Hi All,
In only a couple short weeks I’ll be in Sweden for the Fall 2004 IceCube Collaboration meeting. I still have to get my graphs and data ready though, so I’ll keep this short. Not as super cool as the Pole, but it should be fun!
-Jonathan
I finally posted the last of my pictures from my trip, including my days in McMurdo on the return trip. I’ll try to add captions at some point, but as classes have started, such things might not happen for a while.
-Jonathan
Well, it’s good to be back home. My flights went well. I was a little surprised that New Zealand actually makes you ‘check out’ of the country, by having you fill out a form about how long you stayed, etc. They allowed me to leave though, so that was a relief. The long flight from Auckland to LA was kinda long. I was way up front (good) still in the economy section (ok) directly in front of a three year old (not terrible) who liked throwing kicking-and-screaming tantrums (bad). Luckily they didn’t last very long, but they were still a bit annoying, as I was trying to sleep.
Luckily, I was able to get a bit of sleep on the other flights. On my trip from LA to Chicago, I met a woman who was very interested in my work, and she had a lot of questions for me, so that was fun. Anyway, flights are flights, and there’s nothing very notable. Now I’m home though, well, at school. Which is close.
Thanks for following my trip. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve really enjoying writing these entries. It’s been especially meaningful knowing that there are so many people reading them.
Thank you very much,
-Jonathan
Hi All,
This is the last post for this trip, unless something interesting happens on my trip back to the states. I just checked in and am waiting to board the plane in a little over two hours.
Yesterday was fun. I finally found Serap when she was over at the CDC to get her clothing. Evidently her hotel didn’t do a very good job with the messages I left (and saying she hadn’t checked in) because she was there, and checked in and all. I have no idea why they were so messed up. Anyways, I found her, and we had a very productive time going through her analysis of the data that I took from the 2001 tank when I was at the pole. I’m glad she did the analysis, because she knows a lot more about it than I do. But, now I have a good idea of what I need to do in further work, so I’m really glad we met up. While reading email and such at the computer lab at the CDC, Steffen Richter, one of the winterovers from last year (and two previous years). Serap knows him well, and I had heard about him while I was at the pole, so it was nice to meet him. Afterwards, Serap and I went out for turkish food, which was very good. After that, we met up with Steffen while having a couple drinks at Dux de Lux and we talked a bit. It’s always interesting to hear about the history of AMANDA and SPASE (which is the history of IceCube and IceTop). As places shut down, we found new places, and eventually everything was closed, and we went our seperate ways around two in the morning (about two hours before Serap needed to be up, so she could get to her plane to McMurdo). They’re a fun bunch.
This morning, I got all my stuff packed up and headed down to the city square for coffee and to watch the chess game. I got into another political discussion with a couple of guys from town. They always seem happy to talk to americans who feel the same way about Bush that they do. It’s interesting how the world responds to our politics. I’ve seen some posters around town advertising a protest against the New Zealand government’s support of the US. One of the specific issues mentioned on the poster was US bases in New Zealand, which hit home, because the planes that we take to Antarctica are based out of here and this is where we fly in and out of. Now, no one that I’ve talked to (other than one of two french girls that I met) down here has anything against the american people, just our current administration. I just hope that, in a year, I don’t have explain why we reelected him. (I suppose I should mention that the political views posted here are solely my own, and don’t necessarily reflect the views of anyone or anything else that I’m associated with.)
For lunch, I took a walk around down town to see what I could find. On Manchester St, I saw a red sign with white lettering for a place called “Burger Wisconsin.” Figuring that they had something to do with Wisconsin, I figured I’d stop by. Unfortunately, the walls weren’t covered with posters of Buckey or big W’s or anything like that, but the place looked new, so I figured they hadn’t gotten around to it. The two girls that worked there looked like they might be from Wisconsin, but when they said “Hi,” their accents were clearly New Zealand. Oh well, I still held out hope. I figured I’d get the real flavor of the place by getting the most popular burger, so I asked what that was. “Chicken…” something or other, I stopped paying attention at the word Chicken. At that point, I had pretty much lost all hope that it had anything to do with Wisconsin, so I just asked what it had to do with the great state which I call home. The girl said that it didn’t have anything to do with the state, and that their slogan is “Sinfully good”, emphasizing the “sin” at the end of Wisconsin. That was very disappointing. I ordered the Blue Cheese burger, and while I waited, I tried to educate them. I told them about Seymour, WI, the home of the Hamburger, and how it was invented in 1880s (or thereabouts) at a county fair. One of them reiterated that there really wasn’t any connection and that it was just the name. Not to be put down, (or take a hint) I figured I’d really impress them with the fact that Seymour also made the world’s largest hamburger a few years ago. I guess they didn’t really care, but at that point, I had my hamburger, which was fine, but not as good as Burger Night at Dick’s in Hudson with my friends (who have a real appreciation for Wisconsin burgers).
Well, I think that’s it for now, I need to go get on my flight. Looking forward to seeing everyone when I get home.
-Jonathan
Ended up going to bed early yesterday, I guess the train ride made me sleepy. After breakfast today, I packed up my stuff, as I had to switch rooms. My new room is much bigger, so I have no problem with moving. After that, I went down to the square for coffee and to watch the chess game. In part of Cathedral Square, in the middle of the city (by the Cathedral), there is a section where they have alternately dark and light colored squares, and a large (the king is probably two feet tall) chess pieces. Anyway, some of the people who play down there are pretty good, so they’re fun to watch. There’s also a Starbucks near by, so I grabbed a triple tall white chocolate breve mocha. Which, if you say it the speed that you’d say it at a Starbucks in the states, they have no idea what you’re ordering. They also don’t make them anywhere as fast as they do in the states (N=5), even relating to a caffeine-buzz, New Zealanders take their time. Not to say that’s bad, just different.
Afterwards, I took the bus to the CDC, to check on e-mail and find where Serap (who works at Bartol) was, as she flew in yesterday, her hotel said that she hasn’t checked in yet. Still no idea where she is, but I’ll probably see her tomorrow, when she comes over to the CDC to get her cold weather gear.
No real plans for the rest of the day. Probably go for a walk and try another of the fine dining establishments around here.
-Jonathan
Hi All,
Yesterday, after posting, I met up with some guys from Madison, on their way to the pole to work on IceCube stuff. We talked a bit about the status of things and went out to dinner. We went to Valentinos. (Glenn, it’s right down the road that you mentioned to go to.) It was very good. I had a pasta and salmon dish, and it was very, very good.
Not all that much to post today (I’m at a cyber cafe so I can’t post pictures) as I spent my whole day on a train. I took the TransAlpine railway (one of the five best in the world!) and took lots of pictures. I have no idea how they turned out yet, as the screen on my camera is broken. (When I send it in for warranty, I’ll happen not to mention that it broke at the South Pole.) So, I still need to load those onto my computer. It was a bit over four hours both ways, with an hour stop at Greymouth (on the west coast of the South Island). Greymouth wasn’t all that impressive, so I’m glad it was just an hour. But we were a little late, so we didn’t even have an hour, so I stopped at the KFC, because it was close, cheap and (I expected) fast. It wasn’t really all that fast though. It wasn’t even designed to be fast. In the US, you have things divided up, someone takes your order and your money, and when that’s done they help the next person while you wait for your food, which is being put together by someone else (efficient, yes?). Here, One person takes your order, then your money, then they put everything together for you (even get you a straw and napkin!) and then give it to you before they help the next person. It takes forever! (relatively speaking.) But, other than driving, it seems like most things are that way around here. No real thought for efficiency, just take your time. Anyway, enough on that tangent.
On the way back, after finding my seat, and someone else finding (what I thought was) my seat, we figured out that just about the whole car was double booked, which made things interesting. Luckily, they had only half booked a few adjacent cars, so it all worked out. I took lots of pictures. The scenery around here is impressive. I didn’t see anything that looked like it was right out of The Lord of the Rings, but it was still very nice. They reminded me a lot of the appellations in some parts (the wet western side) and the Arizona foothills on the east side (the dry side). You’ll see when I post pictures and you can decide for yourself.
For dinner, I stopped by a restaurant and pizzeria on the square (it was open and convenient). I ordered a calzone in my best kiwi-english (I’ve learned to do that to keep people from looking at me like this. [inside joke for mom, if you didn’t get it.] ) Anyway, even though it keeps the New Zealanders from asking me to repeat myself, the waiter asked me where I was from, in a very western US accent (like far west, California or Washington). I told him Wisconsin and he said he was from British Columbia, and we chatted a bit while he was pouring my drink. It’s always nice to talk to someone that I can understand. Anyway, the calzone (or, calzone-E, as the waitress [a New Zealander] said) that I had was very good, and while it was called The Americana, it didn’t taste like any pizza or calzone I’ve ever had in the states. (I think it had chili seasoning.)
On the subject of how New Zealanders talk, while I was at this restaurant, they had some live music. A girl singing with a guy playing guitar. They did very well, but when she was singing “Route 66″ I had to chuckle to myself when she got to the line about going “Flagstaff, Arizon-E and don’t forget Winon-E…” Anyway, it’s funny hearing such an american song with such a funny accent.
I think I’m going to finish up some work left over from the pole this evening, and get to bed early, as I’m a little sleepy from having to wake up early this morning.
I arrived in New Zealand on the 7th. So I’ve been here two days now. I was online yesterday, but I was a bit rushed and didn’t get around to posting. I know some of you check this daily (thanks!) and I haven’t forgotten about you, just a little rushed. Anyway, I got to my Bed and Breakfast, The Windsor. about a half kilometer from the city square on Wednesday evening. A couple other guys who had been at the pole while I was there were staying at the Windsor also, and they were going out to eat and I tagged along. We went to a seafood and vegetarian (yeah, yeah, I know…) restaurant and bar called “Dux de Lux” which is a very trendy place. I had an interesting mediterranean dish, which was very good. After that, we went to Bailie’s, an Irish pub on the square, which was also a very classy place. After that we went back to the B&B and retired for the night. I wasn’t so sure that the Bed and Breakfast type place was the thing for me. While the service was very warm and friendly, and I can think of a couple people who would consider such a place romantic, the whole not having your own bathroom thing didn’t do much for me, nor the relatively small rooms. But, I’ve gotten used to it and like it just fine now. The next morning, at breakfast, I happened to share a table with Len Shulmam, who works at Bartol (where I’ll be working over the coming summer). He’s on his way to the pole, and we talked about his project and the project that I made on mine. After breakfast I went down to the square for a cup of coffee, and met up with another person heading down to the pole, and he and I walked around and had lunch before he had to get to the CDC. Later in the day I met up with the guys I had gone to dinner with the day before and we went out for Thai. It was very good but far from spicy. (It’s a shame that so many people who have english as their native tongue, also inherit the english tongue’s aversion to food with real flavor.) After that, we went to Lord of the Rings, which opened while we were at the pole (I was disappointed the New Zealand Air Force C-130 didn’t feature it as an in-flight movie, it’s everywhere else in the country.) After that, it was past midnight, and since the city basically closes down at 10:00, there wasn’t anything to do and we went back to the Windsor.
The flight to McMurdo this morning was canceled, so I was able to have breakfast with Len, and we had another interesting conversation (this time on politics). Afterwards, I decided that I was going to make the most of my time here and went to the Visitor Information Center (or is it Centre?). I’ve been given many recommendations, so I had plenty of ideas going in, but had I been short of ideas, there certainly were plenty in the racks and racks of brochures and from the many helpful people working there. I purchased a train ticket for the train that crosses the island from here to the west coast, which is supposed to be one of the five best train tours in the world for the sum of NZ$139 (US$93) which seemed to be reasonable for a day long journey. I’m also thinking about taking a gondola this afternoon, if I have time/money.
I talked to Travel Services, here in Christchurch, and I’m on the wait list for a Tuesday evening flight, but they’re hopeful that I’ll be able to get on that flight. That’s the soonest one, and that extends my stay longer than I had expected, but that’s why I had got my credit card limit extended. 
So, I’ll hopefully be back some time probably early Wednesday. We’ll see.
That all I can think of,
-Jonathan
Well, I just cleaned up my room (took the sheets off the bed, I didn’t really move in), and now I have two and a half hours until I need to get on the taxi to the airport. Can’t really go very far, but I don’t really have much to do anyway. I think I’ll just go for a walk or read. I wish I had more time on the ice, or that the daq system had showed up, so that John could have showed me how it works and I could have helped him with that (as he’s going to be pressed for time now). But, that’s all part of the game; you get a certain amount of time and get done what you can get done in that time, and the next person can pick up where you left off. It’ll be nice to get to New Zealand and be able to take a nice long shower.
That’s news for now,
-Jonathan
Hi again,
McMurdo was fun today, but I’d still rather have been at the pole. Here’s what I did today: After an early breakfast, I went over to the Chalet (the NSF main office) to find out about when my flight to Ch’ch (pronounced like that guy who was in “Up in Smoke” with Chong, short for Christchurch). They had me scheduled as leaving here on the 13th. While that would have been great fun and all, I told them that I would prefer to go back later, which I am, but almost didn’t (more on that later). So, that taken care of, I took advantage of the fact that the store was open today and bought a couple things to bring back. (They’re usually closed on Tuesdays, but they’re going to be closed the rest of the week for restocking or something.)
After lunch, I went back to the Chalet to get the key to Scott’s Hut. An australian Outback style hut used by Scott a couple times and also by Shackelton. I was all set to get the key, when they asked who was going with me. It turns out that you need to go in groups of two or more. They have certain quotas for how many people can visit it and such (in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty), so as I was alone, I couldn’t get the key (something to do another time I guess). I did hike over to Hut Point and walk around the hut though, just for kicks. On my way back, I took some pictures of the ice breaker that at the port. It’s the Polar something, I don’t remember if it’s the Polar Star or the Polar Sea. The other one is still a little ways out, breaking ice. They can break up to 6.4 meters of ice, and they’re very impressive. On my way back, as I was walking back to my building, I was looking at Observation hill (I’ll have pictures later) and I decided I needed to climb it. So, I did. It’s a pretty steep hill on all sides, but there is a path to the top. Near the top, I lost the path that was already made, and I didn’t realize it. Soon, it became rather tough going, and it was hard to get a good footing. I made it to the top and looked around; the base, a helicopter flying in from the icebreaker that still a ways out, the green buildings of New Zealand’s base… the path to the top. So, yeah, I found the path that /everyone else/ takes to the top, and decided I’d go back down that way. The hill doesn’t look that big, but from the top, everything else looks small, even the big Cat bulldozers working near the bottom of the hill. The view was great. I took a bunch of pictures. There is also a cedar cross at the top of the hill, put up in 1913 in memorial of Scott’s fateful trip back from the pole.
When I got back, it wasn’t quite dinner time, and I didn’t have check in for my flight until 2000 (8pm) so I decided to take a little nap. I really should have known better, as I’m still not quite adjusted from working the night shift. I realized this when I woke up at 2300 (11pm). (I realize that my mom probably told me to bring an alarm clock, and I realize I said I didn’t need one, and I realize this is like that 5th time I could have really used on this trip, but it’s too late at this point.) I quickly got my way over to bag drag (I’m guessing bag-drag is a military term for checking in for a flight or something like that) and they were happy to see me. Evidently housing (the people who gave me a key for my room) had no idea that I was there, or where I was staying, only that I was checking out tomorrow. So, no one knew how to find me. I got there in time to be put on tomorrow’s flight though, so no problem.
Instead of flying in an LC-130 like I took to the pole, or the New Zealand C-130 that I took from Chch to here the first time, I’ll be taking a big C-141. The word on the street is that they don’t have many windows, like the C-130s have, and that, because it’s Air Force, you don’t get to move around in the cargo area like the New York Air Guard allows you to, but you get home in 5 hours instead of 8, so I guess that’s a plus. Our trip will be made longer, because we’ll have to fly out of Pegasus, instead of the regular ice runway, which is over an hour away from McMudhole (oops! I mean Dirt Town. No! I mean McMurdo… right…).
I think I’m going to head to bed now so I can be up for breakfast in the morning. Definitions for today’s post are from Ethan (one of the winterovers for AMANDA, who I spent a bit of time with at the pole.)
-Jonathan
Hi All,
This is a picture of me at the new (as of Jan. 1) geographic pole, that was taken of me yesterday morning, before I left. I’ll have a full resolution one (suitable for framing! available when I get back.
-Jonathan