All right, time for a bit more detailed report of life at 90deg south! There are basically two possibilities for accommodation down here: Either you stay in the new station, or you stay outside. And no, you don’t get to choose! Now, in the station means a nice little room with a bed, a desk, a little cupboard and the restrooms just down the corridor. If you are an IT guy, you might not even have to leave the station at all, which waters down the whole South Pole experience a lot, obviously! People never wear their ECW, run around in flipflops and shorts….

Of course, I am NOT staying in the station.

I am sleeping in the Summercamp.

Or: the Jamesways…

The Summer camp is a bunch of tents from the Korean War (yep, M.A.S.H style…). The tents, called Jamesways here, are just canvas over a wooden frame. Inside, there are place for 9-12, well, rooms, which are seperated by canvas mostly… Actually, there is a cool page here, where you can see Jamesway 1 in all its glory (I am in 10, pics will follow soon…). So, here is the thing: The heating blows the driest, hottest, nastiest air ever right into you little, well, room. The floor, however, is barely about freezing temperatures. You are sleeping somewhere in between these extremes, being too hot and too cold at the same time! Furthermore, the restrooms are in another Jamesways, 20m across the Antartic plateau! Since we are drinking at least 4l a day to keep hydrated, you have to pee every three to four hours. Which gives you two choices in the night: Get up, get sort of dressed, run over to the loo, run back through ice and wind and try to sleep till the next time. Or, you have a pee can. Yep. A can. For the night. Right next to your bed on the floor….

But what can I say, for all it short comings, the Jamesways have wireless Internet. So, sitting on my bed, hot air in my face and cold draft under my butt, I can write nice little stories in my blog….

The whole living situation is pushed a bit more to the uncomfortable side by the conservationism around here. This effects everyone, Jamesway or not: Only two showers are allowed per week, each two minutes only. I am used to shower every day, especially my hair needs it. Going three days without made me realize how much I like civilization and endless hot water! But to be fair, it isn’t that bad. Die to the cold, there aren’t much bacteria growing on stuff, so even humid things don’t smell much and dry very fast in the arid air. Besides, we get one load of laundry per week, which is almost luxury compared to the shower allowance!

To come to brighter facts: The food is really nice here. There is plenty, it is usually hearty and well made, and there is always a nice treat for dessert! Plus, hot chocolate and coffee as much as you like. Cool, eh?

Otherwise, there isn’t much to tell. There are regular weekly activities around the station: sports and exercising, movie and game nights, you get the idea. I, however, have been so busy with my work life and using my free time to write post cards and blog entries, that I have hardly joined the social life around here. And that’s why I will write about my toils around here tomorrow…