days in Christchurch and my first day on the ICE!

So this is probably going to be a long post as I have a lot of details about my time in Christchurch NZ and my first journey down to the Ice!

I arrived in NZ on Saturday afternoon and was taken to my hotel and had the rest of the day just to hang out and relax. Raytheon is super helpful because they set up all the shuttles you will need in advance so they are there waiting for you at the airport when you arrive, and arrange all the hotel reservations and everything ahead of time. I stayed right in downtown Christchurch across the street from the cathedral, and the main square in town. After getting settles into our various hotels and everything, myself and a friend wondered around the city and hung out. Later in the day we went over to one of the bars where a lot of Antarctica folks hang out. Got some dinner, and most people (myself included) went to bed pretty early as it had been a very long day of traveling and such so most of us were exhausted.

The following morning (Sunday) I awoke to cloudy weather, and HAIL! I was hoping the weather would have been warm and sunny since it would be the last day for me to enjoy any sort of greenery or warm sunny days. Once the hail let up I went over to one of the other hotels where lots of other Antarctica folks were and got some breakfast. And then in the afternoon I had to go to the Antarctica Center and the CDC (or clothing distribution center) to pick up and try on all my ECW (extreme cold weather gear).

The CDC was pretty hectic. The staff there had already packed bags for you based on what you job is, and the size charts you sent them over the hiring process. Once you find your bags you take everything out and try on everything! It is really important that you try everything on because you don’t want to get down to the ice and realize something doesn’t fit. So in my bags were 4 sets of my uniform for working (black pants and blue polo shits), about 6 pairs of wool socks, bunny boots (huge super insulated boots), 2 sets of expedition weight long underwear, fleece jackets, fleece pants, gloves, hats, a giant parka, and I am probably forgetting things, but you get the ice. I also brought all my other luggage to the CDC because you are only allowed 75lbs on the flight down to the ice, so I had to re-pack some things and make sure I was within the limit! (I came in at 74lbs!)

Once I finished at the CDC I went back to my hotel to drop some things off, and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with other folks and wondering the city a bit. I had to report back to the CDC at 5am the next day (Monday) for the ice flight so it was another early night. Once back at the CDC you have to put on all the gear you have to wear on the flight: parka, wind pants, bunny boots, hat, gloves, and goggles. Once you have it all on you go check in, which means you have all your checked luggage weighed, and then they weight you and your carry on so they know exactly how much weight will be on the plane. After I got rid of my bags I got some breakfast and then just hung out before the briefing before the flight. I also ran into one of my old professors from UMAINE who was headed to the ice for a project, so I chatted with her for a while, it was nice to run into a familiar face all the way in NZ!

Finally, after about 3 hours we all (about 75 of us) boarded a bus to take us over to the airport where the place was waiting. We flew down on a big air force place, A CF 117 I think. It was very loud so they gave us all earplugs to wear for the flight. Its not like a normal plane where there are windows everywhere to look out of, instead there was just one you could get up and look out of. Most people (myself included) fell asleep for most of the flight, and then were woken up when we were about 30min away from McMurdo, and then its seemed like all the sudden we were on the ground! So I put my coat and boots and gloves back on and walked off the plane onto the ice for my very first time!

The whole experience of getting off the plane was just very surreal. And I still can not believe that I am here!! After getting off the plane and taking in my surroundings a bit we boarded giant vehicles to take us into the station (which was a little ways away from the ice runway). Once there we had to sit through some more safety briefings and pick up dorm keys and then after about an hour and a half we were allowed to go collect our luggage and linens for our beds.

It was much warmer here yesterday then I thought it would be. I think it was about 12F, and there was not much wind so I was comfortable walking around outside with sneakers, the wind pants, and a sweatshirt and fleece on. Now, I know its going to be much colder than this at the pole so I don’t want to get too used to it.

This morning myself and the other south pole kitchen folks had to take a food serve safety course, which consisted of watching videos and taking little quizzes about handling, storing, serving food. And later today (and for the duration of time I am here) I have to go get to work in the kitchen here to get used to the routine and how things work.

Currently I am scheduled to fly out to the pole on the 2^nd, but they are pretty desperate for food services folks down there so I may be out of here sooner than that! I am anxious to get down there and move into my own space.

Well, if you managed to read this entire post that is impressive! I am not sure when I will get to update again, but I will do my best to update as much as possible!