Comfort in the Frozen World.

Breathe, exhale. Breathe, exhale. WOW. This place is like nowhere else. Yes, it's cold, frigid, harsh, and sometimes completely unbearable. Sometimes my first impulsive response is to burst into tears. I've never felt anything like it, in fact, I'm not sure there is a place to feel anything like this. The air is clean and crisp everyday. But now when I walk outside, the bite isn't as shocking as it was a week ago.

It's amazing what a week of adjustment can do to your mind and well-being. My amazing support group, both here and at home sent amazing words of encouragement. Thank you, so much. There is quite a bit to adjust to here, and clearly I wasn't physically or emotionally quick to do so. There is the obvious climatic and magnetic acclimation. Then there is my job, which is fast paced and constant mental work with numbers and names and activities. Hundreds of them. I'm starting to do some work in my schedules too, even though my projects don't start for a few more weeks. And of course, the culture here on station isn't simple. It is a different world, and one I've realized is really hard to describe and say correctly. Once you get somewhat used to it, it starts to grow on you.

To be honest, this past week has been pretty uneventful! I've found my routine, figured out a few things, and found comfort. My roommate arrived on Tuesday, and she has moved in without any problems. She goes to bed early and reads a lot, just like me! This is also her fourth season at McMurdo, so she knows where to find things and has managed to make our room more comfortable and "homey". Oh! And yesterday I received the boxes I sent myself! Finally - toiletries, Twizzlers, shaving cream, kleenex (a week too late!), books, laundry detergent, and LOTION.

It has been too cold and windy to hike around, so I haven't been off station....until last night. On Thursday nights, Scott Base (New Zealand's Antarctic station) opens up for "American Night" and we are invited three miles over the hill to enjoy their convenience store and have a beer with the Kiwis. Their station was much smaller than McMurdo, but clean and welcoming. I bought a shirt for my Dad, drank a couple beers with some girls from McMurdo, snapped some pictures before my fingers and face froze off, and that was that.

In a couple weeks I'm being sent to snow school and sea ice school. I have to complete and pass both survival courses in order to leave the station and see anything other than another country's station. I have anxious hopes to get off station and see something really amazing! I'm going to start counting down the days.

Lastly, I want to make something clear. I really like this company, I'm happy to work for USAP and NSF. Thanks to an article written in a Denver periodical called the Westword (thanks Alison and Serena for bringing it to my attention), I've decided to not share things specific to my job, the company, the Program, or feed into any other rumors (usually untrue anyway) that are flying around this station. That article was frustrating to me and sometimes jaw-droppingly wrong. And this blog isn't about the Program, so I'm not going to discuss it.

In the next few days, I will get out and do some hikes. The setting around McMurdo is breath-taking and I need to get my body moving!

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