Condition 2 Day!

So yesterday was a condition 2 weather day (but people were saying how it really should have been condition 1). Youtube condition 1 antarctica weather, there are some videos that show what its like. They put ropes out in between all the buildings so you could get from place to place. It was insane. Other than that exciting weather news, its buisness as usual down here. I thought I would write down my day's agenda so you could see what a day in my life down here is like. I work from 6-4 and we have different tasks every hour or so- helps us avoid repetitive motion injury and so we don't get bored.
Today my day went like this:
6am-7: I washed pots
7-8: I washed dishes
8-8:30: I had a break
8:30-9:30: I restocked things
9:30-10: I washed more pots
10-10:15: I stretched. We stretch as a group twice a day
10:15-10:30: I allocated my labor. Which is typing it into a spread sheet which is saved so people can pay us or something like that
10:30-11: We have family meal, where all the dining people eat lunch together before everyone else eats and we have to work.
11-12:15: I worked the line, refilling food
12:15-1:30: I worked the floor, refilling beverages and supplies
1:30-1:45: We stretched again
1:45-2:15: 2nd break
2:15-3: I swept, mopped, and did laundry
3-4: I deep cleaned the bread boxes and the condiment area. We deep clean something about every day, so everyone is deep cleaned once a week.

Static and Freshies

So I thought I would post about some of the funnier things about living here in Antarctica. One of which is static electricity. Its honestly the only thing I don't like about being here so far...its so annoying! Basically, because it is so dry/cold here, static is worse then anywhere else. Its been known to blow out ipods, and other stuff. You can get shocked just putting your key in your door and it hurts alot! Most people get in the habit of hitting something metal with their palm or arm before they touch it with their hands. I try and use my elbow first.
Freshies is what they call fresh fruits and vegetables. There are 5 flights coming down this month (the first since february) which are bringing the winfly staff and also bringing limited fresh foods. We, as winfly people, aren't allowed to eat too many of them. Or else the winterovers may stab us. They told us this as soon as we arrived. The next day during a safety meeting our superviser had presents for all of the winterovers, which were bananas and kiwis. They were super excited about them.
Hmm, what else can I say about day to day life here? Well, most things revolve around the weather. Today the sun is rising for the first time in months, so everyone is excited. Although, we have been having twilight every morning around 10 for a few hours for awhile so it may not look to different outside. There are three weather "conditions"- #3 is things are "normal", #2 things are getting rough and we aren't allowed to hike or walk certain places, and #1 is we have to stay in the building we are in because of the winds/stormy-ness. Its been condition 3 since I hav been here, although people were saying it was condition 2 last night. I was only out for a few minutes, but I didn't think it was anything different then usual. I go outside a few times a day, sometimes to do laundry for work, to take out the trash, and at night to go places. I want to go hiking on my day off- there are a few short trails we can go on alone that are close to town (all of my friends are either in dining so don't have my day off, or on the community schedule, so won't have my day off), but I think it is going to depend on my exhaustion level, and of course, the weather.
Work is fun, but it gets monotonous and really, really tiring. We get lots of breaks and stretch times so its not so bad. However, my muscles are starting to hurt, and I am only on my 2nd full day. They offer activities in the evening, one of them tonight is yoga so I am going to go. Tonight is also "American Night" at the NZ base which is three miles away. I really want to go to it, but its every Thursday so I think I am going to wait and go some other week when I am more rested.
Well thats all I really have for now. Hopefully I will be able to hike soon and then post some pictures!

Arriving

Well I have finally made it to Antarctica. We left in the early afternoon, which involved getting dressed in all the ECW (extreme cold weather gear), weighing ourselves, our bags, and then watching a safety video and hearing a presentation. Then we got on a C-17 plane (think army plane lol) which was really for cargo and they had just put seats in the front. We also got to visit the cockpit which was really cool. I got my first glimpse of sea ice when I was in line for the bathroom and peered out the one tiny window. I saw these lines which I thought were shadows but actually they were cracks in the sea ice which is starting to break up. It was really incredible to see.
Landing was really cool as well. We landed on an ice runway, and then went to "Ivan the terra-bus" which drove us to town. They had to leave the engines running for us to get off, so the fuel wouldn't freeze or something. We drove to town and then got our room assignments. For all of my knox friends, I feel like I am living in Seymour- I live in the main building, and am above the galley, which is awesome because its where I work. The next morning, we went on a tour of town (in the dark, because it is still primarily dark here, although its "dawn" for a couple of hours a day). And, in an ultimate plug for "ugg" boots, I wore them on the town tour, a 30 minute walk outside, and my feet stayed warm. They are so much better then our "bunny boots" which I swear weigh 10 pounds each.
After the tour, I started work. I will talk more about that later cause its not as interesting. That night I went to an outdoor safety lecture and learned about hiking in the area. There are lots of different trails to go on, and I am really looking forward to it. You can hike some of them alone, which I think could be fun as well. Then, I went to one of the station bars with some friends, and had some yummy NZ beer. However, I went home at 9pm, because I had to be at work the next day around 5:30am!!!
I love it here. Its the best thing ever.

Christchurch, NZ

I am now in Christchurch, NZ. We continued training on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Then, we flew to LA that afternoon. Next was our flight to Auckland, NZ that night. It was actually a really cool flight. The seats were super comfortable, and the food was decent. They also gave snacks, eye masks, headsets for the on-demand individual tv programs, blankets, pillows, and toothbrushes with toothpaste. I actually realized that I enjoyed the 13 hour flight more than I do the 8 and 9 hour flights to Europe. With the longer flight, you have more time to sleep in between dinner and breakfast. On those shorter ones, it feels like you just finished eating when they wake you up for the end of the flight. At least with the long one, there is some chance for sleep. And I slept a long time. I woke up in the middle though and looked out the window to see tons of stars. It was a really cool feeling, and reminded me how much I am looking forward to this whole experience.

Our arrival in Auckland, and journey through customs was very easy. However, NZ is intense about anyone bringing in anything that can grow from outside the country though. Everyone got sniffed by a dog while waiting for luggage. We were issued 12 month visas, and then got to exchange money for free, both thanks to the USAP program J (typically when you exchange money you are charged a commission). Then we went through declarations, which is where if you told the customs people on a form that you have anything that they might not like (like food, or in NZ’s case, hiking gear) you have to show it to an official to see if its ok. They are really worried about people bringing in dirt on hiking gear. I only had boots, which I had washed the night before so they didn’t take them from me. Then we went to walk to the domestic terminal, checked in, and ate lunch- everything I have eaten here has been amazing so far.

Next was a quick flight to Christchurch, and shuttles to the hotel. After getting settled in, we all went out for drinks and dinner, and I had some amazing sushi. Christchurch is a really cool city. By 9pm I was so, so, so tired (thank you jetlag) so I just came home. I received a note under my door saying our time at the Clothing Distribution Center (where we get our extreme cold weather gear) had been changed from 1pm to 8am. Things change last minute a lot around here, plus the flight that was supposed to go to the ice yesterday didn’t make it out there so things are a little jumbled. The upside of that, we might get to stay in Christchurch for longer!!!

So, we took shuttles to the CDC and arrived at 8. There, we had light vehicle training, got our computers screened (I had failed the first time L), watched an orientation video, and tried on all of our ECW. ECW stands for extreme cold weather gear. They gave us bags of it that had been put together based on the sizes we had given them and what our jobs entail we had to try everything on, get stuff exchanged if it was broken or didn’t fit, and request extras if we wanted any. Now we get to repack stuff for the ice flight. Flying down to the ice, we have to wear certain pieces of our ECW. We also have to pack a “boomerang bag”. If our flight has to turn around (or “boomerang”) due to weather in McMurdo, then we have another night in Christchurch. We would only get back our small boomerang bags- so they have to be filled with the stuff we need for another night in Christchurch.

This trip has been so exciting so far, and it keeps getting cooler and cooler. Everyone here is so nice and helpful, and since I am a newbie, or “FNG” (try to figure out what that one means J) I am always asking questions because I am always confused, so their helpfulness is greatly appreciated. I am so looking forward to getting to the ice- I have missed it so much this whole year since I went to visit in December.

My First Day

It has been such an intense 2 days. I still can't really realize that I am part of the real world. I just feel like this is some weird college field trip. I can't imagine how I am going to feel in a week when I am on the ice.

Yesterday I hung out with Jen and we went hiking, window shopping, got yummy sushi and went to one of her favorite bars. Today training started at 7am, and I learned about food safety all morning. Some of it was actually really interesting- food production is much more intense when you are trying to keep the food from getting contaminated then I ever understood, and I used to work in a restaurant. There are specific temperatures and timings for cooking and cooling food. Its kinda cool- but the downside is I will now always be a little bit concerned when I go out to eat, or especially at a buffet.

I had lunch with the other dining attendants who are on the same flights. The afternoon we did a icebreaker game, and went through our expectations for the next few days, and talked about what our jobs entailed and what was inspected of us. We got more information about life in general down there, so that was helpful.

Tonight I had dinner with some of the food service people, and then just hung out for awhile. But I decided to take an early night because I am so tired! Need to rest up for training tomorrow when I will meet even more new people :)

One week until I go!!!

My address at McMurdo:

Sarah Carlin, NANA

McMurdo Station

PSC 469 Box 700

APO AP 96599