Christchurch, NZ

About 4:30 AM on Oct. 31st, an earthquake rocked and rolled us out of bed.  It had a magnitude of 4.2 so it was mild by Alaska standards. After breakfast at the Elms, we were shuttled with vans over to the USAP.  We had Antarctic orientation, got our flu shots and picked up our cold weather gear at the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center). There were long rows of two bags each with our names on and a list of all the items inside.  I had filled this list out months ago but for some unknown reason the computer had selected a Doug Eckman who had worked at McMurdo in the past.  This Doug Eckman was a lot taller and skinnier than me.  A white haired man pointed the way to an office and said, "Go see Marlene, she hasn't had a headache this morning yet."

So I found Marlene in her office with pictures of her grandchildren all over her desk and computer screen and I said that a young man with white hair sent me to see you, said that you need a headache.  "That young man is older then I am and he knows that I have been here since 3 this morning" she said with a laugh.  I explained my problem and she adjusted my checkout sheet.  She ripped Doug's name off the jacket and made a new Velcro one with my name on it.  She said something else which I didn't quite catch so I asked her to repeat because I had a little problem with my hearing at times.  Marlene said "So that's it.  I thought you were having trouble with my accent but wait a minute that can't be it because I live here.  You're the one with the accent."  We both laughed.  The white haired man (whose name I can't remember) popped his head in the door and asked "Everything OK then? I said, "Yes, Marlene is fixing me up." Marlene said, "You can't say that here.  That means something different in this country. You can't say that." I was shocked and I felt my face go flush red.  They both looked at me and laughed heartily at my embarrassment.  This Marlene was turning out to be a real hoot.  I still don't know if they were pulling my leg or not but I must say that the Kiwis that I have met at the USAP and around Christchurch all seem light hearted and quick with a laugh.  I liked them immediately.

Back in the warehouse, we all were trying on our cold weather gear, men in one large room and the ladies in another one.  If the clothing didn't fit you went to this half door and traded it in which I had to do with half of my stuff because of the mix up.  It was a scene from my past.  It reminded me of boot camp at Lackland AFB, TX some 43 years ago.  We were told that after the clothing issue we had the afternoon off but tomorrow was our 'Ice Flight' day.

Four of us decided to take a bus downtown and see the sites.  Downtown you can still see the damage of the Feb. 2011 earthquake that killed almost 200 people.  It had a magnitude of 6.3. Some buildings still lay in rubble and I saw the heavily damaged famous Christchurch Cathedral. We also shopped and saw the Botanical Gardens which is one one the prettiest places that I have seen.  It has lots of flowers and smells so good.  I saw lots of ducks, geese and squirrels, etc. while you are walking down the trails and people are boating by on wooden canoes in the small river.  Lindsey, a repeat 'Polie' (someone who has worked at the South Pole) said that this is the first place that she comes to when she comes 'off the ice' because the South Pole is void of wildlife and vegetation and has no smell.

Before we took the bus back to the Elms, we popped into a Sports Bar for dinner.  On one of the many silent TV screens I saw the Red Sox receiving the World Series trophy.  I had missed the last baseball game for this year.  Now that winter is looming on the horizon for North America, Spring Training seems so far away.  By the way, baseball season will open 2014 in Sydney and the Australians are excited about it. I think the Dodgers are playing the D-backs.