Live from Antarctica : Guest report
Tomorrow will be the second Christmas I spend in Antarctica. It will be as white as the first one, which is not likely to be the case back in Belgium. While you're carving your turkey or whatever you're having for Christmas Dinner, I'll be enjoying the wonderful sunny Antarctic landscape. Here there's no Christmas shopping, no champagne, no oysters to choose, no hors d'oeuvres to prepare, no long queues at cash registers, no traffic jams, no stress...
I can't help but savour the different ambience, even though I'd like to be with my family of course. But the contrast between the stress of the Holiday Season and the bare-bones nature of the place I currently find myself in leads me to ponder the meaning of the word "civilisation." Here, we patiently await the first convoys bringing materials on the 28th (for us, it's our presents under the tree).
Bernard Polet
Picture: White Christmas - © International Polar Foundation