Auroras are awesome!

Well, it's about time I got off my tush and worked on this blog a bit. I'm so far behind, that I've given up on catching up, and I'm now just attempting to keep up, which, let's be honest, probably won't happen anyway.

But anyway, thought I would share with you my first Antarctica picture. Because both my camera and computer have now completely bombed, I have to rely on the kindness of strangers to post pix for me. This was last night, when I got a chance to ride out on the sea ice and watch the lunar eclipse. Which was pretty awesome, but completly overshadowed (ha!) by the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Really. The auroras down here are pretty damn cool. It felt like I was standing under fairy dust or being abducted by aliens or seeing what it was really like to stand on the outskirts of Heaven. It was so absolutely mind-bending and life-changing that I think it was one of the most magical moments of my life. (You can see neither the eclipse, nor the auroras in this picture, but that is McMurdo Base behind me.)

So there's that.

For those who are wondering, Antarctica is fairly amazing. The view from little McMurdo base is incredible. An entire horizon of white mountains that turn pink in the sunlight, which finds its way into town from about 10 am to 5 pm every day, but we get 20-30 more minutes of daylight every day. Soon, it will be light 24/7, but right now, we still get some dark, and I'm able to see the southern sky for the first time. It's very strange to be somewhere the Big Dipper is now. I've never been anywhere without it. Weird.

I love this place because I have genuinely liked and been interested in 100% of the people I've met here, and that's pretty crazy. I have yet to find myself in a conversation that I am not interested in, which happens ALL THE TIME at home. This place has great people, and I'm right at home. We live dorm style, eat cafeteria style, work hard and play hard. It sort of feels like my freshman year in college, except for we're from many different age-group demographics (although it's still pretty white here -- both the snow and the people!!)

I still can't shake the feeling that the last few weeks have all been sort of a weird dream, and sometime soon I'm going to wake up and only remember a few crazy parts. It's just astounding to me that I'm here -- that I am able in my lifetime to hop a plane (OK, a few planes) and find myself in Antarctica, of all places. Even though I've been here for more than a week, I'm still having trouble really believing it, every time I step out of the door.

I will try to update more. So many of you were so supportive to me in getting here that I owe you all a little of this adventure too! Please, ask questions in the blog comments, and I will try to answer them! I'm working on an Antarctica FAQs, and will be happy to expound on anything you are wondering about! The kid's blog isn't up yet, but I'm working on it!