Today has been a very strange day. First, I had to get up at 3am(!) to be at work to Skype with a high school biology class in Pennsylvania, coincidentally not far from where I interned at Shaver's Creek last summer. It was a pretty cool experience, using an iPad to talk to a classroom of 26 students 4 time zones away. We Skyped with them for about 45 minutes, showing them our visitor center, telling them about our jobs with the NPS, and answering questions. They were supposed to be asking us about climate change and the arctic, but most were more interested in what it was like to live in Alaska!
At risk of sounding like an old person here, I'm gonna say it anyway: I could never have imagined using technology in this way, even 10 years ago! Though it's still an imperfect art, it was a good run-through for a first time remote classroom program.
Well as it was, I decided to stay at work and get stuff done in the wee hours of the morning so I could open the visitor center at 8am and then leave for the rest of the day by 1. I did end up getting a lot done, and although I felt like a zombie running on only a few hours of sleep, the morning passed quickly.
That was when I noticed the other strange thing about the day -- it was BRIGHT out! Like, real actual normal sunlight, not that sunset bogus we've had for the last 3 months. Okay, so maybe that's a little harsh, but I am impossibly happy to see how high the sun is in the sky (which still isn't that high). I wasn't even that annoyed when I realized it it was hitting me in the eye through the window when I got back to the bunkhouse. It's amazing how different everything looks and feels; it's a cloudless day and the world just seams brighter with the sun reflecting off the snow and the white mountains contrasting sharply with the vivid blue sky. Too bad it's freezing cold as death outside.
I hope it stays this nice, because that brings me to my other bit of good news: I finally got my GoPro camera! It works great, has everything I need and then some. Now I just need a way to get out to the mountains to test it out...
Things are finally starting to pick up pace all around, work-related and otherwise. Preparations for Iditarod are underway; final revisions to the visitor's guide are being completed; I'm applying for jobs like mad; working at the town Winter Fest this weekend; winter training begins in a few weeks; travel plans to visit Shishmaref and Serpentine are in the works; and so many more things I know I'm forgetting.
It's getting a little crazy, but I'm glad to be busy. I'm glad for the sunlight. And I'm so glad to be here (even though I'll also be glad to come home in a couple months!).
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