Made It!

Made it in yesterday afternoon! The flight was really cool-we flew in a C-17 which is a huge U.S. Air Force plane, the inside is basically a cargo hold with some seats strewn about. It was so loud inside conversation was pretty much impossible and we had to wear earplugs. It was only 5 hours though-after flying 20 to get to NZ, 5 hours seems like nothing :) I got to go up into the cockpit once we got out over Antarctica to check it out. The views were incredible!!! (I'll posts pics soon).

We landed on the bay--yes, the bay! The ice over the sea is about 90 inches thick right now, which doesn't seem enough to land a jumbo jet on, but apparently it is. The ice should be melting soon though, so they aren't going to land there for too much longer. Once it melts the water will come right up to the base and there will be a lot more wildlife.

Speaking of wildlife! I was told by almost everyone I spoke to coming off the Ice in NZ that I wouldn't see any wildlife and not to get my hopes up. But yesterday (my first day) I went for a little hike with Tia and saw the biggest seal ever! It was HUGE! It was way out on the ice shelf and started wobbling its way towards us and came so close we could hear it breathing! It was very cool. We stood there, mesmerized, for about 30 minutes.

It still feels like a pretty alien place to me. For one, its Antarctica, and when I look out over the bay I am impressed with two things. How insanely gorgeous the view is (I'd have to say it trumps any view of the mountains from Denver. Imagine the Rockies there, only bigger, and covered in pure white snow, with a flat bay 60 miles wide in front of it). The other is how desolate and empty that beautiful landscape is. And then McMurdo itself feels totally strange; its clearly a base, with odd buildings that look like barracks, all numbered itstead of signed. But once inside, it feels like a college campus! Dorm rooms, the dining hall, bulletin boards all over the walls, new people everywhere I turn and me, with no clue as to where anything is or how anything works...yet.

I'm learning quickly, and finding that there are about a million fun things to do here! There's hiking and cross country skiing and other recreational trips, but also a lot of clubs and activities indoors. There is a big gym and a few small gyms, saunas all over the place, and the people are super friendly. I also started work today. Its going to be long hours, and not a lot of down time, but the people seem like a lot of fun. I get 1.5 days off, not just 1 a week, so that's a nice surprise!!

Oh yeah, the other crazy thing about being here is that it is daytime ALL the time. And not daytime where the sun is high during the day and close to the horizon at night. Last night I went to a coffee house around 10pm, and when I left at 11pm it was so bright out I had to put on my sunglasses! Right now I am in a room with no windows, but its temporary. Its kind of nice because it actually gets dark at night, but I am hoping when I get my permanent room assignment I have a window--I'm willing to sleep with a little light in order to get fresh air once in a while! Its not very cold here either, and the summer is just beginning. So I am prepared for a few storms, but mostly the weather should just get nicer. Its about 30 or so degrees now, just like a beautiful winter day back home!

That's it for now. I miss you all, and love hearing from you, so keep the emails coming :)