Hello All,
Wanted to let you know that I will not be posting to this blog for the rest of the season, until Feb, 2009. Instead I will posting a new blog each week through the NASA Cryospheric Sciences branch website. For those of you who do not already know I am now a NASA employee. I love my new job but was only physically in the office for 2 weeks before heading off to Greenland. Please check out the blog and remember that I have e-mail here at Summit so please send me updates as well.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 06, 2008
The Dramatic Entry
Hello Friends and Family,
I am posting a quick blog before the rumors start flying about my trip to Greenland.
I had quite a dramatic entry into Denmark. During my flight from Washington DC to Copenhagen On Oct 30, I got quite ill. I was vomiting and was getting quite dehydrated throughout the 8 hour flight. By the time I got to Copenhagen I was feeling horrible. They took my from the plane to the hospital to replace some fluids which is very important when traveling to the very dry ice sheet environment. The hospital trip made me miss the Air Greenland flight to Kangerlussaq which only flys every 3 days. Russ, the chief mechanic who was headed up to Summit for turn-over week, was nice enough to stay behind me with me though this ordeal, and I got to stay in Coppenhagen until Nov 3. The doctors believed the illness was caused by food poisoning. I spent a day recovering and then a day walking around coppenhgen which was very nice.
On Nov 2 Russ and I were joined by Kat and Kathy who had also had complications in there travel logistics. On the 3rd we flew into Kanger, packed our cold weather gear and prepared for the flight to Summit on the 4th.
On the 4th we loaded into a twin otter for the 3 hour flight to Summit. It was a beautiful flight and it felt good to be back on the ice. The sun was already setting when we arrived Summit around 12:30 pm local time. The ice was glowing pink. The current crew in Camp unloaded the plane and took us to the Big house for the in briefing. Since we are at altitude we take the first day quite easy to make sure our bodies adjust well. (The first week here is called turn-over week, where there are 12 of us in Camp. This is a training period where we shadow the people who sere here before us to make sure the transition between crews is smooth.)
During my relaxing afternoon, I turned on my computer to check the early US presidential elections results and had an interesting e-mail in my inbox from Johnson Space Center. They were asking for my phone number. I had sent in an astronaut application last summer but figured it was quite a long shot chance. I sent Johnson my phone number and the camp phone rung an hour later. I got a radio call to come to the Big House for a call. I walked through the dark from the Greenhouse to the Big House already shaking, from excitement not cold. The message at the big house told me that I need to call Johnson back. I did and was asked to come out for the first round of astronaut interviews. My application had made it through to 120 applicants invited out for a 3 day initial interview. The last interview would be held Jan 26th. I am scheduled to leave Summit mid-feb. This was exciting and sad news.
I have been on quite the emotional rollercoaster from screaming in happiness to crying. I am so happy to have some good friends up here to share in this with me. So tomorrow I will call Johnson back and thank them for the interview but decline because I am already helping to carry out NASA research here in Greenland and beg for so preference in the next astronaut call a few years from now. My dream of being an astronaut will not die, it will just be postponed while I live out my ice sheet dreams for now.
The winds are blowing the snow around and you can barely see the light on the Big House from the Green House. The wind are swirling and creating huge wind drifts. What a harsh, bueatiful and wonderful place. Let the winter begin.
More soon after the turn-over week is completed and I have a bit more time. Miss you all.
I am posting a quick blog before the rumors start flying about my trip to Greenland.
I had quite a dramatic entry into Denmark. During my flight from Washington DC to Copenhagen On Oct 30, I got quite ill. I was vomiting and was getting quite dehydrated throughout the 8 hour flight. By the time I got to Copenhagen I was feeling horrible. They took my from the plane to the hospital to replace some fluids which is very important when traveling to the very dry ice sheet environment. The hospital trip made me miss the Air Greenland flight to Kangerlussaq which only flys every 3 days. Russ, the chief mechanic who was headed up to Summit for turn-over week, was nice enough to stay behind me with me though this ordeal, and I got to stay in Coppenhagen until Nov 3. The doctors believed the illness was caused by food poisoning. I spent a day recovering and then a day walking around coppenhgen which was very nice.
On Nov 2 Russ and I were joined by Kat and Kathy who had also had complications in there travel logistics. On the 3rd we flew into Kanger, packed our cold weather gear and prepared for the flight to Summit on the 4th.
On the 4th we loaded into a twin otter for the 3 hour flight to Summit. It was a beautiful flight and it felt good to be back on the ice. The sun was already setting when we arrived Summit around 12:30 pm local time. The ice was glowing pink. The current crew in Camp unloaded the plane and took us to the Big house for the in briefing. Since we are at altitude we take the first day quite easy to make sure our bodies adjust well. (The first week here is called turn-over week, where there are 12 of us in Camp. This is a training period where we shadow the people who sere here before us to make sure the transition between crews is smooth.)
During my relaxing afternoon, I turned on my computer to check the early US presidential elections results and had an interesting e-mail in my inbox from Johnson Space Center. They were asking for my phone number. I had sent in an astronaut application last summer but figured it was quite a long shot chance. I sent Johnson my phone number and the camp phone rung an hour later. I got a radio call to come to the Big House for a call. I walked through the dark from the Greenhouse to the Big House already shaking, from excitement not cold. The message at the big house told me that I need to call Johnson back. I did and was asked to come out for the first round of astronaut interviews. My application had made it through to 120 applicants invited out for a 3 day initial interview. The last interview would be held Jan 26th. I am scheduled to leave Summit mid-feb. This was exciting and sad news.
I have been on quite the emotional rollercoaster from screaming in happiness to crying. I am so happy to have some good friends up here to share in this with me. So tomorrow I will call Johnson back and thank them for the interview but decline because I am already helping to carry out NASA research here in Greenland and beg for so preference in the next astronaut call a few years from now. My dream of being an astronaut will not die, it will just be postponed while I live out my ice sheet dreams for now.
The winds are blowing the snow around and you can barely see the light on the Big House from the Green House. The wind are swirling and creating huge wind drifts. What a harsh, bueatiful and wonderful place. Let the winter begin.
More soon after the turn-over week is completed and I have a bit more time. Miss you all.
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