I’m sitting in the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, preparing to start my journey back to civilization.
During my time here I’ve blogged about some of my observations of people and places in Alaska.
Like most of our vacations, it has been a time of discovery, which suits my learner theme.
It’s also been a time of self-discovery. Here are three things I’ve learned about myself on our Alaska adventure.
1. I’m a City Boy. During the trip I’ve been reading Into The Wild, a fascinating book about a young man from a well-to-do family in Virginia, who upon graduating from college gives all his money to charity and heads west on a 2 year adventure that ends in Alaska. In his final postcard he noted he had hitchhiked from Fairbanks to the edge of the Denali wilderness, and that his friends may never hear from him again because now he was “walking into the wild.” By contrast, I see myself being dropped off in the middle of a large city and walking into the Ritz Carlton. And you would hear from me again. I’d probably text you, and you could still follow me on Twitter.
2. I Like Warm Weather. The people here have told us story after story about how cold it gets here in the winter, like minus 50 degrees. In the mornings they to heat the oil in their engines so their cars will start. You can get frost bite in a matter of minutes. The sun is out for only 4 hours in December. I have a simpler solution for them: move. There are 49 other states to choose from. I’ve been cold since I got here. I’m thrilled to be returning to a tropical climate.
3. I Like To Travel. Even though they couldn’t pay me enough to live here (see #1 and #2), and they tried–each Alaska resident receives as much as $2,000/yr. from the State of Alaska–I’ve enjoyed my trip here. Alaska is beautiful, and I enjoy seeing new places and how the kingdom of God manifests in different places. On the bus ride to the airport today I was already mapping out plans for our vacation next year.
Until next time. GS