I have been living at the South Pole for 9 months now. I got the idea to make a list of things I have not seen or used from a fellow Polie, so the following is a list of a few things I have not seen or done since my arrival here in October.
-driven a car
-seen grass, or a tree (or any evidence of plant life outside of items in the greenhouse)
-walked on any surface other then snow and ice (except for the few days I walked on dirt in McMurdo in February)
-seen an inset
-played my cello
-had a decent cup of tea
-used a cell phone
-seen my parents or my sisters, or any friends from home
-seen anyone under the age of 18
-gone swimming
-seen or smelled the ocean (or seen any large body of water)
-watched live TV or gone to see a movie
Since Mid February, I have not:
-seen a plane
-met a new person (or seen anyone aside from my 42 fellow Polies)
-eaten fruit that has not at one point been frozen
-been somewhere that is warmer then about -30ºF
-gone outside without wearing multiple layers of clothing
-traveled farther away then 1 mile from where I sleep
-been in a vehicle that was not designed for use in the snow, or doesn’t have snow tracks
And its been just about 3 entire months since I have seen ANY sign of the sun. Although the sun officially set in March we saw signs of its existence for weeks afterward.
And it has been about 9 months that I have been living at an altitude of over 9,000ft.