Orientation in Denver

So, I made it to Denver yesterday night (Tuesday) met some fellow Antarctica folks, caught the shuttle to my hotel, ate some dinner, and pretty much went to bed. There are probably about 50 or so people at this orientation session, and they put us all up in the same hotel which is nice, as it makes it easy to find other people doing the same thing as you! This morning started early with breakfast and then another shuttle trip over to Raytheon Headquarters. Most of the morning was spent in orientation meetings where they covered everything from travel and "what to expect next", to company policies, changes to the program and all sorts of rules and regulations. Then we had some lunch, and I had some more meetings with some of the other south pole kitchen staff. This was probably the most helpful because it was a much smaller group and I was with the other people I will be working most closely with. Then i received my flu vaccine, and caught the shuttle back to my hotel. The flu vaccine is a new policy this year, as i think last year there were quite a number of people that were laid up in bed and unable to work because of the flu.

Tomorrow morning I will check out of my hotel and head back over to Raytheon for a final round of safety training, and then its off to the airport. They shuttle us over to the airport WAY earlier than we need to be there, so I think i will have lots of time to just wonder the Denver airport. I do have less time there than some of the other folks as I am on an earlier flight to LA. Once I get to LA I will have even more time to spend in the airport before my flight to NZ which does not leave until after 10pm. My NZ flight actually has a stop over in Sydney Australia for a few hours, and then it will be onto NZ.

The rest of today is going to be spent relaxing around the hotel and getting ready for the long days of travel ahead of me! Not sure when the next chance I will get to update will be, but stay tuned! That next update is sure to include lots of information about all the clothing and cold weather gear i get issued, and maybe even details about the actual travel down to the ice!