Letters from Lisa

morning - December 20th - probably about 7:30 am local time (2 hrs ahead of home)

I’m on the shuttle bus that will take me to the domestic Aeroparque where I have to check in and get on my last flight, from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. I was able to get through to my parents so I woke my mother up. I”m a little shaky from lack of decent sleep but otherwise in decent shape. I hope the bus pulls out soon - I have plenty of time but as always I’d rather be there than waiting around. Call it Luke Skywalker syndrome. Never her mind on where she was! What she was doing!

Plus, this 80s music is killing me. It’s a little early in the morning for it!

The flight itself wasn’t too miserable except for those two toddlers that wailed most of the way. I don’t know how people travel with little kids like that. I’d end up wailing myself.

Things I must do after I’m all checked in at the hotel

• shower!! and generally hygienify myself
• call Adventure Life - I got a voicemail that they changed my flight home and so we need to confirm all that and get the updated version
• speaking of which, find an internet location - they were going to email me the update
• plus I should probably email my graduate students
• paste things into the scrapbook

Movement! That didn’t take too long.

later… well, actually it did. I could not believe how much traffic there was getting from one airport to another. That was ridiculous.The bus didn’t even drop me off right here. We had to get into a smaller van and keep driving! At least the small van could be aggressive and get where we needed to go. I was momentarily panicked by the sight of long check in lines, but then a guard pointed out a shorter one. Then the folks in front of me began painstakingly checking in 17,000 bags and I thought I could feel the hair on my head growing - and then the empty counter next door miraculously opened up, and I was first.

Of course I needn’t have bothered to worry since the flight is delayed. I’m sitting at Gate 12B with my boarding pass tucked expectantly into my passport, and there’s no plane yet. If it had to happen, it might as well be now. I don’t have any more connections so this just delays when I get to my hotel. Better here than anywhere else. As long as I make the boat - I don’t care!

(Well… I kind of need my luggage too. So that’s two conditions. NOt to much to ask, right?)

… The guy at the desk said it would be another half hour. It’s almost 10:40 now. I can see out the window that they’re refueling and loading luggage. I even thought I saw my own bag out there.

This is really dragging out. I wish I could be more relaxed about the whole process and enjoy it more. Or barring that, maybe someone could invent a transporter? Beam me down and back when it’s time? I don’t know how people tolerated traveling when everything took weeks and months. I guess it’s what you’re used to.

later still - in Ushuaia. I took a very long walk - longer than intended - to a cute little shopping area where I got 2 postcards, una botella grande de agua and a coffee & pizza dinner. But I’m definitely taking a taxi back. (Note added later: I ended up walking back after all. The sun was out and I took photos and a video of another plane coming into the airport.) This is far! That is the tradeoff you get with Adventure Life. They find you fantastic hotels, but in less than convenient locations.

No matter. I’m here. I found a place to eat, and there seemed to be plenty of taxis around.

10:42 pm I’m just settling in here, and already leaving tomorrow. That is a bit strange. I walked all through Ushuaia today. The mountains are very beautiful. And then it’s right on the boat. It’s actually feeling a little rushed. I like this little hotel. I just got here. I won’t have a chance to get used to it before I am whisked away. When I return from the boat, I’m a nomad for the day in Ushuaia and I am on the flight that night. So this is it for Hotel Campanilla. This one afternoon and evening. I felt a little homesick earlier. I feel unmoored, being down here without the certainty of being able to contact anyone I know. It’s all on me. The world can feel very lonely.

Ushuaia photos - http://travel.webshots.com/album/562134413fdMgxy

December 16th - 3 days away

Feelings - a mix of nervousness, feeling overwhelmed with things I have to do, wanting to avoid responsibilities “to get out of the way before I leave”, wanting to avoid thinking too much about the trip and what can go wrong, worry, a little excitement, curiosity, regret at not planning more carefully.

Superstition - I don’t want to get up hopes and then be disappointed, i.e. if I miss a flight or connection and the boat leaves without me. If the boat has to turn back due to bad weather. If anything else goes wrong.

I’ve talked up the trip too much. I wish no one knew I was going. Then whatever did happen would be surprising and impressive. Expectations have been built up too much. Mine included.

December 19th shortly after 1 pm JFK Terminal 4 Gate B29 waiting to board Avianca Flight 029 - Bogota

They are already calling us to board and it’s quite early. That’s fine - I’m nervous about making my connection and being early is a good thing. The depths of my anxiety have surprised me. I’m watching luggage being loaded onto the airplane and wondering about my own luggage. I checked just the big red duffel and she told me that it was checked all the way through to Ushuaia. But I knew that couldn’t be right because I am changing airports in Buenos Aires and it would be highly unlikely for my suitcase to go all the way through. I asked just now at the gate, and the girl advised me to ask - and was relatively sure I’d have to pick up the bags in Buenos Aires too. So there it is - I officially don’t know. But at least it says Ushuaia on my bag, so someone will know where it is supposed to end up if it is lost.

I really wish my flights could have been a little less complex. Right here, I think, may be the toughest part. This never gets easier. I almost began to cry when I said goodbye to my parents. I’m supposed to call them when I’m on the plane (at the last minute I decided to take my cell phone along).

I can’t even be excited yet. I barely want to think about traveling at all. Part of me wonders why I keep doing this - WHY I need to travel. Is all of this hassle really necessary? What would be wrong with going to work and coming home and just relaxing? Sometimes I push myself to do things that sound neat in the abstract but maybe are a little nuts. I certainly feel that way right now.

They’ve been announcing “This is the final boarding call” over the loudspeakers for a while, but the luggage is still being loaded and people are milling around. No one shows any sign of boarding yet. The person in the chair right behind me is half singing along with her iPod not enunciating any of the words, which makes her sound drunk. Fluorescent yellow-shirted airport employees sneak in cell phone calls between jobs. A long faced trench-coated girl plucks at her laptop while others huddle in the metal phonebooths. There is no more luggage now. Children pass by the windows with their mini-suitcases to survey the scene. Terminal 4 is fairly quiet, though sprawling and populated with retail and fast food kiosks all hawking the same sodas and pre-packaged sandwiches.

They are now calling individual passengers to stop at the desk. We must be getting close to boarding. This flight is going to be big. I guess that is why they were making so many announcements so early on. They are trying to stay on time. That’s fine with me.

It’s overcast with blue-grey clouds and the mood here is subdued and expectant. It matches my own personal mood. I do not feel excited about Antarctica now. I always feel apprehensive and reluctant at the beginning of my trips.

onboard flight 87 Bogota - Buenos Aires

This flight is actually larger than my JFK-Bogota flight, which for some reason I was not expecting.

I was worried about the short amount of time to make my connection, but as it happened, the process was quite streamlined. They had a special line for international connections where we went through a tiny security checkpoint and then had to go up a winding carpeted flight of stairs to a long hallway where the police rummaged through the bags agaian on silver tables. The girl searching my things sarcastically admired my neckwarmer and then donned my blue hat for the benefit of her colleagues. After she was done, she swatted me away and I tried to find my gate - which outside the security area had been posted as 7 but was flashing red on the electronic screen as 4. Another flight was still boarding in there, so they told me to come back in 30 minutes. I tried to call home on my cell phone but kept getting error messages regardless of how I typed in the country code or numerals. It just didn’t want to go through.

I went walking a bit, looking for a pay phone or internet, but they only had booths where you had to have prepaid minutes and I didn’t know where to go to buy those. So I decided to just wait. Eventually the Barcelona flight cleared out, and I got up to go into the gate, but by then the number had changed again, to Gate 9. When I got down to the end of the hallway and went into Gate 9, it was more like somebody’s upholstered basement, with everyone sitting around and no airline staff or obvious sign with the destination posted. Eventually everyone arrived, and we started to board.

As usual, I’m impressed/surprised at how much English is used on these flights, despite the fact that this is both beginning and ending in Spanish-speaking countries.

it’s 9:57. They are announcing our departure. It’s very hot inside the aircraft, just like the previous fliight. This time, at least, I had room to put my jacket and sweatshirt in the overhead bin. My little jacket thermometer read 100 degrees when I looked at it during the last flight. I have a headache - I need to sleep and I’m probably dehydrated from being so overheated.

Earlier I was thinking about the kids at school and how it went today. I was home while 221 had science but in the airport when 206 had class. Tomorrow it’s 219 and 205, then 222 on Friday morning. There will probably be a lot of absences, since it’s so close to vacation. So I wonder how many kids even know that I’m gone. Or how many will even be back on the 3rd and 4th of January when I’ll be flying home.

Begun here.

Check this space for updates, photos, and everything Antarctica related!

Part 1 is here! Enjoy!

Antarctica, the Movie - Part 2

World premiere! All video and photo by yours truly. A quick and fun way to get acquainted with the wealth of audiovisual evidence of my recent voyage.

By the way - YES, there is a Part 1. It was quite a lot longer than Part 2 and therefore harder to edit down to a manageable size that could reasonably be posted and downloaded without detracting too much from audio and video quality. I’m using iMovie to create these clips and have become so addicted to it that, had I brought the MacBook home this weekend, I probably would have spent the entire time editing, rather than setting up my spring online course, seeing family, and sleeping (not exactly in that order). So, due to the enforced break, Part 1 won’t be internet-live until sometime next week.

In the meantime, enjoy Part 2!