white

not only was today my first sighting of antarctica, but i also took my first step on the 7th continent!

i am here! yep, none of us on the plane thought it would happen, but after circling mcmurdo a few times. descending, ascending, descending, ascending...we finally took a sharp plunge and hit the ground running.





this place is crazy! within my first few minutes here i went thorough about one thousand emotions...and one was that i really didn't think i was all that nuts until i stepped off the plane. and then, wham. a smile as big as the vast stretches of white spread across my face. it was across my lips, and in my eyes. oh it is utterly beautiful, here. mcmurdo had just gotten fresh snow fall, and a wind storm had made the sky white, but the sun still shown bright. oh, i hadn't expected such striking awe! rather thought i would see soot and grim. i am sure that will come in time but for now, i just awe when i look out the door to my building and see ob hill and mount erebus. the beauty is stunning. and the light. oh, how bright the air and sky, the world is when there is nothing to absorb the rays. i am struck with shock and awe. and 24 hours of bright rays. wow!




but with equal shock, i have just entered back into undergrad dorm life. whew. this i am not really ready for! but regardless, here i am...with three roommates, eating dorm food, and living in the epitome of a first year college dorm room with no windows (which i suppose is good because it is light out 24 hours a day). the furniture is all covered in fo' veneer that is chipped off on the edges. i'm on a top bunk that squeaks when i move. when i walked in the room at first i was overcome with a depression that felt like i had just walked into an all guy's college house, which was soon to be called home. but, of course, now, i have already cozied the place up. (i can't believe two people lived in that room for a week!) i now have christmas lights circling my head....and a book shelf to put my things on. oH, and i have lots of green things. fake plants, and a green hand dyed wall hanging. i love them. tim knew exactly what to tell me to bring (i wonder why). i now am growing to love my room...and i think that my new roommates will appreciate this decorating power too.