I made it to Paris but it wasn`t easy...

My flight left Salt Lake City at 10:30 a.m. and I had my first layover in Chicago. Normally you don`t have to go through security again on layovers, but lucky me this was not the case. I had to go to a different terminal so I had the joy of putting my carry-on in bins, pulling out my laptop and liquids, taking off my boots and being shuffled through security for a second time that morning. Thankfully it wasn`t a very long layover and I was soon on my way to my next layover - Warsaw, Poland. I was dreading this one because it was a 6 hour wait but I just planned on sleeping and getting some things done online. Once we landed, there were shuttles waiting to pick up the passengers and take us to the airport. When we got inside it was a mess, everyone was standing in line and you can imagine how thrilled I was when I realized we had to go through security yet again. I noticed people coming back after getting to the front and I had no idea why and hoped it wouldn`t happen to me. Once I got through the metal detector and was collecting my things, the man checked my ticket and told me I was in the wrong Terminal and needed to go to B. Which meant that I had to go through security a 4th time that day. It was a good thing I wasn't in a hurry! After I got to my gate, I pulled out my laptop to get online to message my friend in Paris who was picking me up and confirm everything. To my surprise\disappointment this airport didn't offer wifi access. I turned on my phone but had no service so with nothing else to do, I claimed a bench and took a nap for a couple hours. Finally it was time to take my final flight to Paris, which was only a 3 hour flight. After I picked up my luggage, I began searching the crowd for William but he was nowhere to be found. I turned my phone on again but it still wouldn't work and the battery was about to die so I quickly copied down William's phone number before it died. I had 5euro in change so I found a payphone and tried calling but the phone kept eating my money and wouldn't work. Completely frustrated and feeling desperate I asked a young man for help and when the payphone didn't work for him either he told me to wait and disappeared. After about 10 minutes of wondering what the hell I was going to do, the guy returned and let me use his iphone to call William. I was so relieved when he answered, I quickly told him where I was and he said he'd be there in a hour. So I took my luggage outside and waited but after a couple hours I was nervous that he couldn't find me and asked another gentleman if I could make a call with his phone. He handed me his phone and offered to give me a ride but I didn't even know William's address so a ride wouldn't really help me. When I got ahold of William, he was looking for me in Terminal 2 and I was in Terminal 1. Forty-five minutes later and we finally found each other and I don't think I've ever felt so relieved. By this time it was after 10 p.m. and I was hungry and tired. The only thing open that late was McDonalds so my first meal in Paris was le petit wrap and a coke with no ice. I forgot that ice in soda is more of an American thing. Then we headed to William's apartment and I was so excited to sleep in a bed. I think my body is still adjusting from the jetlag and I've lost my appetite but am hoping I'll start feeling better soon.
Anyway, that was my 28 hour adventure of getting to Paris!

Another summer ending..

The fireweed has blossomed and begun to turn red, it's getting dark now but not for long, and the cool weather has swept in and reminded us that summer is ending. The Alaskan summer that is. I'm ten days away from flying back to Utah and only 24 days away from flying to France. I can hardly believe that August has come so quickly and I'm sure it'll pass just as fast. But I must say that I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to drive to Alaska and spend another three and a half months in such a beautiful, magical place. I'm sure I'll come back and visit again someday, but I feel confident saying this was my last summer spent working in Alaska. It's been amazing and I'll cherish the memories.

Weekend of great weather

The weather this weekend was incredible. Friday morning I took my new bike for a ride just to see how it went and I was able to bike to work and back to the cabin, a total of 25 miles in about a hour and a half. There are two major hills on the road so the way into work is a blast and mostly downhill - it's the way home that's a bit rough. But I enjoyed the ride and am looking forward to many more rides.
It's a GT Avalanche 3.0 Mountain bike. I've ridden 37 miles in the first week and so far am absolutely loving her! I'm planning on biking the Denali Park Road in two weeks which will be 92 miles. I want to catch a bus out to Kantishna (the furthest point in the park) and then bike all the way out. I'm planning on doing it all in one day and just doing it through the night so there won't be any buses on the road. This week will be a good week of testing my endurance and get me in shape. I'm looking forward to it!
In other adventures, last night my friend Austin and I rode his motorcycle out to the old Denali Hwy. (I sat in the super sweet sidecar.)

The drive was amazing and the views were spectacular. I really enjoyed riding the bike and experiencing my surroundings in a whole new way. We went 25 miles on the gravel highway then pulled off and set up camp. Thankfully the weather was great and it was so beautiful. I was able to enjoy the colorful sunset and the light rain that woke me up this morning.

The worst part of it all was the mosquitos. For some unknown reason they seem to love my blood more than most and I was eaten up.

Highlights from the road...

PORTLAND




SEATTLE



CANADA





ALASKA

Penny pickin' up luck.

Yesterday morning I awoke to an amazing sunrise, with pink splashed across the sky. It put me in a good mood and made me appreciate the beauty that is Alaska. Today at 10:00 a.m. I took a quick break at work, pulled out my laptop. logged into skype and shortly after received a phone call from the French family who I interviewed with before I came to Alaska. They offered me the position to become a part of their family for 11 months. I gladly accepted. Thus the planning stages have begun. I will now need to leave Alaska in August in order to go to San Fransico to get my visa before heading back to my beloved Paris the end of August or begining of September, where I will live for the following 10-11 months. I can't believe it's really happening. I am blessed and life is amazing.

The Bell Jar

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet."
— Sylvia Plath

Roadtrip of 2010

After many a sleepless night of pondering what to do about Alaska, I've decided it's time to drive there. Thankfully I have two amazing friends who support the idea and are willing to split costs with me. Thus the planning stages begin!
The tentative itinerary:
Day 1:
Home Sweet Home to Portland (13 hrs)
Day 2:
Portland
Day 3:
Portland to Seattle (3 hrs)
Day 4:
Seattle to Prince George, Canada (11 hrs)
Day 5:
Prince George to Fort St John (5 1/2 hrs)
Day 6:
Fort St John to Watson Lake (10 1/2 hrs)
Day 7:
Watson Lake to Whitehorse (5 hrs)
With a pitstop at the Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park. (2nd largest hotspring in Canada)
Day 8:
Whitehorse to Tok, Alaska (8 hrs)
Day 9:
Tok to Girdwood (8 1/2 hrs)
Day 10 or 11:
Girdwood to Denali (6 1/2 hrs)

My start date is set for May 10th and my friends and I are hoping to find a cabin this year and live off campus. So I'd like to get to Denali by the 8th or 9th and get settled in. So we'll see but I'm getting excited!