I love to travel and share new experiences with others and here at Davis this experience has been nothing short of extraordinary. I could talk at length about the amazing wildlife or the incredible colours of the sky but for me these past 7 months have been defined by the people, our Davis community. When I look back on my photos in years to come I hope to smile and remember who I was with, what we enjoyed, found challenging or laughed at that day.
A shared house of 24 people is always going to have ups and downs and not many days go past without one of us missing home, not sleeping well or simply being frustrated by not being able to find something. But one thing is constant and that is we look out for each other.
Every day, in small and large groups we help each other get the job done, share a cuppa, a joke, a game, a movie, trash TV or a gym session (which may or may not just be a chat while relaxing in the sauna) and there is always laughter! Then there’s the weekend trips away which for some reason seem to not only energise those that went but those who didn’t, with the sharing of stories and photos.
Every birthday is made special with a dinner and cake of choice just like it would be at home. Gifts are often made and left outside bedrooms for the morning and we take every opportunity for a themed party.
It is so rewarding to see strong friendships form knowing many of them will last a lifetime. I particularly love the friendships that have formed simply out of being in the same place at the same time knowing we may never have crossed paths in our ‘real lives’.
I often get asked by people back home how I balance between being the station leader and just being Dani and I’m not sure it’s possible to get it right. What I do know is that this team of wonderful people make me feel every part of the community that they are, regardless of what jobs we do on station and I am hugely grateful for that.
In a few weeks’ time we will celebrate mid-winter on 21 June. While we connect regularly with our loved ones at home we still live a very isolated life out here so if you would like to send this amazing team of people a message I would love to hear from you.
Dani
Station Leader
Davis_sl@aad.gov.au
