Transition

  I have busy getting ramped up for my next job as a contract firefighter for Raytheon in Antarctica.  Yes, there are fires in Antarctica and last year all two of them occurred during the antarctic summer.  I left Colorado on Friday afternoon, flew to LA and stayed to early Saturday morning when we flew to Auckland, New Zealand.  We gathered our bags and ran to the near-by domestic terminal where we flew down to Christchurch.  I have been in Christchurch since Sunday and have been waiting for the weather to clear up at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, or what is affectionately called 'The Ice'.  I have been able to begin melding with my firefigher colleagues during this time of transition.  The neat thing about our group is that we come from a diverse background of training and life yet in the midst of our differences we stick together like a seasoned company.

  The weather in New Zealand is warm for a Colorado winter.  The high has been around 50F  and I was tempted to wear short sleeves and shorts as we went out to visit the coast.  Yesterday, we went in to the city of Christchurch and got a first hand glimpse of the recovery efforts from the earthquakes that happened within the past year.  For the most part, there are about 900 buildings in the center that are all condemned and completely cordoned off.  The are still many structures that have been closed off and are obviously damaged beyond any repair.  It was fun to cross streets and avoid traffic driving on the left side of the road.    Before our venture into the city, we stopped by the Crash House for the Airport.  The Crash House is where the airport firefighters stay.  We got a five star tour of the fire station and the airport firetrucks.  At the end of the tour we exchanged firefighter t-shirts which is a long standing firefighter tradition.  I have to admit that the tour that we were given was the best and most hospitable that I have ever been on.  Many thanks to our brothers in Christchurch who showed unmatched hospitality.