Saturday, January 01, 2011
These Boots Are Made for Walking...

I'm tempted to put on my comfy "ship shoes" when I get dressed in the mornings before breakfast, but I decidedly put on socks and my good boots because I just never know when I'll want to go outside. Well, that's not true - I want to go outside all the time. Whether it's to get some fresh air to ease my queasy head and stomach or to see if I can spot another albatross, I always appreciate our view: endless rolling waves and just this wide, vast, seemingly unending royal blue ocean.

We've crossed the Antarctic Convergence (whoo!) and the 60 degrees south latitude (wahoo!) and the ship is chugging along nicely in the direction of Elephant Island. I'm thrilled at the idea of being in the spot where Shackleton's famous journey began. If all goes well, we should be arriving around 8pm this evening and in addition to being excited about bringing our science lectures to life, I'm also looking forward to being on solid, steady ground again. Like some others on the ship, I'm battling seasickness au naturel - just with shear mind-power and no medications - and have been successful at keeping my moderately lurching stomach at bay so far. Admittedly, I'm feeling a bit wibbly today and can't wait to plant my feet on land and not have to concentrate on keeping my balance. (I should mention, however, that we have been reminded time and time again that we are very lucky to have the calm waters of "Drake Lake" thus far and not those of the infamous "Drake Shake"!)

And while I sometimes feel so wiped out at the end of our fully packed days that I just want to go to bed after room checks, I'm glad that I push myself to stay up and chat with the other staff members and get to know my new friends better. Last night found us all celebrating the New Year together in the lounge. We had a fantastic party with the students (complete with songs, dances, Father Time, Baby New Year and all)! I tumbled into bed a little later than I had planned, but I fell asleep with a smile on my face knowing that I'd wake up in the morning and put my socks and boots on, ready to do it all over again.