Fall has set in. First it wouldn’t come, reluctant to leave
summer behind and then three days ago it arrived with the blink of an eye.
Birch leaves are falling all around us and the colors have gone from green to
yellow, orange, and red. I have harvested my garden except for the carrots:
they are still standing tall so I hope they grow a bit more. This weekend was
Labor Day weekend; so a few stores are closed, while others are having a sale.
I think there was a parade downtown but not much was advertised and most people
I’ve talked to don’t seem to care much about it. I went out in the woods for a
wedding – yes the third – and last - wedding of this summer. It turned out to
also be the best as all the guests brought food to share – wild caught salmon,
homegrown greens and home made berry pies. It took place at a scout camp with
small cabins with bunk beds and a main house with a kitchen and one with
couches. Everybody hung out, played music, hung out at the fire or went on
walks and enjoyed the last warmth of the season.
Since I last wrote I have also been roadtrip’n with do
lovely Danes to the coast of Alaska and towns such as Homer and Seward.
Irmelin’s landlord was so kind as to let us use his Ecamper for the trip and so
we (somewhat surprised) found ourselves part of a whole new community of car
campers. The Ecamper is basically a small square car with a pop-up tent on the
roof that you enter from inside the car and all the other campers were
fascinated as to how it worked and how it was built. We were less fascinated
with all their big RV’s with room for about 20 people but mostly carrying two,
and towing cars behind them while driving 40 miles/hour. Luckily someone has
taught me the anal RV game where you put the word anal in front of whatever
name the RV has on it’s license plate. Driving around are such RV’s as the anal
breeze and the anal prowler.
The trip was beautiful and I got to be by the ocean for the
first time since I left Denmark in December last year. We crossed the bay in
Homer with the intention of hiking in Seldovia, but accidentally ended up on a
cruise that took us around the bay to look at birds and sea otters. It was
enjoyable enough except for the realization that two other tourists on the boat
were Danes as well and we had been blabbing about pretty personal things
thinking no one would understand us. It was just so nice to speak Danish
non-stop. I guess that is pretty classic tourist behavior. Most of the time I don’t feel much like a
tourist up here though. I can mask my accent pretty well and I know my way
around town. I also know my way around the university and for the first time in
years I am starting a new semester in the same institution as my last semester.
I actually know what I am doing, where I am going, who I need to talk to and
why. I have begun my Teaching Assistant job and have already received the first
emails from students asking questions. I will mostly be grading their assignments
and helping them with any difficulties they may have in class, but with a 170
students and three TA’s this should keep me busy.
I will post some photos from our road trip and wish you all
a happy fall!
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