig, as our party continued on into Saturday. However, our porcine meal was probably the most interesting part of the day. Most people just took it easy and relaxed for the holiday. There was neither picnics nor fireworks for the Fourth, but the citizens of South Pole City still managed to find ways to celebrate their independence.