why i'm here part 4

greetings from the middle of august...

the middle of june brought us mid-winter festivities... a wonderful meal followed by a dance party to shake it all off... we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Scott and Amundsen's explorations which brought them to the pole.  it was intense to hit the halfway marker and know that the sun is on it's way back - slowly -

now there are hints of twilight on the horizon with the promise of sun returning to the south.  i will be sad to have the auroras and celestial show fade with the sun, but i think we are all ready for some serious light!

this is said to be a difficult time in the life of the winterover's season, as we are all ready for a change...

although i have 3 months remaining i am sure the sun will bring a time warp and we will be consumed with station opening and summer activities... the days will blend together and before i know it i'll be swimming in the heavenly humidity of NZ.  work continues and there is little to distinguish one day from another, which is why i haven't written.... but there are some intersting things to check out in the interweb:

the Antarctic Winter Film Festival            www.tinyurl.com/wiffa2011

the south pole had 2 entries 'popeye the surgeon man' and 'attck of the killer dom' episodes 1 and 2

there is also a web series that my frind holly gingles did, it's mostly mcmurdo footage but still really well done:

http://nbtvtoday.com/nbtv-abroad/antarctica-the-harsh-continent/

 she comes down to pole in episodes 17-19

this is what our IT guru ben burke did to send to all the other stations-each station creates a greeting to share

this was our menu from the mid-winter meal, the artwork is by one of our doctors, pat mcguire

the dining room set for mid-winter

auroras

and more auroras, photos by the very talented christy schultz

the Antarctic Sun South Pole station updates have been written by me this winter:

http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/aroundTheContinent/contentHandler.cfm?id=1201

the July issue isn't out yet, but there are really great articles from all of the stations, and the science articles are wonderfully informative!

we celebrated the 4th of july on the 2nd with a bbq and watched baseball movies in the galley.  christmas in july was fun...we made cookies, had a white elephant gift exchange and finally enjoyed a korean feast to finish out the weekend.  we will be preparing ethiopian food this month for the international cuisine awareness club... trying to keep things lively!  as you can read, little to report, but we are all well and survivng... beginning to make our travel plans!! i hope this finds you all well and enjoying a splendid summer day!

take care,

karengrace