It's interesting to inhabit someone else's home temporarily, though. I wonder how it will feel as the months progress. Will this start to feel like home, or will it always feel like we are just passing through? Will I remain an interloper and be happy to leave at the end of these six months? Or will I have started to put down roots by then and feel torn when it's time to go?
The ferry ride was a nice way to travel, particularly at this time of year. This winter has been cold and snowy, and the roads through Canada would have been challenging. Being with small children in a car for seven days would have been its own adventure, as well. On the ferry, we could walk around with the kids, catch a movie or two, recreate in the small play area, and even play games in our cabin. We were also fortunate to make friends with another couple from Haines, Alaska, who had two small children. My five-year old daughter Celia played with Galen, an energetic four-year old. And my 16-month old son Ferguson, didn't quite know what to make of 18-month old Miranda, but enjoyed her company nonetheless.
We couldn't have asked for better weather on the ferry. The short winter days were clear and mild, and the biggest seas we encountered were only four to five feet tall. It's rare to find such smooth sailing along the Inside Passage in the middle of winter. Typically the North Pacific churns out storm after storm this time of year. We were worried how Jessica would fare on the ride, since she gets motion sickness on many of our road trips. But she did just fine and we never even had to break out the seasick bands.
After spending the morning in Bellingham and interviewing some of the residents we met, we were able to spend the day in Seattle on the birthday of one of our good friends from Alaska. He moved south seven years ago and is now a successful school administrator on Mercer Island. He and his wife have two adorable sons. We are hoping to see them several more times during our time here.
One of the special bonuses for our time here will be the chance to reconnect with friends like Mark and our family. Another of my dear friends from college lives about two miles away. She was quite surprised to see me at her church this morning. I had found the church on the internet last night and had no idea Maureen even went to church. It felt like an auspicious start to our time here, to find the right church so soon, connected to dear old friends. Then later today, we went into Washington to visit Jessica's sister Jona, her husband Jeff and my two nieces, Lindsey and Nicole. I did pretty well at Dance Dance Revolution, I must say, but I was no match for my eighth-grader niece.
Tomorrow is the first day of class and I feel a strange mix of emotions. I'm excited, a bit anxious, a healthy bit scared, and totally curious. I have really no idea what to expect. How will I fit in? Will I do well in my classes? What will my classmates and colleagues think of me? Will I just be a bumpkin from Alaska, totally out of my league? Or will I be able to hang with the rest of the academic community?
More than anything, I am curious to see what will happen. I really have no way to imagine what the next six months will be like. I know that I'll be taking a statistics class, a research methods class, and joining a reading seminar. But I have no idea what they will be like, or what it will be like to tackle my research project with Tom Keller. I am fascinated to see how this will all unfold and I am totally open to what comes my way.
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