The lifestyle here at the Polish Polar Station is one that can be found nowhere else on Earth.
I particularly enjoy the equality and cooperation. Every person, no matter where they are from (in Poland) or who they are, lives together with the same luxuries (or lack thereof) as everyone else, and everyone shares in the menial responsibilities of the station. Here there are perhaps 30 scientists working on various research projects and about 15 staff who are responsible for keeping the scientific equipment working, maintaining the structures, etc. When off-duty, there is no way to tell the difference between the scientists and staff; everyone shares meals, relaxes in the lounge, goes on hikes, and such. Everyone rotates through 24 hour shifts as dyźurny and must perform duties such as set the table for meals, crush cans, bake bread, sweep the halls, clean the toilets, listen for incoming calls on the radio, and ring the bell to announce meals. Some people perform this latter duty with particular gusto, running through the halls rining the bell and shouting at the top of their lungs, “Å›niadanie! Å›niadanie!” (”breakfast! breakfast!”). Everyone takes a great deal of pride in their duty day, always smiling and being as helpful as possible. Mostdyźurnys hover over the table during meals, and the instant a person takes the last spoonful of their soup, the dyźurny will snatch up the bowl and whisk it away into the kitchen to wash it. Even the station leader takes shifts as dyźurny. He is the most enthusiastic mopper I have ever seen!
The table nicely set for obiad (lunch) by today’s dyźurny.
In addition to meals and duty days, everyone also shares the bathroom that contains the dual-flush toilets!
These toilets are themselves worth a visit to the Polish Station.
We also share the washing machines. We Americans have a little difficulty figuring out the controls:
But this washer is better than the one in the other wing of the station:
Wastewater from the station is directed to a holding tank with special cold-adapted bacteria which digest the waste.
There are no dryers here; the ingenious drying racks make any gas or electric dryer obsolete! Each bar can be lowered for loading and then raised to keep it out of the way!
Unfortunately, as eco-friendly as many featues of the station are, civilized life in such a remote part of the world requires a lot of energy. The station must be heated, the dishwasher must run, the satellite internet must be powered. There is a huge generator in the back shed, chugging away 24 hours a day. It’s easy to forget about when you’re in the station, but you don’t forget it very easily when you’re in the shed. Here’s a photo of what made this post possible: