Alex's first post

This is my first post to any blog ever.
I'm sorry I have not been as faithful as Lucas, but I will try to get better. The last month or so has been so intense-- We've been reconnecting with friends and family and doing so much travelling. New Zealand was/is beautiful as always. We stayed in the same hostel where we got engaged! We were only there for about two days...in that time, we managed to meet these interesting people in the christchurch square-- one of whom (I can't pronounce or try to spell his name) invited us to the hare krishna temple for dinner-- We ended up getting a huge vegetarian meal and I saw the most gorgeous child ever-- she had these amazing dark eyes--

Our flight to Antarctica was so early in the AM-- We boarded this crazy military plane with all this cargo. It was really loud and uncomfortable. I ended up reading most of the time and trying to absorb everything that was happening. I looked out the window, at one point, and the sea was covered in ice--we were getting closer and closer.

When we finally landed, I put on all my big United States Antarctic Program issued clothes and said a small prayer as I was getting out of the plane-- The COLD was so incredibly COLD that it deserved capital letters-- the kind of cold that slaps you in the face...the kind of cold that is a presence--forcing you to always remember that it's there--it was the coldest I have ever felt so far in my life (-17 F) as I am from the south and have always hated winter-- The second thing that I was struck by was how incredibly beautiful the landscape is--A surprise to me as I've seen Lucas' pictures. They were beautiful and he would always tell me that the pictures didn't do it justice-- now I understood what he meant....

There were shuttles to come meet us and take us along with our belongings to the town of McMurdo. I tried to keep tabs on Lucas as we all looked the same in our Huge red parkas. It turns out I had met our shuttle driver, shuttle bob, in christchurch, NZ last year. Lucas and I climbed into this unheated tin can on wheels and drove to Mcmurdo-- it was too cold to take pictures, but I wish I could post a picture of this transportation device so you all could see what I was talking about...

McMurdo was not as ugly as I thought it would be. It's acutally kind of cute, in it's own way. We live in a teeny tiny room in a dorm called Mammoth Mountain Inn or MMI. It's not very mammoth at all. I really like our room and the dorm, but lots of folks complain about the size. I'm just grateful I don't have to share my room with four other strangers.

I started being a lunch lady the very next day after getting on the ICE. It turns out that I was the last and only lunch lady to arrive to the ICE so it was a little awkward for a few days. Everyone I work with is really really nice. I'm slowly making friends.

The bummer is that Lucas and I don't get to see each other very often because our schedules are different. Thankfully, I got Sundays off so we can spend one day together. The nice thing is that I get to go to the gym every morning before work and listen to "this American Life" on my I-pod. I enjoy having quiet time as life has been so busy for the last few months...

I will try to be more faithful about my posts-- my love to everyone--alex

Friday, August 17

I spent the better part of the afternoon working outside. The first time I've spent a chunk of time outside while on the job. The weather was sunny and 1F. I’m exhausted....but the weekend starts tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 14

Today was our first day of work on the ice. I met my co-workers, my supervisor, the director of spply and spent the better part of the day in various trainings. I will be working for electrical supply. Basically, we have two warehouses full of anything an electrician may need to do their job. My job is "Responsible for receipt, storage, organization, inventory and issue of supplies." I think I will spend the majority of my time opening boxes and writing down what is in the box. Alex gets off work in a few minutes, so I'm off to meet her.

Monday, October 13

We arrived to fabulously clear, sunny and windless day in Antarctica. The temperature was said to -17, but it was so bright and sunny it hardly felt that cold. There is much less snow this year. We sat through a variety trainings, mostly just various people telling us how important to be safe. We settled into our room, picked up sheets for our bed and spent the evening hours rearranging our 6 pieces of furniture. Two beds, two wall lockers a desk and and a desk chair. The room is tiny, tiny; but my roommate is pretty awesome...
I am enjoying reuniting with may friends from last season.

Thursday, October 9, 11:12pm est

Going back to the ice feels different than last time. This year the group is much smaller, we don't have that one drunk girl demanding everyone's attention, and I find myself much more apprehensive than last year. My excitement and anticipation is not as overwhelming as it was last year. Last season, I believe, I was so anxious to learn what this Antarctica thing was all about and completely entranced by the entire process that any fears, concerns, worries, etc took a back seat to the novelty of the experience. This year, with novelty and anticipation lessened, I am thinking more about the upcoming hardships. I wonder if I have gotten myself in over my head with the new job, if my expectations of this season are too grounded in last year's experience. I worry what Alex's experience will be like, and to what degree our time on the ice is dependent upon each other's experience. I wonder if I will put on as much weight as I did last year, if I will get enough time to myself and what I am failing to expect.

Thursday, September 9th

Today's plan:
6 am wake up, catch shuttle at 7 am, training until noon, take the shuttle to the Denver airport, wait for hours, fly to the Los Angeles airport, wait, fly from LA to Auckland NZ, wait, fly from Auckland to Christchurch, pick up our hotel reservation, take shuttle to hotel.

Our itinerary has us arriving in Christchurch on Saturday, October 11 at 10:20 am.

Lucas

Tuesday, October 7th

Alex and I are at the airport in Dallas, TX. We are both laying on the floor. Alex is reading a national bestseller and I am left attempting to entertain myself. We are on our way to Denver for two days of training before the long flight to New Zealand. We'll spend two days in New Zealand and are set to arrive in Antarctica on the 13th. Our mailing address will be:
PSC 469, Box 700
APO, AP 96599-1035