There is a small post office here at the South Pole. It is a US branch, which means that all mail that is sent has to have only the continental US postage. 32ct for a postcard. Isn't that incredible? You fly way further than New Zealand (which would require international postage), but nevertheless you only pay the US postage price for letters, postcards and parcels.
It is even possible to order stuff on the internet and get it shipped here to the South Pole. A lot of the long-term people here actually do that. You realize after you arrived that you forgot an additional warm sweater, you just order it online and about two to three weeks later (depending on the flights going from Christchurch to McMurdo, and from McMurdo to the South Pole), the ordered sweater arrives. Amazing...
Of course, during winter time when there are no planes flying into Antarctica, the mail for the people in McMurdo and South Pole will pile up in Christchurch until spring and the planes are flying again.
The reason I bring the mail service up right now is that I actually got mail! Here at the South Pole. I did not expect something, after all, I am here at the Pole only for about two weeks, but one of my colleagues told me today that he saw a little parcel in the mailbox for me. So I checked it out when I went back to the station for lunch, and sure enough, there it was. A little parcel from Boulder. Sent by Santa (aka as Linda and Mariah). That really made my day! Linda and Mariah, you are the best!!
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