Antarctica: A Year on Ice Page #6

I really like it.

Peace of mind

is a very nice thing to have.

The friends you make

and the memories

that you take from here

last a lifetime.

I've met guys who were

down here 50 years ago

who would like nothing

more in the world

than the chance

to come back again...

just one more time.

You know you can never really

call this place home.

But at the same time

there's a familiarity

that just builds up.

I definitely long for it

when I'm away.

I fully expect that my time here

is not going to end on my terms.

The program could change

or I might not pass

the physical...

or there might not be a job.

No one gets to stay

here indefinitely.

And then the time comes

when it's you turn to leave

and you never really

do know for sure

if you'll ever be back again.

One of the things I recall

in the process

of reacclimating to society

was a Monday morning.

It's probably 8:
30

in the morning

and I am stuck in traffic.

I remember looking

at all the cars around me.

Everybody's...

they're in their own little...

They're in the grind

of the world.

And I can't help

but look at everybody else

and think...

they're cattle.

It's just one big herd

moving from point A to point B.

and... at that point

I wanted to be back

on the Ice again.

It's not until you get

off the Ice

that you realize the absence

of smell that we have here...

the absence of odors.

So yeah...

you can go

to the Botanical Gardens

for an olfactory overload.

I'm going to go

to the New World Supermarket

and I'm going to stand

in the produce section

and just smell the air

for about 15 minutes.

some really good

chewy crusty bread,

a hunk of really good

blue cheese,

an avocado and some

red grapes with no seeds.

And that's what I'm going to eat

for like 3 meals.

There comes a point

in the winter

when...

at least us, the guys,

us in the Firehouse,

we stop talking about women.

And we start talking about food

because it's a much more

realistic prospect.

So...

I've narrowed it down.

I'm going to go

and I'm going to have

steak and lobster.

I'm going to splurge.

Fresh vegetables with flavor.

A bean burrito from Taco Bell.

Dark bread.

Avocado.

Cauliflower.

A bowl of cornflakes

with real milk

and sliced bananas.

Eggs Benedict at the Boulevard

in New Zealand.

Anything in Christchurch

is always good.

Anything non-institutional.

When I get back to New Zealand

the first thing I long to do

well first, first thing is go

through the Botanic Gardens

and just touch the grass

and smell the flowers.

But then I try to get

to the ocean

to see that motion I guess.

You're standing on

the ocean now.

Exactly.

That's what's so funny.

And I'm a mountain girl,

so it's never been

a draw before.

Walk barefoot in grass.

I'm going to fly straight home

to Washington State.

And I'm going to fly-fish

my brains out for about 3 weeks

going for salmon and steel head.

And when I puke,

I think that's when I'll stop.

I really like going to sleep

in my own bed.

I really like...

Oh rain.

Just hearing the rain

and seeing it

feeling it again.

Wonderful

I plan on doing nothing.

I hope it rains at least one day

while I'm in Christchurch,

just so I can

wander around in the rain.

I'd love that.

I hope it's...

I want some rain.

Have a decent sleep.

Have a decent sleep

for a few days.

I don't know.

Check into a hotel room

and take a bath.

My brain is freezing.

Let me think.

I think my brain is freezing now

and I can't think.

Skip that question.

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