What I have learned so far

I wanted to post beautiful pictures of our cabin. I wanted to document a new living experience - all of the wonders of outhouses, no running water, a place away from busy streets and lights.

We stayed for a few days after we first arrived with an MFA student in a cabin at the far end of Goldhill Road. We walked to and from campus everyday (as we left our car in AL), and although Mike did really well I wussed out. In Alabama, walking anywhere is dangerous. In 7th grade, a girl in my Health class died when the side mirror of an eighteen-wheeler hit her on the head as she walked home from school. There are no sidewalks where I lived, and even if there were everything is so spread out and the heat so oppressive that if the cars do not take you down the rest of the environment will. So when I arrived in Alaska I was green to walking as my major form of transportation. I could probably make the walk from Goldhill now that I've been walking everyday, but a month ago it wiped me out. Mike found an apartment that is between Fred Meyer and the UAF campus. We have a monthly lease, which is a cool and completely unexpected method. So far the apartment is working out fairly well. The road in front of the apt. is quieter now that it has snowed. Still not quite as quiet as would be good for studying and writing, but I'll take it for now.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent information about places to live. Coming to Alaska was much less terrifying knowing that there are such awesome people here.

Thank you to Mom and Mrs. Cross for setting us up with winter gear. I love my parka and my mittens. The mittens facilitate lobster action on a daily basis.

Graduate school is so much more work than I had ever thought possible, but I enjoy it immensely. And then just when I think I'm too tired from school to care about anything other than going home and sleeping, I step outside and into the snow.