Entertainment

I really had no idea what to expect or how we would entertain ourselves here in Antarctica. I found myself struggling when previous expeditioners said to bring my hobbies otherwise I might get bored.  How was I going to bring my friends and family, the beach, the nail salon, beautiful fresh food and winery tours with me?  

I have managed to stay connected with one of my favourite hobbies and that is Trash TV.  In fact we now hold Trash TV Tuesday.  Its taken a few weeks for the numbers to grow but we now have 8 regulars that watch 2 episodes of ‘Selling sunset’ while we enjoy a couple of drinks, commentate and heckle, something very similar to goggle box.  

The cinema is used most nights and you can book a daily or weekly time-slot via the old school whiteboard outside the door.  There is something for everyone and I’ve taken it as a learning opportunity so have found myself watching some, ok very little, science fiction, documentaries, seriously I have watched a movie about an octopus, and a whole range of movies including most recently Jackass which still makes me laugh so hard I cry.  

Most of us also have some kind of tv set up in our rooms to watch our downloaded shows.  I have a little projector and have been working my way through all the Seasons of Friends while watching other shows in between.  I have so many recommendations I’ll never get through and that’s without access to new stuff on Netflix or Stan.

The internet is pretty good for a place that is so isolated, that is if Kirk our comms tech doesn’t cut you off for using all the bandwidth.  To date I am the most cut off person 😦 damn you icloud!!! Turns out having a Mac that wants to sync and update all the time is less than ideal here so all of that is turned off now. Next update to my Mac will be in November I guess.        

Games are pretty popular here and we have lots of them.  We have a pool table, table tennis, countless board games, chess, a golf simulator, a team of online gamers and probably the most popular game darts.  Pretty much everyone has their own set of darts including me and the game is called Shang.  If you don’t score any points then you have to do a blizz run which is a naked run outside the living quarters building.  Something you can NEVER un-see so Station Leaders are exempt, well that’s my rule anyway.  Thank goodness they let me get away with that.  

The bar is a popular location to gather even if you just bring a cup of tea.  Watching YouTube music videos late into the night is a thing here and there is often some kind of sport being streamed.  I mean what do you expect living with 22 men!!   

Just to keep it classy we also have a regular wine club hosted by our favourite hipster electrician, alcohol manager and Antarctic hero Will.

A few people play instruments including guitars and keyboards but they are searching for a singer to get a band together.  I’m told there will be a live performance at mid-winter so watch this space.  

This past week we had the Davis murders.  I could tell you all about it but I wouldn’t tell it as well as Hayden who wrote a great story for our weekly news article so check it out.  

https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/stations/davis/

But for the most part we just entertain each other and there is nearly always someone laughing.  In true Aussie style we tease each other, laugh at others misfortunes and importantly laugh at ourselves. 

We also do kind things for each other like cook for our Chef Hermann’s birthday (it only took 12 of us) or make a cheese platter and deliver wine to the spa so the ladies can have the first soak in the fresh water.  How we look after each other might just be another blog entry.

So bottom line is I am absolutely not bored and even if you took away all the things and just left the people I would still be having the time of my life.