Finally in Christchurch

I made it!
I arrived in Christchurch a few hours ago, have all my luggage, and a room to sleep in tonight. So all is good.

My first leg (Denver-LA) was pretty uneventful, although I think I have only been a handful of times in a plane as small as the one that brought me to LA. And it was probably only 40% full. Which might have added to our early arrival in LA. I realized then, being prepared as usual, that I would have a layover of about 7 hours, before heading out to Sydney. Yay, for reading the e-tickets in full detail!
Fortunately, I have a friend in Pasadena who I sent a text, and double-fortunately she was happy to come out to LAX to have dinner with me. Made the layover so much more enjoyable!

The leg from LA to Sydney was scheduled to take about 15 hours, and I was slightly scared that I would be sick of flying halfway through it. But I was lucky: We flew with a new A380 (that is really a HUGE plane!), and it was not booked out. So I had an empty seat next to me, and it felt more like a bus ride than a plane ride. Super smooth. Helped a lot with the sleeping.  :)

In Sydney I had to get a boarding pass for the last leg (Sydney-Christchurch), and while I waited in line I realized that probably half the people there had either red tags on their bags or they were talking about their work in Antarctica. Incredible! Seems like half of the US is at the moment on the way to McMurdo!

I had no trouble with immigration in NZ (done that a few times already...), got both of my bags, and people waited for me when I came out of the arrivals area. Transportation to my hotel was already arranged, and the two older guys who greeted me in the arrival hall, explained to me in detail some necessary (e.g. how to behave if there is a small earthquake -> stay calm and go for a drink afterward) and some totally unnecessary things (for example that people here in NZ drive on the left side of the road and that I should be CAREFUL when I cross the street). And then I learned that I won't be having a room to myself in the hotel, as it was planned, but that I will have to share it with another woman. People who were supposed to fly to Antarctica today could not fly out because of the weather, and Christchurch is tight on accommodation, so there were just not enough rooms left for all the people who arrived today AND the people who couldn't leave. We will see how everything works out tomorrow. Maybe I will get my own room when people manage to fly out?

The plan for tomorrow is to get a safety briefing (about how to survive in the cold, and what to do with waste in Antarctica etc.), then my laptop will be screened and checked, and I will finally get all the cold weather gear that I have to take to the Pole with me. Will be interesting.