What do we do for fun?

A common question that I get from people is what Jason and I are doing for fun down here when not working.  Surely there must be something for us to do despite being locked in this building for nine months, right?  Well, kind of.  The South Pole's recreational activities certainly differ from those of Palmer.  At Palmer, most nights were spent in the bar or in the lounge watching movies.  It was also a warmer environment so many people would ski or snowboard on the glacier.  Here at Pole, we do not have a bar.  In fact we even have rations on all alcohol (wine, beer, liquor).  We have two lounges where people watch movies in group settings, sure, but Jason and I haven't been spending our free time there most nights.  I seem to develop ADHD whenever I need to watch a movie with a group;  I quickly fall asleep or just stop paying attention all together.  The few times we have spent in the lounge watching a TV show that we selected, some of the noisier and...smellier...individuals on station arrive, ruining the affair.  It is also significantly colder here so it is difficult to participate in any outdoor recreational activities.

Some nights, usually on long weekends, individuals on station will throw a party for all station personnel.  After sunset dinner, our formal dinner to celebrate the sun dipping below the horizon, we had a party at the climbing gym.  It was slightly tropical with little umbrellas for our drinks.  In contrast to the sunset, the drink of choice was a tequila sunrise.  Other parties have included one at ARO, NOAA's atmospheric research observatory at the South Pole where they study climate change, and the Big Lebowski Party in the gym on station, where we all watched the Big Lebowski and drank white Russians as is Antarctic tradition.  We usually attend these events as they are helpful to break up the monotony of day-to-day life down here, but they are obviously not a regular occurrence.

Jason and I at the post-Sunset Dinner party.  Why does Jason have a resistance band around his neck and a white fluffy hat on?  Who knows.

Lately we have been watching Game of Thrones.  Jason has never seen the show, and I am more than happy to rewatch it.  We have already finished watching the last few seasons of Mad Men, and we watched the first three seasons of American Horror Story a few months ago.  Aside from watching TV shows and movies, I have been knitting and crocheting various objects.  Jason has read a few books since arriving on station.  When the internet is up, the obvious choice is to make use of that time.  I try to keep up on the news;  check in on my emails when the accounts choose to load;  and, if possible, load Facebook to talk to some friends.  We also take this time to plan our vacation post-SP.

So far our thought is a two week road trip around the south island of New Zealand.  There are a few locations that we want to hit such as Akaroa and Queenstown, but a lot of the other destinations are yet to be determined.  I also have requested that we spend a day or two in Sydney, and diving the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns is an absolute for me.  Jason's brother, Brian, may join us in Australia to also get his open water diving training in Cairns.  Jason has considered getting a mixed gases training as he is already a rescue diver, but he is still debating its actual use to him.  From there, we have considered being a bit more adventurous and doing a camel trek/camping trip in the Australian outback.  I am still not sure that I'm "bad ass" enough to handle something like that, but the fact that it would make one hell of a story is motivating!  We have also discussed possibly going to Bali for a few weeks as it is incredibly cheap there and would knock out another continent (Asia).  At that point we would both only need to get to Africa to have conquered all seven continents in the world.

As you can see, life here at the Pole is mundane.  Often you hear of how adventurous a South Pole winter is, but I would have to disagree.  The journey is a mental one rather than a physical one.  Long bouts of boredom and fatigue make for some boring nights.  Too often lately have I been falling asleep at seven in the evening, making it impossible to attend the communal movie nights or to just watch a movie alone.  I have a strong suspicion that my evenings will become much more interesting when in New Zealand.  Something about freedom and having options will do that for you.