Today is my (Julie's) last day in Alaska. It will largely consist of packing, cleaning, and quality time with good friends. It's snowed a little bit the last few days and made sure to get to -20 one last time before I left, like a going away present, a "something to remember me by" sort of thing.
It's sad to leave this place, especially knowing that we won't be back, at least not long-term. (Quick update to those out of the loop: we hope to move to new england when we get back, with plans of finally planting our roots for a while. I will have to return to fairbanks to finish up my master's at UAF, which should only involve 6 months at the most.)
Alaska, Fairbanks, and Eagle have been so good to us. Who would have thought that -40 could be so wonderful? It's really not, and I'm kind of excited about not having to plug in my car, worry about groceries freezing solid in the trunk, or wake up to ice fog. However, -40 keeps good people here... mostly because it keeps all those other people out :). I will miss the midnight sun, the largest outdoor playground anyway could ask for, wearing the same thing 3 days in a row without anyone noticing, being able to experience true solitude and peace, woodstoves, a sense of community and belonging, and friends that are so wonderful they become like family. I love living in a place where it seems that the stuff that should matter in life, really does...like good food, quality conversations, living with intention, hard-work and ingenuity, and of course, my personal favorite, ladies poker night (got one last fill of that last night :)).
Much of this we hope to recreate wherever life takes us. Some of it will always only be an Alaskan thing -as it probably should be. I know we will always look back on our time here as so unique and meaningful, and will feel so lucky that we were able to call ourselves Alaskans at one time.
It's sad to leave this place, especially knowing that we won't be back, at least not long-term. (Quick update to those out of the loop: we hope to move to new england when we get back, with plans of finally planting our roots for a while. I will have to return to fairbanks to finish up my master's at UAF, which should only involve 6 months at the most.)
Alaska, Fairbanks, and Eagle have been so good to us. Who would have thought that -40 could be so wonderful? It's really not, and I'm kind of excited about not having to plug in my car, worry about groceries freezing solid in the trunk, or wake up to ice fog. However, -40 keeps good people here... mostly because it keeps all those other people out :). I will miss the midnight sun, the largest outdoor playground anyway could ask for, wearing the same thing 3 days in a row without anyone noticing, being able to experience true solitude and peace, woodstoves, a sense of community and belonging, and friends that are so wonderful they become like family. I love living in a place where it seems that the stuff that should matter in life, really does...like good food, quality conversations, living with intention, hard-work and ingenuity, and of course, my personal favorite, ladies poker night (got one last fill of that last night :)).
Much of this we hope to recreate wherever life takes us. Some of it will always only be an Alaskan thing -as it probably should be. I know we will always look back on our time here as so unique and meaningful, and will feel so lucky that we were able to call ourselves Alaskans at one time.
