Winterstorm?

Before we traveled to Alaska, we had (like many other Scandinavians) sometimes watched the news from the US, and reacted to all the headlines saying "Storm and Chaos" as soon as there were some rather ordinary winter weather. "It's sure ain't gonna be like that in Alaska" we said - but maybe it will....  This morning, it rained heavily here, which of course led to icy roads and pavements, not much of a surprise there.

When I got to work, about half the staff was at home, and those who had made it left by 11 or so - perhaps to save their homes from sliding away, I don't know. Later in the afternoon all university employees got an email: the university will be closed today and tomorrow, at least, no teaching at all.  In town, all schools are closed too, and all buses canceled. People are encouraged to stay indoors through this "Ice storm” or“Winter storm” as they call it on TV. It is of course great that people are encouraged to be careful and not get out on slippery roads if they don't have to, but it's perhaps a little too much to close a whole town, including major highways leading in and out. One explanation might be that most cars year-round tires instead of studded ones, and the year-round are not as good on ice. A lot of people are a bit worried about the winter, and wonder how we will make it through the season. Peter's English professor almost got upset when Peter was assigned to write an essay about stressfactors caused by moving to a new country, and Peter didn't mention snow and cold! - which wasn't a bit deal for him at all. As Scandinavians we are pretty much used to severe winters, especially after our years in Abisko, above the Arctic circle, where we didn't see the sun at all for two months during the winter. Long lasting extreme cold could of course be a bit too much..... after a couple of weeks with 40 -50 below we might be a bit tired of winter too. We'll see what happens, today - we have drizzling rain.....  

Otherwise, life is good, we've had many wonderful skiing tours in beautiful winter surroundings, and the chickadees are visiting our birdfeeder almost every day. They are not shy at all, and stay around even though we are just a few inches away - on the other side of the window. 

The scent of snow

During my morning-jogg in one of the first snowfall events of the year, it suddenly struck me that something was new - the wonderful scent of new-fallen snow! Fresh and clear and loaded with energy! The coming of the winter is perhaps not that bad after all! I also enjoyed the sound of the snowflakes as they hit the carpet of yellow leaves on the forest floor, soft and sizzling. I guess that the place where you grew up really leaves a strong imprint - I would probably miss the four seasons if I lived in a place where the climate is the same all year round - but winter perhaps doesn't have to be thaaat long...We'll see how we feel after a full year in Fairbanks, by then we might be more than ready to try living in a warm climate for a while, instead of always looking for the cold and snowy places.

Last friday we went to a bonfire among good friends, and once again we could see how social events and alcohol is different from back home in the "vodka-belt". Here, it was nice and quiet, potlatch with both food and drinks, and everyone had some beer, a drink or two, etc, but no one went over the edge, but friends of all ages could spend a good time together all night long. We couldn't help but to compare with how it is during the the 30th of April back home, when all the big bonfires are held, and people are partying everywhere....  Peter and two of the other guys were fit for fight the next morning, and could go out hunting in the mountains. That was also a bit different  - Peter was prepared for hunting as we are used to doing it - long hikes up and down the mountains, staying out all day. Here, they used four-wheelers and never took more than 20 steps away from the vehicles - quite different. He came home with a new experience, and a good memory of a nice day with good friends in beatiful surrounds - and a few grouse too.

 

The sound of the Raven

A couple of weeks ago we went on a fishing trip to Dune Lake, 45 min with floatplane southwest of Fairbanks. One morning when we were out in the boat, we heard a sound that I haven't heard since we lived in Abisko far up north in Sweden and were out ice fishing in the mountains. Just as we did then, we were enjoying the complete silence, when we heard the magic sound of the ravens wings far up in the sky. 
Other fantastic sounds were the splashes of large Rainbow trouts jumping for insects, sounding as large as crocodiles - what amazing fishes! One night we could hear a fox outside the cabin, but now howling wolves, or bears looking for food. During the summer, there´s been a black bear with two cubs around the lake, but they seemed to have moved on when we arrived. Some year before, the bears were walking between the cabin and the lake, stealing fish if it was left unattended for just a short moment - perhaps a little bit to exciting for my taste.... Bears had also come visiting on the porch, just outside the large window and the thin door. Our first meeting with Alaskan bears is still waiting for us. Perhaps it will finally happen if we go to Denali later on this fall.  Hopefully, we will buy a car shortly so we can get around easier. The trains towards Denali only runs once a week now that the tourist season is over. It's been getting a bit cold to bike around now. Until just a couple of days ago, it has been really nice and warm, but now we have icy winds coming in from Northeast. It is still beautiful though, with fantastic colours and clear blue skies. We've been picking some Lowbush Cranberries, which are different from the cranberries that we have back home, and more alike our Lingonberries. We've made some nice jam, and now cranberryjuice is on the go.

Så alike and yet so different

We have now walked and bicycled around Fairbanks for some days, and are struck by how alike and yet so different our new and old hometowns are. During our walks in the woods we almost feel as "back home in Sweden": the vegetation is quite similar, although the diversity is larger, and the spruce trees much thinner here. We also recognize many of the bird species here, as "cousins" to our our friends, although they sing with a little bit different language. Even the climate appears to be quite similar (from what we've heard so far), even though a cold spell here can mean -40 instead of -30C. When we look around from the campus area we can see roaming hills in the distance, just as the "blue mountains of Dalarna". At the same time there are so many things that are different: how the houses are constructed, how the town is built, what we can - and cannot find at the stores. The cars also differ quite a bit - they ARE larger over here, as are the size of ice cream scoops and hamburgers. Another new experience for us are all the warning signs for this and that, and the smell of forest fires from a number of fires just south of town - that are allowed to burn as long as they are of no threat.
We have also experienced real family-picknics in Pioneer Park, with free food and live music for everyone, and an enormous friendliness and helpfulness, that we have not met to the same extent back home. And - who would have thought that we would experience some of the warmest days here in Alaska?  27-29 C during a whole week, and almost tropical nights! All we can do is enjoy and save it up for the long winter nights.

Finally here!

We finally made it! After a long journey over land and sea, that took 24 h from take off to landing, we have now arrived in Fairbanks, which we be our new home for the next year or two. We're looking forward to lots of new experiences both during work and free-time, and to make new friends. We are now beginning to settle in at our apartment, and have already met many super-friendly and very helpful people - so we feel very much welcome in this widespread city.