Meeting the 2041 team

Hi All,

This morning was focused on meeting the 2041 team, learning safety rules, and getting prepped for the hike of the glacier we'll be doing tomorrow morning.

We were given more information on the communication we could have with the outside world once in Antarctica and basically, I as a "small" person with no professional equipment might not get the opportunity to update my blog or communicate with you directly. However, you will be able to follow the expedition via the 2041 website, at: http://expedition.2041.com/     as as  

Regarding safety rules, we were taught what and what not to do if we fell in the water. Apparently, people under 30 have a greater chance of dying when falling in the water because if any "drop" of water gets inside their throat, they are apparently unable to close their throat, like babies when born. They showed us the life jackets we will be using and how they work.

The hiking we will be doing tomorrow starts with us being all grouped into different teams. Each team has a team leader and a team leader assistant. My team leader is Chinese and his assistant is Indian. My team is composed of 4 Chinese, 3 Indians and myself. We were taught to tie knots and how to look out for your team members in certain situations. The list of gear to wear during the hike was also listed to us. As each team will be "connected" via a rope, we practiced to see what it is like to be tied up and move all together at roughly the same speed.

After the hands-on training, I joined other participants and head to Ushuaia to buy last minute gear. I bought strings to attach to my glasses so that I don't lose them, and a waterproof watch (being on time is paramount for 2041, so i had better be ready!)

Our shopping done, we came back to the hotel. I had enough time before dinner to bring out the necessary gear for tomorrow.

After dinner, half of my team and I met to practice on our knots and review tomorrow's program.

To be continued...