I Became a Winter-over The Day After Winter Ended

Winter ends when people arrive at winfly.

I walked out of my dorm last Friday morning to something different.  When I walked into the galley one of my co-workers, still in her down jacket, told me not to make eye contact.  She said, “Don’t even take your coat off, just get your food and get outta here.  And definitely don’t make eye contact, just head down and walk.”  Some were afraid of the new germs the new people would bring and others were saddened because they signaled the end or the ensuing end of winter.

Until that first morning I was excited to have more people around.  I didn’t realize that only 50 more people would turn our little world around.  In just one more week we’ll have another 100 show up. 

I can’t help but feel a little bitter when I see someone who just got here eating a big plate of salad or when they complain about how cold it is or how they have to wait a few hours in the morning for it to get light before they can work.  Luckily we’ve had these few weeks to start to adjust to the new community.

The Sun!!!!!!

Apparently the sun is above the horizon now.  The day after our official sunrise I saw half the sun from the hills above town.  I haven’t seen it since, but it is just a matter of days until I see it from town. 

Sun has made my world larger.  My walk to work in the morning is as bright as it was at noon a month or two ago.  I keep that in mind when I am pleasantly surprised to look outside during the day and everything is illuminated. My world has finally grown beyond just the street lights and stars. 

Nacreous Clouds paint the sky just before the sun rises.

The constant darkness is gone and this normal-ish day and night cycle will end in a few weeks.  The sun will constantly be up ending my cycle in Antarctica.  When I first arrived here in October 2012 I said to multiple people that I would never spend a winter here. Now, almost a year later, I am a winter-over.  

During the winter every person here was the same.  Now the new people have helped define those of us that have spent the winter here.  The winter ended when winfly started.  That is also the day we became winter-overs in Antarctica.

Nacreaous Clouds above Hut Point Ridge.