Ariel Waldman

And yeah, it was an email.

And then as soon as they email you and say, hey, congrats.

you're going, then you have to PQ for Antarctica, which is physically qualified.

So then you have to immediately go to doctors, get blood tests, have physical examinations to even check out if you physically qualify to go to Antarctica.

It's not about being like super buff.

It's just about making sure you don't have serious health concerns.

So that immediately starts and then you're filling out endless spreadsheets for all of the equipment and supplies you need and having a lot of logistics emails.

And so that all happens in a span of about six months or so, or at least it did for me.

Yeah, I mean, I've had some test results come back and they're like, just be sure to do this.

And I was like, OK, yes, I will.

But yeah, their concerns are usually on the larger side.

Like, you know, do you have something that could cause you to be medevaced?

Yeah, I know Simone.

And here's the huge bummer.

So for people who know Simone, she was supposed to go to Antarctica.

Yes.

We were going to be roommates, literally roommates in Antarctica.

And so I arrive and she wasn't able to go at the last minute because of the PQ process.

And so then I got a room all to myself.

Which was like bonus for me, but it was sad because Simone wasn't able to make it.