The ESO/VLT, aka Paranal, is located in the North of Chile, close to Antofagasta.
The ESO astronomers travel from Santiago to Antofagasta in an early flight and then take a bus for the ESO personnel from Antofagasta to the observatory. The trip takes 5.5 hrs on average.
Once arriving at Paranal, the ESO staff can pick up the keys of their room. The room was assigned at the start of the contract and has a closet, which can be locked with a key, where you can store clothes and necessities. This allows you to not travel every time with a checked luggage or more than your everyday pack.
In the everyday life of Paranal, there are many women working at the observatory: beyond the technical staff, from the reception, to the logistics, cafeteria, cleaning, etc..
However, the engineer groups are largely dominated by men, Chilean & European, meaning that during daytime engineering work, there are substantially fewer women around.
At night, the TIO (Telescope Instrument Operator) group has 99% of the time two women, in each turno. Turno is the Chilean word commonly used, even when speaking another language, and can be defined in english as a shift. They work on a 8/6 rhythm so it’s called the turno and contra-turno. Both TIO turnos have 2 women assigned at night.
On the astronomer side, the number of women can largely vary at night, as it depends on individual schedules and constraints. So sometimes, most of the UTs (Unit Telescope, ie 8m telescope) are run by a female astronomer, but at other times, only one of the UTs is run by a woman.
Between ESO Science Operation staff (TIOs + astronomers), it is important to remark that there is usually no feeling of minority or uncomfort although it is very common to be “mansplained”. But this is probably true in any domain, across various astronomical careers and institutes.
There is no shop, no supplies available at Paranal. They only provide some body lotion during your first visit like a little welcoming present that comes with all the safety gear they provide. The employee can ask for more lotion once their initial supply is finished, but provisions are limited and not everything is always available. It is therefore important to bring all possible items a woman could need.
Although, at Paranal, a strong solidarity is naturally set between women, depending on your cultural background, it could be a little embarrassing to ask your colleagues for some protection supplies if yours run out or you simply forgot to bring some.
Paranal is very famous for its facilities -- interior tropical garden, swimming pool, gym, et..
However, the swimming pool, as much as everyone would like to use it, can be seen as a stage, as there is the reception + cafeteria + balcony just above it. It is not very frequent to see more than one person enjoying the pool. So it is a real show for most of the contractors and ESO employees when someone, and especially a woman, is swimming. So this is why often women prefer to avoid the swimming pool or try to find a time when the surroundings are almost free (e.g. after lunch when everyone is working or at the end of the night shift).
Most of us will therefore opt for going to the gym, which is located in another building and, depending on your schedule (day or night), it is usually quiet. It is rare to come across more than five people working out at the same time. And there is enough room for each of us having some privacy.
Life at Paranal, for a woman astronomer, is overall very enjoyable and does not present any additional challenges specific to the place itself.
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