I’m warm, but I’m cold.
A great day in Christchurch! I started the day at the Clothing Distribution Center with a general orientation. It’s very amusing to see different parts of this building in person after having stared at my orientation PowerPoint for weeks before flying down here. It’s all real! It exists! But, naturally, I had to take my own set of photos.
Arriving at the CDC in Christchurch, NZ
Clothing Distribution Center
Orientation at the CDC
After orientation, it was time to layer up (with cold weather gear)! This is what I tried on together:
2 layers of long underwear (thermal tops and bottoms)
Fleece pants
Wind pant overalls
Fleece jacket
Big red parka jacket (with my name on it, fancy!)
Balaklava (see my post here for a definition)
Neck gater
Beanie
Goggles
Mittens
Gloves
2 pairs of wool socks
Boots
…phew! But don’t worry, there was AC, so I was warm, but also cold.
Cold Weather Gear Options
I had to make sure everything fit “comfortably,” which took me a moment to figure out since it all felt so foreign for this little Californian gal. So, I’m discovering a new sense of comfortable. Ultimately it just had to fit well enough to work in. So, I practiced sitting down and walking around. I’d say I figured it out.
There’s a small group of eight of us possibly flying on a C-17 plane tomorrow at 7am, with a check-in at the CDC at 4:30am, with a pick-up from my hotel at 3:45am! Super early, but not unlike some shows I’ve had. Good thing I’ve had a lot of practice being awake and functional before the sun. I say possibly flying because these are the options between now and 3:45am:
Option A: Everything goes as is currently scheduled and I’ll arrive in Antarctica by 12pm.
Option B: The flight gets delayed by a few hours. In this case the CDC would communicate with the hotel to let me know that I can go back to bed for a few hours, but I’ll still get to Antarctica sometime tomorrow.
Option C: The flight gets delayed over 24 hours and I spend another day in Christchurch with this wonderful internet access.
You’ll know by my activity on social media (@thesciencej) which one happened. I’m enjoying Christchurch, but I really want to step on Antarctica already so I know this trip is real! :)
Talk soon, friends.
Jocelyn
Benjamin the Penguin with the US Antarctic Program
Exploring the International Antarctic Centre After Orientation
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