denver, LA, sydney, christchurch

(please excuse my spelling and writing issues - i am still a bit off from the flight and time difference)

so i have finally arrived in new zealand! i was lucky enough to get isle seats on all of the flight down here, so that made the long trek so much better for me.

if you dont already know, i have a terrible fear of flying. traveling this far on three flights was not something i was looking forward to. however, all of the flights were pretty good, especially the qanats flight from LA to sydney.

denver to LA was a bit bumpy getting over the rockies, but it was smooth after that. when we arrived we had a 4.5 hour layover in the international terminal. since there are so many of us going in for winfly we were able to keep ourselves entertained.

the flight to sydney was about 14 hours and was pretty wobbly, somewhat like a train ride on old rails. qantas offered us dinner then a snack pack and some socks for comfort. we also had our on tv screen to watch movies and tv shows on demand - there was enough material to watch for a month! at some point we had breakfast and they also gave us hot towels to help ourselfves get refreshed.

the flight to christchurch was totally smooth until it was time to land, and that was not fun at all. it was horribly turbulent, but it was a quick landing, so i didnt have time to freak out.

after landing the USAP (United States Antarctic Program) had shuttle drivers available for us and they delivered us to our respective hotels. i am staying at the hotel SO. pretty modern - it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to turn the lights on...

unfortunately i took a 4 hour nap that screwed up my sleep schedule. i ended up staying awake until 11 pm and woke up at 4 am kiwi time.

last night i went to dinner at strawberry fare and had a delicious duck confit. i forgot my camera since i was so out of it, but i do promise to get some pictures soon.

the kiwis are VERY nice. i cant wait to explore this country more after i return in march.

now i am off to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) to pick up my uniforms and ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear. i also have to resubmit my laptop for inspection since i didnt already have an anti-virus program installed.