It's been a while longer...

Hi Folks!

Some of you may have thought I was kidnapped by an elf, some of you may have thought I married a reindeer herder, and the majority of you probably thought the wolves finally got me, but alas I have returned to the realm of the living and socially active (somewhat)!

I am now in Ireland at Kilkea Lodge Farm (www.kilkealodgefarm.com) where I work with horses instead of dogs, a rather drastic change from the arctic husky farm.  I still follow basically the same routine, I muck out stables and feed morning and night, but in between I ride and train horses instead of dog sledding.  It's brilliant good fun and in my free time I am learning a tremendous amount of Irish comfort food recipes to bring home with me and share!  Stews, shepard's pie, plum pudding, ham and cabbage (sounds gross but is surprisingly delicious) and that's just in my first week!  I think I'll be restoring myself to a more normal weight after the skeletor attack that happened in Lapland.

So a brief update I think is also in order for my last month in Hetta.  Things died down a tiny bit after the holidays, thought it didn't feel much different physically or mentally.  I went on an 80km snowmobile safari with Pasi and Charlie Patton (big time UK explorer who is training for a North Pole expedition in April) which was insanely awesome but I suffered incredible pain for the next week or so.  6 hours on a snowmobile through deep, soft snow with no track can be, well let's just say challenging.  I also went on a snowshoeing adventure around Pallas with Lotte and Ben (two other guides) that included an overnight stay in an off-grid cabin that took us an hour to find and was so cold inside we might as well have spent the night under the stars.  But all in all it was a great trip with some phenomenal views and a top 10 sunrise to finish off the trek.  I also saw some pretty stellar northern lights with purple runners as they're called which was an exhilarating moment as well.  In conclusion the final month was bitter sweet and leaving Lapland was difficult (made easier by the fact that if I didn't leave the Finnish government would deport me), but I plan to return again for next season if I can manage to obtain a long stay visa.  Cross fingers!

And now I"m in Ireland with no more snow and lots of green things sprouting everywhere.  It feels unnatural after the pristine of the arctic.  The air is a bit easier to breathe since it is never below freezing and I can walk outside without having to put 7 layers of clothing on which is nice.  Along with my attire, I will have to readjust my diet a fraction as well since I am used to shoving as many carbs in my mouth as possible to make it through the day.  After leaving the huskies I feel out of step.  Now I am constantly looking for something to do and can't handle sitting for longer than 15min at lunch time.  I will adjust to my new slower paced lifestyle, but it will take a while.  As much as I complained about my work load in Hetta, I am already yearning to return.  Will I make it back or will it be New Zealand for Winter 2011?  Time will tell...

Expect another update soon since I now have time to actually write on this thing.  Love to everyone!!!

Em

P.S.  I'll post some pics of Ireland soon.  I'm only 300 meters from a castle....