New Year's 2010

Hey Everybody!
So Happy New Year. It was pretty exciting being on the edge of the world for new years. I got to celebrate a whole day before most of you! First time zone to hit the new year. That was cool!
Not much has been going on lately. We had a big Christmas Dinner, that I had to work. I did get to have some of the food tho with all the other galley help. It was really good. Besides that it has been work and more work. Really exciting!
New Years eve was special though. After work I decided to take a walk. I was just going to take a walk around McMurdo and listen to music, but I decided after a few minutes to hike up Ob hill again. I was going to take the main way up which is the way that most people go up the front face. You might be able to see the trail if you look at pics of the hill from McMurdo. I didn't want to cross the fuel line tho so I was planning to take the road up to where it meets the trail, but the road up Ob hill was closed. So I was kinda stuck but I really wanted to hike up the hill so I took the trail around the mountian and hiked up the back.
Wierdest decision ever. It was really really steep and really really loose rock and really really FUN! I got all the way up eventually. I had to stop every ten feet or so to figure out where I was going from the semi stable place I was stopped. It was CRAZY!! There is a trail that goes up the back, not as used as the one up the main face, but I couldn't see it! It has been snowing here for the last few days and the mountain all looked the same dark color because of the moisture. So I basically had to create my own trail. And when I kinda figured it wasn't the best idea I had to keep going becuase there was no way I could go back down the way I went up. So I was kinda stuck. (Oh but don't worry I won't get in trouble for hiking whichever way I want people do it all the time) Anyway I made it to the top at around 9:50 or so. And I stayed up there till the rest of the DAs arrived at 11:30 . There was a plan for a toast on ob hill to the new year. I just arrived two hours early.
It was totally worth it tho. I saw everything change and all the clouds moving. It was really really beautiful. I tried to get pictures but my camera doesn't like the cold. I didn't bring the fancy schmacy camera my dad let me borrow because I was only going to do a walk. Oh well. It wasn't that cold at the top out of the wind so I spent most of my time sitting watching the ice and behind rocks to get out of the wind. Anyway the rest of the guys got up the hill and we had a toast at midnight. Then we hiked back down and I was going to go to bed. But I heard a Bagpipe. I mean wierdest thing to hear in Antarctica EVER! Thye had finished setting up the stage for icestock and were celebrating out there. So I hung out for a little before I went to bed. Icestock is a big New Years Celebration with all these local bands from Mcmurdo who play. It is basically a big party because the whole town has tomorrow off. Except for the galley of course. So I had today off instead. YAY!!!! hehe.
I also found out my tenative redeployment date which will apparently change alot so you can tenatively expect me to leave the ice on February 10.
Anyway once again HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ANTARCTICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pictures are of castle rock and whatever that mountain is called (I can never remember) and of the ice.
The pics at the bottom are of me at the top after I made it all the way alive. and the trail I went up. It is a lot steeper than it looks in the picture. think at least a 45 degree incline. more at some places.

Here come the Tourists!!!!!!!

Yes the tourists are coming. Apparently every year cruise ships full of really really rich people come to the edge of the sea ice and then helicopter into Mcmurdo. Yes Helicopter because these ships have their own helicopters. Woowww. I mean seriously those cruises must be really really expensive. Oh well whatever floats your boat. So that should be fun.
The DA and kitchen holiday party was the other night. It was apparently ugly sweater but I didn't have time to go to skua so I just wore one I had brought. Skua is the random free thrift store at McMurdo. Basically when you leave or if you just have extra stuff you don't want you donate it to skua so they have clothes dishes movies ect. I swear it is like a treasure hunt every time you go. Yay. Anyway the party also was a white elephant gift exchange. But there were extra presents so mine didn't get picked :(. OH well I gave it to one of my coworkers and she really like it so I am happy. It also started SNOWING! which was really exciting. It has actually been snowing on and off for the last few days.
Life down here is fun. I spend most evenings after work watching a movie or tv with my coworkers. We watched Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles last night. I had never seen that movie. And we watched Clercks and Clerks II the other night. So I am getting to know some of my coworkers and some of the people on station. I might get to go help launch a weather balloon in the next few days or week. And I am going Line dancing tonight! I know wierd right? Apparently there are all kinds of social things to do down here. There is a boxing class and a zumba class and a stiching group. It is actually quite cool.
I also got to go see the Hut which was pretty cool. It is a building that the first explorers down here lived and worked in. There are all sorts of really cool antique stuff from when these men lived in the cabin. It smelled really bad tho becuase they had some dead seal or something in there. I think that is fro the ambiance and a few of those seal parts are probably like decades old. EWWw hehe. Anway I got pictures of some live seals tho. That was totally so much better than dead ones. so that cheered me up.
Anyway that is all that is going on right now. Life is good and work is really fun and entertaining. The people down here are really cool. And nuts so I fit right in.

Hike

Me in my cold weather gear when I first Top of Ob Hill the cross is dedicated to the arrived. members of the first south pole
exploration who died.

So I had my first full day of work on Sunday. It was crazy! My feet hurt after all that standing, but give me a few days and I will be used to it. I also had my first half day and day off (today)! Yesterday I got out of work at four and went for a hike. I had convinced one of my new coworkers whose day off was yesterday to hike up ob hill with me. That was one hell of a hike. It was loose volcanic rock the whole way up and it was straight up for most of it. The view was totally worth it though. I got some really cool pictures of McMurdo station and of the ice from way up high. The hike was fun anyway because we kinda got lost. We took the meandering trail around the back of the mountain but couldn't figure out how we were supposed to get to the top. It was fun.
Yesterday was also the Christmas party for Nana employees because we all work the big Christmas party and dinner. It was pretty fun. I got duped into singing kareokee (Jingle Bells). It was a good night. The party was kinda short which was sad but alot of the Das and kitchen staff went and played ping pong and just hung out.
Today kinda sucks tho because I have a cold. I am hoping it goes away in a day or so. I figure all the traveling and sleep changes just decided to let me get a cold. It isn't to bad though so I should be fine.


Sea Ice around McMurdo


View of Ob Hill. You can sorta see the trail if you look

The airstrip I think view from Ob Hill McMurdo Station from top of Ob Hill

Travel and Ice

Well I did get to spend another day in Christchurch, which was totally awesome. In the morning I explored the Cathedral and climbed the tower. It is only 134 steps or something around that but they are really small spiraling stairs. I also went to this little aquarium in the Cathedral square. It had a kiwi house so I got to see two KIWIS yaya. They also had a few exhibits. It was pretty small but hey it was about 5 feet from my hotel. I had to go to the CDC (which is the clothing dispersal center) to try on all my cold weather gear, but most of the day was just for me. After I did all this trying on I decided to take a walk around the city and take pictures of the buildings. Mostly so that I could get my dad some pictures of the architecture. I found some cool little shops off the beaten path and explored a little of the big park. I also saw a family of ducks that I was practicing my picture taking on. Then I walked to a mexican restaurant in Christchurch for dinner. I figured I needed to stock up on Mexican food while I could. I went to bed pretty early because I had my shuttle pic up at 6:30 in the morning.
(This is all I saw of Sydney from the air)

The shuttle picked us up and took us to the military airport where we picked up our cold weather bags and got on a military plane. This flight was about 5 hours and was relatively boriung becuase there were no windows. We did get to go into the cockpit which was cool. We landed on the ice and had a little orientation and then off to pick up our bags and get to our room. I spent most of the afternoon unpacking and wandering around my dorm. My dorm is in the main building. So I am on the second floor of the building housing the galley(my second home), the post office, the computer lab, and the store. So I don't really have to go outside unless I want to. I share my room with 3 other girls, two of which are night shift people. So I have to be quiet in my room.

I also had my first day of work today. Yippee. I spent the first 2 hours going over safety and getting shown around. Then I spent the lunch hour helping out on the floor. I got let out about 5 hours early becuase they like to go easy on you on the first day. But tomorrow I start my full workload and everything. Which should be really busy and fun and stressful.

New Zealand

So I am in NEW ZEALAND!!! After a day and a half of flying I arrived in Christchurch, NZ and got to my hotel, which I love. It is a totally awesome hotel, with a really big bed just for me. After sleeping on the plane I am ready for an actual bed. I am also right across the street from the big cathedral in Christchurch and I can see it out of my window. So I have 2 days here and then off to the ice!!! I am really excited.
I met a really cool girl on the plane to Christchurch too. She is from Switzerland and her name is Maria. We are going to tour the city tomorrow morning before I have to go try on all my winter gear. That should be fun.
Also, I discovered that there is an Antarctica Center here in Christchurch. It explains all about the stations and research taking place on the ice. I am hoping to go tomorrow.
Anyway that is all for now. Hopefully I will have some pictures up soon of Sydney from the sky ( I was only there for about 30 minutes) and Christchurch.