"Have a Nice Winter"

So, you might have noticed that I have changed my blog around. I'm now beginning my 3rd USAP season on the Ice: a winter at the South Pole. I never imagined that I would be in this spot this year, and maybe have a twinge of regret somedays, but mostly I am excited to get the summer crew out of here, watch the sun dip in the sky, and get to know my new 'family' for the next 9 months.

One of the funniest things in McMurdo was when people saw me in the halls towards the end of the week and they'd casually spurt out, "Have a nice winter, Laura!" just as you would tell someone to enjoy their day or an upcoming weekend. I have to admit that I've had the same laid-back attitude about it all along, but it wasn't until shortly before I left McMurdo that I began to realize just how unusual and disorienting this experience could be. When I got back off the plane at the Pole I was greeted by 40+ people coming from the station to catch their flight back towards the North and I was the lonely soul walking back into the station, with hardly a dent in my time here. I don't know how to answer the often asked and rarely appreciated question "Are you ready to winter?" I don't know if I am, and won't until I'm actually in the meat of it. I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be.