week 2

so going back a bit...Christchurch was pretty amazing.



seeing the southern alps in the distance reminded me of home which helped ease the stress of several long flights.



they have a little river there called avon and i really wanted to go punting, but i completely spaced it out. i will be doing it when i redeploy in feb/march. ill also do the lord of the rings tour, however dorky that may seem.



i live here now. it still amazes me every single day. this is the 'southern' tip of ross island, and island that is bigger than the last state i lived in (RI) and has upwards of 1,500 people and 500,000 penguins (no we do not eat them, nor will i likely see one).



tonight i will be visiting the kiwi base again, scott base, which is about 3.6 miles away if they lift condition 2*. they currently have 27 people on station and will max out at 350 during the summer. i went there last thursday for American night and had a blast. their gift shop hadnt be replenished, and kiwis are not as fat as Americans, so their sizes in clothing were small. im hoping to pick up some good swag while im there as well as kick some butt in darts. last week i beat my friend/employee kieffer in two games of cricket, and then on saturday at gallaghers (one of the McMurdo bars). although their station is small, its fairly new and pretty nice, plus they take credit cards and US money in the gift shop and at the bar. i love kiwis!

*the weather here has three conditions: condition 3 is normal antarctican weather (good visibility and low winds), condition 2 is pretty crappy (low visibility, pretty windy and -75 F to -99 F with the windchill and travel is restricted to only going from buildings within the station); condition 1 is horrible with almost no visibility, temps colder than -100 F and leaving any building is prohibited.