The Whole Wide World

It’s eleven in the evening and I’ve just come home from visiting our Kiwi neighbor’s at Scott Base. They announced they were having a party a couple weeks ago and tonight was the night. I went out last night, too. Who am I? I think I must have reach lack of socializing capacity and it was just time to go out. Last night I went to our pub, Gallagher’s, and watched everyone sing karaoke. I haven’t done that since the summer season. The karaoke was entertaining and I had a couple of really nice conversations. I was asked about Peace Corps and I enjoyed sharing about my experience with that and encouraging others to give it a go.

I guessed tonight would be a bit more full on than karaoke and I was not wrong. The bar at Scott Base is called the Tatty Flag and that’s where the party took place. They moved the pool table out of the room for the occasion and divided the room into a dance floor section and the other side a more lounge type area. I lounged. I wished for the oomph to get up and dance, but I just can’t get out of my own way. I was a little closer than normal and I think that is largely because the music reminded me of what I used to go clubbing to in London. Before I got a chance to say I liked the music my friend pointed out that the Kiwi music is much more European with electronic vibes, heavy beats and sans words. She pointed out that in America everyone dances and sings along, and that you couldn’t do that with the music that was on. I used to go to drum and bass raves on the regular in London, so I was low key chair dancing while I lounged.

My favorite part of the night was getting to Scott Base. The base is located about two miles from McMurdo and the group I went with opted to forego the shuttle and walk over. I was thrilled about this because I knew it meant seeing ALL the stars. We are experiencing a heat wave at the moment. It is currently 16F with the windchill bringing it to about 3F. Considering we have been lingering at -50F sometimes colder lately, calling it a heat wave isn’t that far off.

I didn’t even put thermals or wind pants on. I just wore jeans a thin top and my big red. It’s very apparent how much I’ve adapted to the weather down here. As we walked, I noted that we were literally following the Milky Way to Scott Base. A path of straight stars and stardust above us. It was everything to walk out of town, past the light pollution and see the sky all lit up, twinkling beyond measure. The photo above is from tonight, but of course, doesn’t do it justice.

I stayed for about an hour and a half before jumping in a shuttle back to McMurdo. While the walk over was so nice, I was ready to be warm and cozy in my bed and couldn’t pass up the van sitting outside as I left. The other highlight of the night were the two fresh lemon slices in my club soda. I fished them out of the bottom of my glass at the end of the evening and ate them both before leaving. All hail the freshies.