The Whole Wide World

The two planes that managed to land this past weekend brought us our first fresh food and mail since the beginning of May. Four months without salad or fruit! Honestly, I didn’t feel that void until it was filled. I’ve been gorging on lettuce, oranges and kiwis. Another truth be told, I was nervous to eat any of it at first, wondering if the raw food would send my stomach into shock…but when I saw the lettuce on the buffet line there was no holding back and I piled it onto my plate, all the fruit stacked next to it.

The first piece of fruit I ate was an orange, and I am not exaggerating when I say it was a spiritual experience. We are devoid of smells down here, something I am greatly looking forward to when I return to the non-frozen world. The act of digging my fingernails into the orange peel, the invisible zest that sprayed into the air and filled my nostrils, I could taste the orange before it even entered my mouth. The whole table commented on the delicious, foreign, yet familiar smell as I peeled away the rind. There are apples, bananas and grapes as well, but nothing was as amazing as that first orange.

The freshies were put out immediately, but the mail had to be sorted first, so we just got that a few days ago. We are able to look on the intranet to see if we have mail, and I was pleasantly surprised to see my name on the list. The mailroom is a short walk outside and up a small hill and it’s worth noting that we have had some snowfall these past few days, which believe it or not is a rarity. Visibility was just a smidge with the wind blowing the snow both sideways and in circles. I was there promptly at 2PM when the mail room opened to collect my treasures from the non-frozen world.

I was shocked when I saw how many letters and postcards were waiting for me. A bundle of joy; a hefty stack of letters, cards and postcards from family and friends alike. My Dad, being my Dad, sent me a tambourine of all things, which had (and still has) me cracking up. I am going to hang it near the cash register in the store, as a ‘ring for service’ bell. There was a very belated Christmas card from me Mumsie, and an early birthday card…both ends of the spectrum. Ty, my soon to be New Zealand adventure buddy and hiking partner (more on that soon!) sent me a plethora of postcards filling me in on what he has been up to this summer. All the mail had my heart feeling very full.

Also in the bundle of joy from the non-frozen world was a mysterious envelope from Austin, Texas with a name I didn’t recognize above the return address. I saved that one for last. After carefully opening the envelope a side note fell out of the long letter that was enclosed…it was from Swiss, a hiker I met outside of Damascus, VA on my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, two years ago now! We did a bit of leap-frogging as we approached the Virginia border and then after bonding at camp one night in storm that brought torrential down pour, we ended up completing the Damascus Marathon together, along with Snacks. That was my biggest mile day on the entire hike, 26 miles with the last handful being in heavy rain, but we didn’t care because Damascus was waiting for us and it held the promise of a dry, warm bed and town food.

It’s endearing how trail names become a part of ones identity…I still have a visceral reaction when someone addresses me as Zipsss. It just has a way of stirring up all the memories of the hike. Swiss, who I now know is, Taylor from Austin, TX was section hiking when we met. We exchanged contact/social media info when we parted ways in Damascus and she has been following my Antarctic adventure on Instagram. Her letter was beautifully written and had me laughing out loud at some hilariously worded details of her life. It also had me crying tears of happiness, as I do. A combination of gratitude at the beauty of our paths crossing out there on the trail, reflection and appreciation for friendships made no matter the distance and time between, and also, at the plethora of stickers of cats she chose to include in her letter.

I’ve come to realize in recent days, that I am a ‘cat person’. Not a crazy cat lady, well, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s just, the closer I get to leaving here, the more I realize how much I am looking forward to petting a cat or two or three or twelve. Imagine not petting any animals for a year. There are some down here who can’t wait to get to New Zealand and pet a dog, but it’s cats all the way down for me. The kind of between the ear rubs that sends them flopping onto their sides. Meow. It’s not that I don’t like dogs, I had Great Danes growing up and I appreciate doggos and their loyalty, but I love the sassiness and independence of a cat the most.

I didn’t think I exuded crazy cat lady vibes down here, but a recent interaction made me realize that perhaps I must have. I can’t deny I’ve let the odd meow slip here and there. My friend Ben, recently put up a new art exhibition in the store window. Perhaps that is what led you here in the first place, but if not, hop on over to my Instagram to check it out. His talent with Microsoft Paint is unrivaled and his recent portrait series included Yours Truly.

As Francesca said, he captured my essence to a T.

c-a-T.