As I write this at 9:48am on Thursday morning, the sky is just beginning to lighten. A thin layer of frost covers the ground and the roofs of cars and houses. The view outside my window is going from pitch black to the darkest shade of blue, and I know that, soon, the sky will lighten through a series of grays and blues as the sun slowly comes up.
This is quite a change from when I first arrived in Nome, when the sun always seemed to be up and I almost forgot what darkness was for a month or two. Then, there were no changes outside my window during work, except for cars, people, and airplanes passing by.
The changing light has paralleled my settling into life here in western Alaska. I have routines at work, feel comfortable talking on the radio, and am building relationships outside of KNOM. I get to see spectacular sunsets almost every day and explore my ever-changing environment whenever there’s an opportunity.
Someday soon, I’ll look outside my window, and the ground will be covered with snow. I’ll be wearing much warmer clothing on my 30-second walk to work, and I’ll see people on the street on snowmachines instead of bicycles. And although it may be too dark to see outside my window for much of the day, I’m looking forward to these changes — and to once again seeing an entirely different world each time I look outside.
