I took the bus into university, not necessarily because it's extremely cold outside, but because I just happened to be leaving the hostel at the time scheduled for the Blue Line bus to pass Westwood Way. Like yesterday, the temperature at Billies was reading -6 degrees C, although at the university the electronic welcome sign said -8. Either way, it was fresh, and I was glad to have my winter wear on.
It seems that Alaskan university students are far more hardy than I am. As I was making my way through the campus, buttoned and zipped up to the maximum, ensuring no orifice was exposed to the elements, a young guy walked past me in a t-shirt. I wondered whether he actually owned a pair of gloves!?
Fairbanks university was celebrating their Annual Food Day today, and the event was too tempting to miss. As soon as I walked into the Wood Centre, I caught a whiff of some dish, and instantly realised why the centre was noticeably busier than usual. Organsied like a table top sale, there were many rows of different stands offering advice about healthy living, accompanied usually with a dish labelled 'try this out'. Why is it that you always take a sample eventhough it is just a lettuce leaf and you know perfectly well what it tastes like? Aside from the stalls, there was a quiz going on; university members on the panel with what I assumed a professor of some sort asking the questions. One caught my eye: how many acres of corn does an average American consume in their lifetime? 45 acres, in fact. At the back of the room, behind the quiz action, was a number of tables offering free food. The dishes, as I went round with my paper plate and plastic folk, were very exotic; not in a vitamin C way, but in their names. Regardless of what they were, I put a bet on the fact that this was probably the healthiest thing I'd eaten since arriving in Fairbanks!
Indulging in my carrot muffin, I lost track of time and had to make a hurried dash out of the Wood Centre to a Climate Change Seminar. I just made it, in fact. Sarah Trainor from the Alaskan Centre for Climate Assessment and Policy gave a speech on Climate Change: the effects and responses of a warming world. Climate Changes in Alaska are responsible for so many different things, namely more frequent forest fires and alterations in subsistance farming. I have quite a few questions actually following the talk that I shall have to make an appointment to meet her in person at some point.
I decided to take a scenic walk back to the hostel, rather than use the bus again, and instead head into the forest on the trails. These trails aren't maintained and so the snow here was thick; as deep as my boot in places! Still, the walk was most enjoyable. Occasionally, the trail came out the forest, through university accomodation and back into the forest. Snow machines were ploughing snow on pathways, whilst another was using this blowing machine (a bit like a hair-dryer but much larger) to literally blow the fluffy snow particles off roofs and steps. Some students were in their cars, desperatly trying to warm them up, whilst others had left the engines and windscreen wipers going while they remained warm and toasty in their houses.
As it happens, I did spot a red squirrel and tried to pursue it for a photo. It was obviously camera shy. Still happy about my fox sighting yesterday, I didn't mind that much and continued on with the trail. Like the city, the forest trails look a lot different to how they looked only a few weeks ago. The transformation has been incredible to watch.
It has snowed to the extent that most buildings have a pristine layer of snow covering their roof tops now; everywhere apart from Gullivers Books, it seems. Here, the roof is at such a steep angle, that it creates this lovely pattened feature.
Brrrrrr it looks cold. We're glad we're in our warm, cosy home drinking hot cups of cocoa (whilst dunking choccy biscuits!)
ReplyDeleteGood to read-up about your adventures Dan
From Christine & David