probably the best icebreaker in the world

The Oden returned today.  I don’t think I ever mentioned that it left, but it did.  And it came back in today.  It wasn’t as exciting as the first time (I guess because it is no longer new) but it was still pretty cool.  This time we actually got to go on it.  The head of the line handlers set it up for us, which was really nice of him.  Of course the high up RPSC/NSF mucky-mucks didn’t do any work but got shuttled down as soon as the gangway was lowered and snaked us by getting on first.  That was kind of rude, but I guess when I think about it, it’s not like WE did a whole lot either, just the fact that they think they’re important and scooted on while we watched was a little rude.

Either way, the ship was cool.  We got a quick tour but unfortunately there were too many people for me to get close enough to hear what the “guide” was saying.  I’m sure he said some cool things about how the ship breaks the ice, how fast they go, the wildlife they see, their typical day, etc.  But I didn’t hear any of that because I was too far back and he was from Sweden so I had a hard time understanding him anyway.  Instead of making that stuff up, I will invite you to look it up.  I probably will too.

We went from the main level all the way up to where the captain sits and then all the way down to the engine room.  That boat is bigger than I thought!  It had everything you’d expect including a movie theater, library, bar (with Carlsberg on tap), galley, and their bunk rooms were almost the size of my room.  And they were single rooms.  I wish I had their accommodations.  One thing I thought was neat was that the tables and chairs in the galley were tied to the wall, I guess they see some rough seas.  The top floor was cool and you could see really far.  It had a couch and tables and chairs up there and I’ll bet anything that they were from IKEA (you know since IKEA is Swedish).  As a matter of fact, I’m almost certain that I have this same chair:

So people from Sweden also shop at IKEA, I guess it makes sense.  While we were up there I also sat in the captains chair (not from IKEA).  It wasn’t really all that impressive, he can’t do anything from there.  He has to stand up to do anything.  And I was hoping to see a big huge steering wheel, but it is all done with joysticks.  It looked like a really complicated video game controller.  Here is me in the captain’s seat:

Tonight is “Freezing Man.”  It is the McMurdo version of the Burning Man festival.  I don’t really know much about either, but I’m planning on going just to see what it’s all about.  It is supposed to be a big deal and people are encouraged to dress up, but they don’t say what to dress up as.  I’m going to dress up as the coolest Daniel Whitley in Antarctica.