Tuesday, February 06, 2007

First Season Winding Down - Some Random Thoughts About Leaving This Continent

I've got 11 days and a wake-up before I'm back in New Zealand. I am looking forward to getting off the Ice, but there are so many things I have left to do here. It's so easy when you first get here and know that you have six months to do everything and you put stuff off. But now I'm running around trying to fit it all in. The thing with working down here is that you never know for sure if you're coming back. You can hope to, but if you fail the physical and dental exams and don't have time to correct things to pass, you have to sit at least one season out.

Scents: the only scents we really have here are exhaust and whatever the Galley's cooking that day. My sense of smell is becoming so finely-tuned, I can usually tell you what KIND of fish is being fried that day for lunch (and I don't even eat fish). I'm going to have a sensory overload when I step off the plane. Or at least, I hope I will.

OOOooo... RAIN!! I haven't felt rain in more than 6 months. The closest I've come is standing under the leaky roof in the weight gym/ceramics room/bowling alley/craft room/bouldering cave building. It was so leaky that I would say we had twenty to thirty buckets lined down the hallway collecting the little drips.

The station feels a lot differently now. A couple of weeks ago, people were starting to look really glazed over and spacey. Now we're starting to talk travel and make plans for our off-Ice time. Thoughts of trees, grass, and babies put a huge smile on my face. Having options in grocery stores and shopping and restaurants will be great, but will definitely seem a little overwhelming the first time.

I've heard many people talk about how long it takes them to adjust once they leave here. I'd say the average is two weeks. Today, our winter-over janitor Jim Julian returned to the Ice, and he informed Roxanne and I over dinner that it took him a month to feel human after leaving here in October. He only had three months of living as a human before flying back down here. I am looking forward to experiencing the adjustment of life here to life back in "the real world".

Posted by Katie from the Ice @ 11:12 PM

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Hey,

You should come hang in St. Louis once you have had some time to adjust back.

Later
O

Posted by Anonymous Anonymous @ 5:00 AM #
 

Can't wait to have you back! I miss you!

Ally

Posted by Anonymous Anonymous @ 11:03 AM #
 
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