QUESTION:  
Do you like penguins?  Do you like your job?  What is the best 
part of your job?  What is your favorite antarctic animal?
                From  Taz


ANSWER:  From PTK Field Producer, Deane Rink, Palmer Station, Antarctica
Date:    Sat, 1 Feb 1997 16:41:42 -0500

Hi Taz
I've come to like penguins quite a lot.  You see, I've been in 
Antarctica over thirteen months in the last ten years and I now 
regard penguins as my neighbors.  I especially like the emperors, 
which live over near McMurdo Station on the New Zealand side of the 
continent.  They are the handsomest, and oftentimes the cleanest, of 
these birds.  I have had a chance to see five species in the 
Antarctic: emperors, gentoos, Adelies, chinstraps, and macaronis. (I 
have also seen Magellanic penguins and king penguins in Chile and New 
Zealand respectively.)  If I had to grade how much I like penguins by 
the evidence of my senses, I'd say I like to SEE them, like to TOUCH 
them, am fascinated by being able to HEAR them, don't much want to 
SMELL them, and hope I never get into a situation where I have to 
TASTE them.

I do like my job a lot.  For every hour of television I can bring 
back to the audience, I spend days here living in the sometimes 
magical environments featured in the broadcasts, and I get paid to do 
it.  I especially like my job when I see tour ships coming through, 
where travellers have paid lots of money to experience a fraction of 
what I experience in bringing these reports to you. 

Actually, the best part of my job is the friendships I end up making 
with other people working in the Antarctic.  A special kind of 
camaraderie occurs down here that doesn't often happen in more 
civilized places.  I have made friends here that I shall remain in 
contact with for the rest of my days.

My favorite Antarctic animal is probably the emperor penguin, because 
of its size, its curiosity, its diving abilities, and the funny way 
it walks.

Deane