So the backstory is: I got a job with a company called Polar Field Services, which operates the US Arctic Program, which is a sister program to the US Antarctic Program and is (as you might imagine) lush with Antarctic folks who bounce back and forth between Poles each summer. So I'd heard about Greenland as a work option my first summer at Pole (almost five years ago now--that's crazy) and have since then hoped to get up here. I still can't quite believe that it worked out on my first try; I feel so lucky and happy to have this experience. Especially because I got hired (obviously based on my polar experience and not on my work history) as a Trades Helper. So basically, I'll be spending the better part of two months at a scientific research base called Summit that is about as high as you can get up on the Greenlandic ice sheet (we'll be at about 10,500 feet), shoveling snow and helping with construction projects.
But first we have to get to Summit, which is of course a process. I flew from Milwaukee to Chicago for my overnight flight to Denmark (because Greenland is a department of Denmark, and so Air Greenland flies regularly there), really excited that I'd be arriving mid-afternoon and able to spend my arrival evening exploring Copenhagen, a city I've never seen before. Unfortunately, due to strikes happening at Scandinavian Air, I found out in Chicago that my flight to Copenhagen was cancelled. I ended up on a flight to Heathrow and then on to Copenhagen by late the next night, but my checked bag did not end up on those flights with me and as of this writing has still not caught up with me. That's been sad and stressful. And it was a bummer to miss out on an afternoon of checking out what I hear is a fantastic European capitol.
BUT, other than those unfortunate events, things have been great. The morning after my arrival in Copenhagen, I flew on to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, a town that exists mostly because an American Air Force Base here built it up from the even tinier town it used to be, and now it's handy as the largest airfield in Greenland and the most common place on the island to fly into.
I arrived with the eleven other people who will comprise the springtime construction crew at Summit, and we've had the entire weekend here in Kanger to start getting to know each other, do some orientation and trainings, and explore! I'll spare you the sleep-inducing info on expense reports and general safety awareness training and instead skip to the exploring part. Starting, in this post, with the town of Kanger.
The setting is GORGEOUS, in a fjord that has a river running through it.
A charming Greenlandic...post office box? Not sure if it's decorational or operational.
And some typical Greenlandic table runners?
I have NO idea what this sign says, but I think it's hysterical.
And I want to nominate this daycare for "best scenic backdrop."
There are a whopping four bars in this tiny town, and one of them apparently occasionally has live music on a stage with a duct-taped drum set and a polar bear hide watching over it. So of course this is the bar we frequented the most during our time here.
My absolute favorite picture I've taken so far is this one of a couple who were walking down the street toward me, hand in hand, as if out on a date..and both carrying their rifles. So as soon as they passed I whipped around and took a picture. There is the possibility of polar bears wandering into this area, but it's not incredibly likely. More likely they were...going to hunt caribou or muskox? I really don't know, but this is so sweet and striking to me.
Also, if you're a golf-lover, never fear: Kanger has a golf course. It looks like an apocalyptic nightmare, set in the floodplain of the river valley, but if you're desperate...
Seriously, though, it's gorgeous here. And wait till you see the next pictures I post, from the excursions I got to take outside of town....
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