I made it to Alaska! It is absolutely surreal to be in this state. When I got in last night, it was 22 degrees. This morning when we got up, it was 2. TWO! What's funny is that I always used to say things like "It's like 2 degrees out here! I'm freezing!" Um... I definitely had no idea what 2 degrees feels like. Ha ha. How quickly I've learned.
My flights were semi uneventful. On the one from San Diego to Seattle, I had an entire row to myself. Normally when that happens, I'm actually able to sleep.. especially since I've BARELY been sleeping at all lately, and the night before I left I only managed to grab an hour. But I was so overwhelmed by everything that I ended up staring at the ceiling with my head phones on. Seattle was AMAZING to fly over. I actually teared up because the view was THAT overwhelming.. like, it just screamed how beautiful our Creator really is, and how much pleasure He took in creating this world for us. From up there, for like I full five minutes, I couldn't think about anything else but Christ. I can't tell you how rare it is for me to not even be able to form words to express my feelings.
Seattle to Anchorage was a crazy full flight, and the longest of the three. It also took off way late because apparently the sink in the lavatory wasn't working and it took them like 30 minutes to finish the paperwork. At first, the pilot just said that the plane had a "small malfunction." DUDE! SPECIFY! The last thing I want to hear is "slight malfunction" when I'm on a plane. The guys next to me were super nice though. I'm pretty sure I bruised the guy closest to me like 10 different times. The lady in front of me kept her seat entirely reclined for the ENTIRE trip, leaving me VERY little room to maneuver. I dropped my Ipod at one point and could not even reach it due to lack of space. Every time I had to switch positions, it was this long, drawn out event. Luckily, the guy I kept elbowing and kneeing and smacking was really nice about it. Still, having a stranger, especially a GUY stranger, that close to me makes me nervous and flustered. But my bubble only had so much room to complain. Anyway, as we approached Anchorage, I was once again taken aback by the landscape from the sky. This time, however, it was speaking to me about how untamed our God really is. I'm not gonna lie.. God has a bad-ass side. :) He's wild and dangerous despite His sovereignty. It was good to be reminded of that, and it made me smile. However, I was really confused because there seriously was NOTHING out there! Like, we were coming up on the airport, but it was in front of us, so I couldn't see it. When you fly into San Diego, you literally go in between skyscrapers to land. I was SO confused by this terrain.. there was NOTHING except snow and icy water for as far as I can see. In an almost panic, I turned to the guy next to me and blurted out, "WHERE are all the buildings?!" He laughed and said you couldn't see them until the very end.. and he was right. I pointed them out in a sigh of relief, and the guy laughed at me again and said from his seat, he still couldn't see them. This time I laughed and was like, "That's because it's so small!" I'm so funny (not really)!
Our plane was so late by the time we got to Anchorage, I missed my connecting flight. We flew into the North Terminal and it took me a good 10 minutes to figure out that Alaska airlines flew out of the South Terminal. How do you get to the South Terminal, you ask? You take a shuttle. That you have to wait for outside. That runs every 15 minutes, and if you JUST missed it, you're going to be out there for a while. I had not planned for this at all. Luckily I had my snow jacket in my carry-on, but I wasn't wearing socks yet (flats don't need them usually) and my hates and scarves and mittens were in my checked baggage. It SUCKED. I have pretty poor circulation to my hands to begin with. Within three minutes, I couldn't even dial my phone properly because my hands were numb. It sucked. BUT, it's funny how God does things on purpose to actually help you. Another girl my age missed the Fairbanks flight as well, and we both got stuck on the 7:00pm flight.. which was 2 1/2 hours away. Somehow, we started talking (especially in the security line where ONE FREAKING PERSON was working a line that practically went out the door) and it turns out, she and her husband are stationed at Ft. Wainwright as well. We got a long SUPER well, and ended up having dinner together and talked the whole time. Before I left with Dan, we exchanged numbers. I officially have a female friend here. This is HUGE for me. I made a decision a few months back that I needed to change my relationships with men and start working on having close female friends. I managed to find that in San Diego, but I was terrified about not meeting girls who didn't hate me right off the bat, or annoyed me to the point I steered clear. I've REALLY been praying about it, and was shocked and excited how quickly God answered that prayer.
When we finally landed in Fairbanks, I was exhausted.. until I got my bags and headed outside with Dan. THAT woke me up REALLY fast despite a jacket, socks, and gloves. And I have never seen so much snow in my life! Trees are buried halfway up the trunk and benches are pretty much just slabs on the ground. It's INSANE! But I actually really like it so far. The snow looks like diamonds when the sun is out. Our temporary lodging is nice. It's like an itty bitty apartment.. just without a range for like baking or whatever. It saves money to not have to go out to eat all the time.
Married ladies take note: when flying, make sure your ring is on your finger. My ring is too big right now, plus one of the brackets broke and I'm scared I'll lose a sapphire if I wear it before it's fixed. I always assumed guys didn't pay attention to the ring.. I was wrong. Nothing is more awkward than random guys talking to you and offering to help you and asking you questions. I'm not saying this to be conceited at ALL.. I honestly don't understand the draw. I HATE being the center of attention like that, and I never know what to say. I at first thought to just cut them off and be like "Um, I'm married. Please don't talk to me." But then I got all nervous that that was rude since maybe they really are just trying to strike up a friendly conversation to pass the time. The Lord knows airports are only entertaining for so long. You have to combat boredom some how, I guess.
Lastly, despite the adventure so far and how nice it is to be with Dan and how amazing the landscape is, I'm a little homesick. I didn't expect to feel that. This trip isn't permanent yet, so that helps a little bit.. knowing I'm not quite gone for good yet. It makes the transition easier.
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