Happy McMurdo Thanksgiving!!

I know you all are thinking, "what? That has already passed."  McMurdo moves it's holidays to the closest Saturday because the staff and scientists get part or all (depending on your group) of Sunday off, but they work the rest of the week.  So, although Thanksgiving has come and gone in the states, it is now turkey day at McMurdo!

This morning I participated in the McMurdo 5K Turkey Trot!  All I can say is, there are big hills here!  Although I was a bit plagued with breathing issues, the run was alot of fun.  There were about 100 participants and it was actually a timed race with numbers and everything (I now have a race number from the "Antarctic Racing Series"!!).

Everyone lined up at the start.  A lot of people dressed in costume (the banana in the front row is one of my roommates).

Coming in to the finish (being chased down by Pocahontas)

My race number!

This afternoon my lab group volunteered to help out in the kitchens.  A ton of work goes into Thanksgiving here!  There are 4 separate eating times that everyone signs up for ahead of time.  I was in charge of cutting cheese.  I cut 4 huge wheels of cheese in to little squares -- but they were not as nice and even as they were supposed to be.

Dinner was delicious!  It consisted of some of the traditional fare (mashed potatoes, yam casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, and turkey.  However, they also had giant king crab legs -- which were delicious!!

Minus the hours of doing dishes in the lab between the run and working in the kitchen, it was a memorable Thanksgiving!