First Taste of Real Winter

The adventure of Bethel Part Deux has begun. Well, almost. I'm currently in Anchorage with a few hours layover on my hands, taking advantage of free wi-fi and the last dregs of cell phone service.

My observations thus far: It is reassuringly still light at 3:30 pm, though definitely dusky. The moon is out over the snowy mountains currently. It is -5 degrees and the baggage handlers look cold. I witnessed my suitcase being unloaded and was thinking, "gently now, gently!" This is because wrapped up in many layers of plastic bags and fleece clothing I have a jar of salsa and half a gallon of frozen milk in a (glass) Tupperware. Should be an interesting experiment in unpacking.

I decided to wear my new very toasty and waterproof Helen of Tundra Sorel boots instead of packing them. This was a good thing since my suitcase weighed in at 50.8 lbs. The nice Alaska Airlines woman checking in me in reminded me that over 50 lbs means more $$ (in addition to the fee I already payed to check the bag), but she'd let this one slide. Whew. 50 lbs for 8 days in the tundra, you ask? Well, I'd estimate that 30 lbs of that is foodstuffs, and the remaining 20 lbs is layers of Patagonia clothing. My plan is to avoid going to the grocery store at all this week. We'll see if my savvy packing comes through. My other goal is to be able to walk to and from work without freezing my arse off. We'll also see if my savvy packing comes through on that one. I do admit that I threw in my running shoes with the feeble hope that I'd somehow be able to exercise this week (I asked a very fitness minded friend who was in Bethel in December about running outside and he scoffed "the roads are porcelain" and also warned about wearing a flashing red light on my on my walk to work to avoid getting hit by snow machines). But I do know of a treadmill in the admin building that I might have to take for a spin.

Speaking of my new boots, here they are. Why are they not on my feet, you may ask? Well, turns out they are very warm. Very very warm. As a result I have very sweaty feet right now. I also have a furry new hat and goose down mittens in my back pack waiting for their inaugural wearing when I get to Bethel. I'm hoping to get a photo of myself all bundled up (long underwear + pants + snow pants + long underwear top + fleece + down sweater + coat + hat, mittens, boots). I might not be able to move my arms enough to work the timer function on my camera, though. We'll see.

Tomorrow I start a week on the inpatient wards. It will be similar to my week on the wards in September, though I assume the census will be higher, the patients sicker, and this time I am definitely not getting on the medevac. Should be an adventure. More soon!