weight of the world

Today marks the end of my adventure that started on October 4. I have completed my journey at my parents house in Alliston, Ontario and have another 9 days to recoup, reorganize, and sift through my 3000-some photos before driving back to the Chicago area with mom.

The last six months will certainly not be ones I intend to readily forget. The experiences I hold as my own and were able to share with Laura, as well as, the rest of the community in Antarctica captivated my emotions and imagination, challenged me, and provided plenty of new thoughts to mull over. The trip was all inclusive, with moments of happiness and frustration, sadness and sympathy, energetic excitement, and mindless mornings. I experienced a new job, an extraordinary place, a touch of romance, the drama of a small community, and eternal daylight. I was present for the sorrows and joys of other people over things going on near and far. Sometimes I could listen, other times, I had to pull away and offer space in our cramped town. I saw the southern hemisphere, experienced the loss of smell, I knocked off another two continents, I lived under eternal daylight, and felt my nose hairs freeze. I made myself at home in New Zealand and Australia, and learned to be the "one who talks funny," "just an American," a "Yank," the tourist who perpetually carries her camera, and so on...

From here, I'll travel west and begin a summer fresh. I'll have a new blog (keep your eyes open for some new links at this web address), I'll have a new job (hopefully), I'll have a new place to live, and new people to meet. But, now, in addition to my friends and family, I have a new consortium of oddly placed, strangely connected, and beautiful friends all over the nation and world who I hope to bump into on street corners and in airports along life's track.

With that in mind, I shall relinquish the weight of the world to those in Antarctica (at least for the summer) and find myself again soon on the Pacific Coast, standing on my own two feet, looking for a new job and new community there.

Thanks for the memories, the encouragement, the time, and all the communication.

now in new zealand

Being in the Antarctic Terminal Operations department has its perks. We have our own warm quiet transportation to the plane, our bags are placed on the top of pallets so they are the first unloaded at the airport, and we had seats reserved on the aircraft when we got on. Our flight was bumpy and turbulent. The weather was pretty "Antarctic-like" at take off. Nearly everyone lost their flight lunch when we tipped the wing towards McMurdo and left the 120 people there to "winter". The plane made an unprecedented 55 minute turn-around on The Ice, and we made it to New Zealand around 5:30pm.

Stepping off the C-17 was an amazing experience. In one breath of fresh sweet air, I questioned whether I wanted to return next year or not. It feels good to be warmed from the outside in; rather than the inside out. I've bedecked myself in tanktops and capris the last two days and enjoyed lots of friends in Christchurch. I'm trying to keep busy in an otherwise emotional time arriving back to "life" and being overwhelmed with sensations (smells and colors) and feelings! There are plenty of Ice folks around to maintain a busy schedule!

On Tuesday, Kevin, Marty, J, Genevieve, and myself (this picture taken yesterday represents the first time all 5 of us have been in one place together) will be renting a station wagon and spending ten unplanned days on New Zealand's South Island. Genevieve and I hope to get our laptops in the wagon, but we may leave them behind. So, thus begins the short, usually picture-less updates (I'll post pictures when I get a chance). I will be writing this blog until I return from this journey back to the States.

Thank you to all who have read my Antarctic thoughts and observations. The experience is still teaching me plenty of new things about myself!

last night in antarctica

I’m sitting in the galley. The sun is setting. My bags are checked. My room is clean. My boxes are stored. I’m leaving on a cargo plane tomorrow! I can hardly believe that my time in Antarctica is coming to a close.

Staying until the last flight has been wonderful. The food is better, the lines are gone, there is no worries about having delicates thrown in the dryer, I watched Williams Field Ice Runway come down, and I saw buildings close up and people say ‘goodbye.’ The last few days have been a bit lonely, but we have kept quite busy with work until this afternoon.

Tomorrow, we are scheduled to depart McMurdo around 11:30 and fly off of the Pegasus White Ice Runway at 15:00. I checked in (we do that a day in advance here) with my bags today and out of the 75 pounds of checked luggage we are allowed to bring home, I’m down to 56 pounds! Never mind that my carry on is nearly 50 pounds as well!

So, I have had my last supper, my last shower, finished the last of my laundry, packed my last boxes, and I’m headed out on the last flight in about 18 hours! My time in Antarctica is nearly up and one might ask what has happened to me in that time. People keep saying that I’ll return a different person. I disagree. I am very much the same person who left Illinois on October 4. I have new life experiences and a wide variety of perspectives to add to my mind full of ideas and beliefs. I have been disheartened by cultural and spiritual relativism but I have felt the ecstatic joy of the mountains and the hills giving glorious admiration to their Creator. I have been chilled by the wind and snow, and warmed by the endearing friends I gained. I felt sadness when missing events in North America, but elated to experience a new series of tales to tell them when I return. I am the same person at heart, with fresh memories.

beholding grandeur

It’s my last three days here. The sun went down on the 20^th about 01:56. I have been up for a sunrise this morning as it tries to ascend through the clouds. Sometimes I try to take pictures, but more recently, I have been sitting and watching. The scope of the picture is far to grand to put in a camera lens. Besides “seeing” this view, to really know and understand what it is, one must experience it. It’s a feeling of beholding the grandeur of Creation.

I contemplated this while observing the Royal Society Mountain Range. We see a range from sea level to the highest 14000 foot peak. I realized, as a cloud cover began to settle over their highness's, that in Christian faith, we often see snapshots of what it is to believe in Jesus Christ. We have a photo of what “rules” a Christian life should be lived by; maybe even a person who exemplifies this. We have a thumbnail of church liturgy, we carry a picture of Jesus on the cross in our wallet, or collage pictures of our mission work in a foreign country on our wall as our means to salvation. But, then we miss the big picture sometimes. Sometimes (and for me, I mean most times) we focus so much on the details; the individual stones or layers of earth, that we miss the awe-inspiring majesty of what God created, painfully watched fall, and gracefully rescued and rebuilds in our lives.

So, here I sit, for a moment in time, taking in a hazy unbelievable immense sunrise; the colors and scope of which cannot be described; the shadows from clouds, and precipices far too intricate to capture well on camera. And, here I also simply behold my Christian faith.

Life is made of so many pieces; art, forgiveness, work, mis-communication, deliberate injustices, hospitality, friendship, commitment…my list could go on and on. In high school I took a personality test where the results defined a person as global (seeing the whole picture and caring less about the details) or analytic (understanding and seeking to maintain the individual parts of a project). I was diagnosed as an analytic, but I always wanted to be global. I bring up this illustration, because in life, as in faith, these elements are not mutual exclusive. Strong well-laid bricks will make an impenetrable castle.

Taking this illustration a step further, I have seen a pronunciation of relativistic worldviews regarding faith and religion while in Antarctica. Lots of people here seek “truth” by accepting all forms of deity. This diversity of understanding "truth" has been the most frustrating part of being here. Rather than deliberately placing bricks to build a strong tower, I have witnesses a degradation of many world belief systems; where bricks are chosen from a variety of traditions and merely thrown in a pile of what looks and feels good in the moment. There is a loss of Truth, an apathy towards salvation, and a focus on “self,” rather than God and others.

I don't have all the answers and people on The Ice can tell you I have messed up and mis-communicated plenty; but I have found Truth. Some would argue I have found a faith that “works for me” or fulfills my needs, but that simply makes faith out to be a self-serving feeling.

I have faith that was passed down from my parents and grandparents for generations, based on the Truth that is found in the Bible which is a document, remarkably written in a consistent fashion by multiple authors over many years. This piece of spiritual literature is The Word of God. Its’ focus is not on me, myself, and I. It’s about a Creator and Redeemer. It’s about God reconciling humanity falling to a sinful world; about a God who had compassion on a people-gone-wrong and wanting to still save them. It’s about God sending part of himself in the form of His human Son to carry the burden of all people’s wrongness and suffer a death so that those who accept this amazing sacrifice will not die, but live in a place with God, the Creator of all good things.

After that, there are no issues comparable. They are perhaps analytically important (the rock and soil creating the mountains), but they have so little to do with the broad gratitude and joy and humble service we should be lifting towards God.

So, if we focus on compiling bricks we risk missing the larger castle construction. When we concentrate so hard on what the hills are made of, we don’t behold the mountain view; the amazing Truth, right in front of us.

movie madness

Werner Herzog, a German movie producer showed his movie Rescue Dawn to the second audience ever in the world while in McMurdo’s galley at the beginning of the season. The movie was also shown at the Toronto Film Festival. Mr. Herzog was in Antarctica with us, working on his first documentary since Grizzly Man in October and November. With a truly fascinating character, we are all anxious to see what Herzog's two man crew (including himself) down here, in Antarctica, will do with our lives and times here in McMurdo! Look for me in the Thanksgiving dinner footage.

I recently watch another movie The Incident at Loch Ness, featuring Herzog himself. After watching and briefly speaking with this director and producer, I laughed over this documentary/farce of a drama as the characters search for “Nessy.” Many of Herzog’s indosyncracies came to light in the movie that he illustrated in person when he was on The Ice.

http://www.wernerherzog.com/main/index.htm

Photo from: http://chud.com/nextraimages/herzog31.jpg

moving from mcmurdo

This past week we saw half the McMurdo population fly away back to New Zealand. I only have one roommate now, there is never a problem finding a face in the dining hall anymore, the crowds have thinned out, no more lines for computers, showers, or at the store. It's a breath of fresh air! The picture to the left is of GA (General Assistant) Jen and I on her last day on The Ice. A few good friends leave on every flight. The two weeks of departures means a long string of goodbyes!

The weather has changed as well. In the last week we experienced a number of snow flurries, low visibility, and cooler temperatures with some biting windchills. It's nice to see the new snow on the ground. It "cleans up" the town and keeps the dust and ash down as well.

The sun has been dipping lower and lower across the horizon. In fact, the sun is sinking under the mountain tops now, but I'm not awake for that phenomena. February 20 is our first sunset. The sun is due to be down for about an hour (maybe two) before it bounces up above the horizon again. Perhaps I'll try to stay up for that event. It still won't be completely dark and starry at "night" here until well after we leave, but the dusk and dawn will be beautiful if our cloud-cover lifts.

Most people are looking forward to their redeployment date. As buildings are closing up for the winter, vehicles put away, and boxes of personal belongings are stored for next year, plenty of conversations revolve around the first dinner out in Christchurch, walking through the botanical gardens, dressing in different clothes, hiking, biking, having a room to oneself, plane tickets, and seeing family and friends.

ice license

I worked on a few projects while in Antarctica. My Ice License was one of them. Since we drive around so much in our shuttles department, I figured we could all use an authentic looking photo ID. So, with the help of Laura (printing out my design in color), I finally finished and laminated 21 drivers’ licenses for everyone in our office.

wrangling wrong whales

Japanese Whaler in NZ Hospital
Japanese Whaling Ship on Fire off Antarctica

Funny that I found this news story by visiting google news. There’s a rumor (based on an abundant amount of solid information), that we medivaced a sailor off of this ship last week. Actually, the Kiwi’s rescued him and sent him home on a US Airforce C-17. At least, that’s the rumor.

your antarctic adventure

If you are interested in a job in Antarctica, drop me an e-mail, visit rayjobs.com, and look for Polar jobs.

completing castle rock

I neglected to write much this week because few events have directly affected me. A ship, the American Tern, came into port. We unloaded and loaded it back up in 6 days. After watching all the delays, strikes, and frustrations over containers and ships coming for products Sweetener Supply purchased, I found it to be quite a relief that everyone here had an attitude of expediting the process. Last night we sent the cargo ship out and this morning, the Coast Guard Icebreaker departed behind it.

Our first two large groups of personnel left McMurdo last week. I assisted with the passenger transport for the first flight, on Tuesday, when two passengers boarded the plane and were then told they had been “bumped” to the next flight on Friday. They both had booked non-refundable travel for the next day and were not happy when their plans changed. A woman had to be medevaced and ended up taking more seating space than anticipated. So, J and I ended up transporting two crabby passengers the 45 minutes back to McMurdo after we took care of the flight paperwork and watch the C-17 take off.

Laura, once again left for the South Pole. This time it is for keeps. Well, I suppose, not forever, but I watched her plane until I couldn't see it anymore. It felt to terminal. I realized how much I hoped to travel with her after we left here. Now I'll explore the world by myself. I look forward to hearing about her austral winter South Pole season. There is a chance that I will be back in McMurdo again next November when she flies through back home.

After our brunch today, Lucas, Bodie, Michael, and I took another tour of the Castle Rock trail. The Rock reopened to climbers a month ago, and this was our first (and possibly last) opportunity to hike it together. Our hopes were nearly gone to get back up to this volcanic precipice, since wind, clouds, and cold weather have taken over Ross Island. In addition to weather concerns, we are only here for two more weeks before leaving The Ice!

There was some concern over the safety of climbing to the top of the rock this season. New ropes were slung around the rock to assist climbers. This rock scramble was my favorite part of the trail. There is just enough care and consideration required in each step to make it a thoughtful ascent, but not so much that I felt like I put myself in harms way. From this picture of Lucas and Michael, you will also notice the lack of snow on this rock. For a few minutes, despite dressing in 5 layers of long underwear, sweaters, jackets, and carharts, I looked up and thought we could be in a hot West Texas dessert, rather than a 17 degree day in Antarctica!

The weather is much cooler than the past weeks, we wenjoyed the time outside in the sun together for a long Sunday afternoon walk! Now we can all feel like we finally "completed" the Castle Rock Trail.

ellusive emperor

My crowning wildlife moment came today when I was doing our Pegasus weather observer shift change. The trip out to the Pegasus White Ice Runway is about 40 minutes at a reasonable (25mph) speed. We drop one person off, and pick up one person to return to McMurdo. I spotted what I thought was a penguin in the distance as we neared the airfield, but we had to stop to see it moving. As first glance, it was so small in the distance, it appeared to be another Adelie. But, Estefan, the weather observer brought some binoculars out and confirmed that the bird was the elusive emperor.

I began driving Debra back to McMurdo and she asked if I wanted to stop and take some pictures. So, we took a short walk to where the penguin was; careful not to "disturb" it's normal habits per the Antarctic Treaty. I did get some good shots of this awkward, but still elegant big bird!

This sighting was the marciano cherry on the top of a banana split at Jersey Junction (where I worked for a summer)!

*favorite photo: the emperor.

unusually unseen

Lauren and I came up with a list today. This is a list of things we haven't seen in four months:

* bathtub
* stars
* night
* tree
* lawnmower & grass
* compact car
* traffic light
* children
* rain
* bank
* drive-up window
* grocery store
* shaved legs (well, occasionally we see those--but not as often as you would think)
* pets
* handicapped people
* sidewalks & paved roads
* bugs (except those afids in my salad at the beginning of the season)
* lightening

I'm sure there are others that I could (and might) add, but these things we came up with in 5 minutes of downtime at work today!

languorous life

I took a run/walk yesterday up the Hut Ridge Trail. This trail was the only one I had not done yet. My run took me along a steep trail where I had a run-in with a Skua mother who was trying to protect her fluffy white chick. The poor little chick was right in the middle of the trail; thankfully, in this place, there is an alternate route to continue on!

At the top of this trail, I saw an iceberg that moved in towards town. There are certain sites that define "Antarctica" and icebergs are certainly one of them. I hope this one moves even closer to us!

On the way back down the trail, I ran into a woman who said she stood out on Hut Point and could see seals and penguins swimming under the water. I ran up to the edge and looked down for no more than a minute before I heard and saw a seal pop up out of the water. I soon saw three of them bobbing in and out of the sea. I also spotted a sea star under the waves which seemed out of the ordinary. I have seen the sea creatures in tanks in our Crary Lab Aquarium here, but seeing a sea star "for real" in Antarctica's water seems a bit extrodinary (I embelished the color on this photo a bit so you could have a better glimpse of what I saw under the sea)!

Of all this, I think I most enjoyed seeing some green lichen and odd organic spheres lacing the edge and bottoms of pooling water on the trail. This may look like the most disgusting green glob of sludge to you, but I was taken aback by the discovery of something so full of life on this otherwise quite desolate continent. I looked up algae and lichen in Antarctica and there are plenty of types of the stuff all over the continent. I was mesmorized by this slimy stuff for quite awhile!

To counter this gunk, there was air-filled ice covering a half of the pool! This bubbly frozen water seemed so purely captured!

Today, after over a month of temperatures over freezing, we had a cold, cold day. The windchill when I woke up was -8. Yikes! I was not ready for that and one of the women in my suite had to tell me that I'd probably want to wear Big Red to work; with the hood up! Brrr...

*favorite photo: ice bubbles.

vintage vehicles

While in Antarctica, people truly try to make the most out of the resources that we have on station. There is an art show, film festival, & Christmas gifts that use, and reuse, materials around town. Then there are the vehicles we drive. I assume you have seen some of the early photos of what I have been driving, but the trucks used for ship-offload are truly classic. Two of our drivers, J and Michael, will assist with the ship-offload once it docks with next years' cargo. They will drive everyday of 12 hours each day until the ship is unloaded. They are on a crew of 22 drivers who will unload around the clock. The first picture is of J driving one of the 50's model trucks they keep in good repair to keep trucking along year after year! With as few parts and products available to us, it is amazing that the VMF (Vehicle Maintainence Facility) can do such a great job of pulling things together!

I also know there is at least one John Deere fan in the blog audience who might appreciate the picture of this tractor driving around town the other day! Between the deltas, trucks, the pickles (I'll have to get a picture of one of those soon), the tractors, ski doos, tracked vehicles, vans, loaders, challengers (to pull vehicles out of the snow), forklifts, and Ivan the Terra Bus, there is little room for surprise when some new contraption pulls up along side me on the road. It all make for an interesting parking lot around lunch time!

cruising and crushing ice

Today the "higher-ups" in McMurdo and the Captain of the US Coast Guard ship, Polar Sea, hosted 400+ of us on a 3 hour morale cruise. The sea ice has blown out enough for us to see wildlife and fantastic view within a few miles of town. They call this a "morale trip" because it is a grand incentive for us to be here that we typically cannot dream to participate in. There are 950 people on station right now. Roughly 750 signed up to be a part of this tour and only 400-450 spots were available!

Our tour took us through the channel that the icebreakers have been cutting for the past three weeks. The Coast Guard took us through the water, pointed out various forms of wildlife (penguins, seals, and even whales), and demonstrated how the ship cuts into the ice. I was on the bridge at that point listening to the captain giving orders to those running the boat: "Let's back it up and go at the same place again with a little more force. It seems to be going over pretty well."

The first thing impressed upon me, was the beautiful blue clarity of the water and the ice. The boat churned up aqua colors in its' wake, while deep, deep blue indicated the depth and stillness of the water below. Chlorophyll abounds in the Ross Sea and give off a blue-green color. The chunks of ice we barged through added a unique definition to the scenery. The Ross Sea is one of the least adulterated bodies of water on earth. Scientific research concludes that life cycles and all organic populations in these waters are intact (ie. not over fished, exploited, or polluted).

The second impressive thought was that we got this little cruise for free. We did not even have to tip the captain! Passing a Russian research & tourist vessel on our way out the channel, we found it amusing that some of those people paid thousands of dollars to do what we are paid to be a part of. When you cash out the opportunity we have when consenting to work in Antarctica, the amount we actually get paid is insignificant. Especially with this tour, we engage in far more adventurous opportunities than money can buy!

Perhaps the special moment of the day came with capturing this photo of a whale. I have now seen the big four of Antarctica that I could hope to see here: Penguins, skua, seals, and whales. These creatures, when you catch a glimpse of them, are elegant in the water as they crest in the wake of the boat!

Although a bit cloudy, the day was spectacular. We were able to get off station for a few hours and be hosted by someone else (their cookies and Tully's coffee hit the spot, too).

beach bumming

It's not quite New Zealand, but it's what we've got to work with in the mean time:

thinking time

I finally found a place to be alone! Of course, it has to be a warm day and requires quite a walk or jog; and there are occasional hikers who pass by. However, this is the most quiet peace I have had in some time. The path I took winds around Ob Hill. I started out running, but the trail is quite precarious in spots and I took to walking chunks of it as well.

On one side, the wind was blocked and there was quiet. I stood there and watched a plane come in for landing at Willie Field and saw the Terra Bus slowly creeping the 7 miles over the ice shelf back to town. I ran further; down the back, sea-side, of the hill and came across a bone yard where skuas must indulge in their penguin and seal findings of the day. Yet further along the trail, I found a variety of different rocks that make up the hill.

I sat down on some scree and enjoyed the warm (40F+) temperatures and the gentle breeze. And, there, I thought. I thought about how vast the ice was and how temporal some of it is as the ice breakers took turns combating a gigantic chunk of the frozen water that decided to block in the ice pier today. I thought about how magnificent the mountains across the sea were and how small I am; crouched on the side of a little hill on a little island in a huge sea on a humongous continent in a bigger world.

I used to think I had little testimony of life to share with people; and perhaps my life does not contain the wild adventure and hilarious stories of some. I might not have the most comedic or interesting personality, or standout in drastic proportions to others, but as I finished college and went on with life on my own, I realized that not only do I have an explanation for the way my life has come and gone, but so does everyone else. My life's testimony does not culminate in my Antarctic existence, it has more to do with the journey I took to get here. This icy adventure may become part of my life testimony as I process through the rest of life; but it is not an end; nor a beginning to what I live for. All of life is a learning process. The people I have met in the last 3 months have taught me things to take along with me into the next part of my life's purpose.

Every day I reflect on how special it is to be here, in Antarctica in 2007. I am floored in amazement that God actually created some vistas and buttes, mountains and seas for me; for us to enjoy. So, on the hillside, I sent back some joy. But, while these things are building blocks to the next segment of life, my life’s testimony up to this point is what is important. It is my love for throwing javelin, my endearment to friends and family, my tough years working and trying to find out what to do, my interest in other people, my desire to find truth, and my strong will to travel; and more importantly how Christ has influenced me in each of those parts of life; redeeming my life and those around me. While I have had my ups and downs, I am unraveling (slowly and incompletely) why God has me on earth.

Right now I'm not accomplishing huge feats for mankind like some of the scientists here. I'm not a missionary; or even able to attend church every Sunday. I'm not doing something I am particularly "gifted" at. But, I am able to praise God for every blessing, here. I believe in the cause I am supporting as a caretaker of Creation. I am learning about society in a micro-community and finding all sorts of people who have as many ways of interpreting our existence. I am seeing new and exciting things and hoping for a renewal of Creation. I guess, my testimony is not something I focus on or emphasize; it is the way I live my life and the process of life that I continue to be a part of.

"Take these hands and lift them up. For I have not the strength to praise you near enough. Take my voice and pour it out. Let it sing the songs of mercy I have found. Take my body and build it up. May it be broken as an offering of love. Take my time from this earth and let it glorify all that you are worth. All my soul needs is all your love to cover me; so all the world may see I have nothing without You." - Bebo Norman -

andrea the aviator

Yesterday I finally saw the inside of the LC-130 aircraft. These are typically our intra-continental aircraft that fly to some field camps, but mostly to the South Pole. Other field camps are serviced by our Ken Borek Air fleet (smaller skier planes; like the photo in my Christmas picture with the seal) or by helicopter.

I spend a lot of time driving passengers and crew out to the 130's, but never had the opportunity to see the plane from the inside out. Yesterday, our MC1 (Mastor Controller), Kris, had me step inside and check out the cargo plane. I also spent a few minutes on the flight deck and chatted with the flight engineer who was doing the pre-flight checks. He also explained all the great ways to heat food in the aircraft: microwave or convection oven (depends whether the plane is a new or old model). If either of these goes out, there are always certain places to tuck a few morsels in around heaters and vents, too.

I missed the big action, though. Apparently 2 minutes after I stepped out of the aircraft, cargo was loading a 15,000 pound pallet into the aircraft when the "milkstool" (this is the apparatus they put underneath the tounge of the plane when they are loading it) slipped out from under the cargo door and caused the entire aircraft to do a "pop-a willie." I do not wish I were on the flight deck then, but I do wish I could have seen that!

I gave the flight engineer and Kris a note of thanks for hosting me for a few minutes. It was likely the most exciting thing that will happen for the next few days!

sweet ski-doo

I volunteered for the marathon this morning. Laura was supposed to be running, so I thought it would be fun to drop her off in the Terra Bus and watch her go, but since her weekend of R&R is now in February, I just ended up volunteering out of generosity in my heart and had a great time watching the whole event unravel.

My reward for helping out came as I drove back into town when another driver took over Ivan the Terra Bus. Richard, from the Rec Office came over on a Ski-doo and asked if I wanted to take a ride. Of course, any opportunity to do anything extra-ordinary down here is a good opportunity. And, the number of people on station who get to ride a Ski-doo down here is pretty minimal. So, I hopped on and accompanied him to fuel the machine. On the way back, he even let me drive (shhh...don't tell; it was only a few feet). Driving this machine was so much fun! I was under-dressed for riding, but we didn't go far and it was worth it!

Perhaps the most entertaining part of this adventure on the Ski-doo was getting the helmet on. Who knew this safety device was a hazard in itself. When I got it on the first time, it pushed my hat over my eyes and when we attempted removing it, I almost pulled my earring out of my ear. We finally found the buttons and took my hat off and it fit great! I can only imagine what we looked like: Richard pulling on the helmet while I braced my feet and tried to gently wiggle my head out of the black cushions.

huge honor

"I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down." - Mitch Hedberg -

My life experience grew today when I was invited to attend the Scott Base 50th Anniversary Luncheon. My invitation was by default since I, and Shuttle Char, were the drivers from McMurdo to the Base. The speakers at this even include the Prime Minister Helen Clark, Sir Edmund Hillary, Claudia McMurray, and Dr. Arden Bement. The first photo is similar to what you will find if you Google "Sir Edmund Hillary" in the news for today.

The biggest honor, and perhaps highlight of my stay in Antarctica was shaking the hand of Sir Edmund Hillary and thanking him for the groundwork he laid in Antarctica for people, like myself, to be able to come here. He has accomplished much and still has goals and aspirations at 87 years old! He did not expect to be able to attend a 50th birthday party for the Base he founded in Antarctica, but seems pleased-as-punch to be here. The man is still quite witty and has great regard for the science and research that continues here.

The luncheon was a strange mix of lowly Raytheon employees, Kiwi people, military personnel, NSF and high ranking government official, along with Char and I, the shuttle drivers. Prime Minister Helen Clark consented to have her picture taken with me as well. This woman is quite approachable and "down-to-earth." I appreciate her enthusiasm for coming to Antarctica and visiting for the 50 year event.

I would attempt to write more of my thoughts, but this opportunity came about so quickly that I am still trying to figure out how little-ole-me ended up with sushi and fine New Zealand cheeses for lunch! And, I must head for bed to rest this sleepy head!

*favorite photo: me with Sir Ed.