well, my word, it is cold here! flying in was absolutely fabuloso. i ended up sitting in one of the co-pilot chairs in the cockpit and getting supreme views of the megamountains below. no human has laid foot on the majority of antarctica including the mountains and valleys we passed over. we rode in a C-17, a big ole military cargo plane...way cool.
where we landed is right ontop of 6ft thick sea ice (pretty thin for a huge plane in my opinion). they'll be changing the runway location soon because where we landed will be melting and broken up in not too long. scary...or really damn cool...
sooooo, i'm totally pooped and having a blast so far. i'm livin' dorm style with shared bathrooms, straight up cafeteria food and all. we're in current run of "freshies". the time when we have a fair amount of fresh veggies available. it goes in waves, so over time we'll have less and less, and then boom a new batch arrives. mmmmm.
in my whole 2 days here i haven't quite adjusted to the 24 hour sunlight thing. right when i'm feeling tired and like it has to be way dark, i step down the hall and shabam, bright bright sunshiney light. (my room has no windows...hmmmm...this may drive me crazy. i'll keep you posted, or perhaps you will just know by my words...heehee)
so, i'm working in the heavy shop aka vmf aka vehicle maintenance facilities aka building 143, as a preventative maintenance mechanic. so far i've mostly been doing trainings and meeting peeps. it's been fun and silly and chaotic.
i completely dig my roommate. her name is clair and she's an avid hiker, a whitewater rafting guide, a traveler and so easy going and fun.
it is megacold especially when the winds are kickin'. i was given tons (almost literally) of cold weather clothes, so when i have the right combo i keep completely warm and cozy. the thing is, when i want to just hop over to the next building or so, gearing up seems such an ordeal, sooo with cold nose and cheeks and foggy glasses i find i end up walking backwards (away from the wind) to work. not too bad. and i hear the weather is only on it's way to warmer...
well, this was a mostly basics update. my tired self isn't letting out any creative flowage. tomorrow (sundays) is my day off, so i'm off to boogie down at my first antarctica dance party, 70s vs. 80s...
with love and exhileration...shawntel
