Today I will back to vivid green, constant rain, and motivation melting temperatures, leaving behind the snow covered pines, short days and nose-numbing winds that I love. One thing that I have learned over the past 18 months is that I am not a hot weather person. The Scandinavian blood that runs through these veins is about fed up with the heat, so for the next 6.5months I will spend my time convincing my body that it is actually in a Finnish Sauna, and that at any moment we will be able to jump outside into the snow bank and continue on with our life in the Northern latitudes.
For the past 11 days I have been able to spoil my Viking self with various winter activities and more layers of clothing than most Belizeans would have in their closet. I shoveled 8 inches of snow from my parents driveway in my fleece pants, over-sized boots, and new hooded U of WA sweatshirt. I wore knee-high leather boots with my jeans and sweater without breaking a sweat,topping the package with scarf, hat, and gloves. Aside from Christmas day, the most perfect day of my trip was spent remembering how to ski at the local mountain (because here in the Pacific NW, everyone gets a local mountain). After attempting to snowboard for exactly 12 minutes, I threw in the towel and rented skis, a sporting equipment I am much more familiar with. The rest of the day I spent cruising down powdery Rocky Mountain slopes. Thighs burning, I even ventured down some untouched black diamond terrain, but mostly I stuck to the blue square easy cruising. With blue skies above and ice crystals sparkling in the air, I was tempted to trade in my life in the jungle for a career as a ski bum. I avoided that temptation, but I will continue to dream about the swishing sound of carving through fresh powder and the quiet solitude that can only happen on the top of mountain in the winter time.
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