about 10 years ago i was fascinated with the idea of packing it in and fall off into antarctica. maybe work as an assistant to some mad-genius geologist or help charter tourists around mcmurdo station. i gathered some information and did nothing. i instead switched up my game and went to visit relatives in italy (a warmer location, no doubt!)
though over the years my interest in going to the vast continent has never diminished. to meditate on the landscape and experience endless day (or night depending on the time of year). i think what appeals to me is being in an isolated place, far removed from civilization. to see how can i cope in such an environment, to mediate on the science of nature and be in silence with myself and the earth.
recently i watched werner herzog's documentary encounters at the end of the world. he got the hook up through the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program to make a film on antarctica. herzog does his own narration and at times his own reflections are hilarious (and very german: ' i loathe the sun on my celluloid and on my skin'.), but he is often touched by the people, their ideas, stories, and of course the land and the other-worldly dimension beneath the Ross Sea. antarctica is one of the most fascinating places on earth.
i'm suggesting this film for the next science instructors gathering. it re-affirms my dream to make my way there 0ne day, to marvel at life on earth, and climb the active volcano mt. erebus, its name taken from erebus in greek mythology. he was the son of a primordial god, chaos, and represented the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world.
there is a beautiful saying by an american philosopher, alan watts who said, 'through our eyes the universe is perceiving itself and through our ears the universe is listening to its cosmic harmonies. and we are witness through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory'.
- stephan pashov
philosopher and forklift driver, mcmurdo station.
encounters at the end of the world
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