Where do I start?
'Where do I start?'
I wonder to myself as I stare at a room that has been my own for the last 12 months, while sizing up a selection of plastic tubs that seem inadequate for the amount of UPE (Unaccompanied Personal Effects) I have. It doesn’t seem so long ago I was unpacking some of these items from those very same tubs.
Where does the time go?
The majority of the 79th wintering team have been at Davis for 327 days now. In that time, we have given and received midwinter gifts, participated in weekly art nights, given and received end-of-season gifts, and splurged at the end-of-summer auction. It becomes very apparent as tubs, boxes, and bags start collecting out outside rooms, just how very different we all are. While some expeditioners are very skilled at travelling light, some of us (myself included) have a real talent for collecting.
And while our UPE isn’t due to be packed into a container for another few weeks, the process of sorting, weighing and submitting paperwork is well and truly underway. It feels like the start of the RTA (Return To Australia) process. And while the process has started, the season is far from over. Some notable milestones still to achieve include refilling the tarn, preparing for resupply and prepping the Davis Ski Landing Area. However, before we know it the ‘big red science canoe’ will be sitting out the front and a whole new group of expeditioners will begin the process of unpacking plastic tubs and cardboard boxes in the rooms and station that they, too, will call home for their season.
And when the time comes to prepare to come home they too look at a room that is full of fond memories and wonder, ‘Where do I start?'
