Bethany's Fairbanks Adventure

I woke up feeling really good about my week. It was going to be fun, productive and snowy. Then I got into the shower, NO HOT WATER. I am so cold I know how snowmen feel. If this happens in -40 weather I am sure I will die. Another one to add to the list. . .

IS A FUNNY GUY. He requested a mention on my blog. I am in competition with Josh Rocha and Peter Duchak to be his NUMBER 1 facebook fan. This has require alot of time and commenting effort but it will totally worth it when the fan news comes out on Tuesday.

John works in a comic shop. And lives in a cabin with a toilet which emits its very own heat. He has side burns. He looks dapper in his shirts and tie. He knows the best chinese in the North Pole town. His comic book shelves are gonna be the cause of sleeping injury. He will still be my friend even if I had no arms or legs.

Overall John is one cool cool fairbanks DUDE.

Finally we got lots of snow! Well at least a good covering! We went on a snow walk today and it was great fun. We made a minature snowman, played snow ball fights, made snow angels and walked on a frozen lake. I say walked in fact Erica was the only crazy nut to do so, I lay on it thinking I was super cool, but as I got up to leave my right foot went straight through, I thought I was going to lose my foot aswell as my middle finger. I have realised that my right side of my body is most prone to accidents. There are now bets going that I will fall over/injure myself the most out of everybody, I am defintiely on my way with the foot through the lake and falling on my butt on a complete flat surface.

I also got hit in the face with a football, while watching a football game. There were SO many people watching but no, right on the middle of my nose. AND I only just missed a second hit. I genuinly am a magnet to bad luck. I wonder what I did sometimes as I must have super bad karma, I’ll just have to be the best person alive to gain extra credits for good karma.

With the arrival of the snow I decided it became time to find a winter coat. We visited Big Ray’s down town, we got a nice tour from Adam of the Ghetto parts of Fairbanks where we were likely to get stabbed or shot. It was enjoyable! There were coats with Coyote fur hoods and Peter Rabbit hats, I’m not sure if I bought one it would be excepted into england. would you have to declare it as you walked in? “This is Peter Rabbit on my head”. I’m not so sure it would go down so well. Anyway they had some crazy warm coats in there I think my body temperature roase about 30 degree in one $550 coat. It was floor length with a bendable hood that you can change into the shapes you want to fit your face. Vicky tried on a rather sexy leopard print hat which you could pin into a cowboy hat OR as one of those hunting hats. She totally wanted to buy it but it was on the expensive side.

It was another party weekend, my beer pong skillz were on FIRE. I totally got like 5 cups in a round and Brent finished it off with a behind the back shot. IT WAS IMMENSE! Saturday night was another house party night starting off at Adam’s and finishing at Bens. I really enjoy just hanging out with everybody, and we always have a good night. The RA came in though and the party ended for the under 21′s BUMMER so I was made to leave.

I have so much to write about I do’t even know where to start. I am still having the time of my life out here, absolutely bloody loving it! It’s started to snow, it settles a bit and then dissapears, people are saying NEXT week WILL be the week. This is what they have been saying EVERY week. SO I will believe it only when I see it!

It’s been so long since i blogged I realise the blog is the only I will remember all the funny things. I am laughing most of the time I think I’m going to have to start stopping laughing just to write it down, before I can continue laughing. We went to see the first match with an opposition ice hockey team from Oregan. It is honestly the BEST sport I have ever seen. they literally just push each other into the sides of the walls. The other team were really aggressive and would just stat punching each other in the faces. THREE people at once were in each teams “sin bin” they could hardly fit. I was loving it egging on the fighting as it made it so much more exciting! We won 9-0 wooo. the other team were NOT happy.

The work load is really getting big, it’s not so much it’s hard but more that there is so much. It’s like being back at high school with little quizzes and tests, short essays etc. I had a 12 page max essay to write about large mammal management i left it very late and was up until 5am writing it. I’m not even sure if what I wrote made sense. OH DEAR. I have to be super careful here because they drop the grades when I get back to sussex…and I’m GOING to get a first (or at least id like too) so starting monday i’m getting ORGANISED/ will try my best too.

On saturday we went to a cabin party at Bryson’s, his cabin too I fell in love with. It was small and quaint and man I am so jelaous! Again I got a bit excited on the shots leading another very drunken and sleepy beth, they are on their drinking here and I just can not keep up!! I also got there very early and starting at 7 so as more people arrived we did more shots. I woke up and couldn’t find my bag or phone or anything. I was like oh shit what has happened. Managed to get hold of the british and found that one had my phone and the other my bag (which then turned out she no longer had my bag but eventually by the evening I had everything back)  SO tonight I am pacing myself very slowly playing beer pong.

Tuesday was a bad day I’d gone to bed at 5 writing this bloody essay was up for an 8o’clock class and was rushing around. I needed to print my essay so I ran to the library and slid my card in to print it popped up to tell me i was TEN CENTS short. I was like WHAT! So I had to run across to the wood centre to top up my card obviously I had no cash so had to get some money out. I could only get $20 out so had to then run to the shop to swap it for 5′s. Eventually topped up my card, ran to gulp down some cereal at the canteen picked up a coffee. Ran back to the library to print, printed and dropped coffee all down self. GREAT. Gave in essay went back and looked forward to a really nice long shower. Get into shower and decide to shave my legs, shoot hand into wash bag pull out hand with razor attached to middle finger. I pull of the razor and I have 3 strips of skin and alot of blood I honestly thought I could see bone aswell! (turned out to be alot of white skin). It would not stop bleeding! I started to feel really faint and actually thought I was going to faint and be found naked on the floor dead due to blood loss! ha ha. I managed to get my towel and put pressure on it and stop the bleeding. I was feeling extremely sorry for myself. I put a mr. bump plaster on it thanks to irene. It’s getting better now but still super sore. You don’t realise how important the middle finger is until it’s gone!!

So overall I have had a pretty stressful week but I went out for dinner with Brent last night which was very lovely and I feel much happier today, AND it is friday woo which means just one lecture and a night of fun. I might even fit a trip to the gym in!

I’ll try and keep updating my blog everyday so I don’t forget all the good bits

I appologise for the severe lack of blog entries this week I have been super duper busy. Currently taking a quick break from a 12 page assignment (double spaced so lets say 6) i’m on page 3 so gotta keep going as due tomorrow ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. But I’m still alive and doing well!

I had such a good weekend! Party Party time. So much for taking it easy on the drink, the crazy english girl was back. Kayleigh put it as ” it’s you Beth but even more highly concentrated” like a pint of ribena with no water. It all began with beer pong (which I was SO much better at) teamed up with Brent, we were doing so well until we had like 2 cups left and then it went on FOREVER, so I just felt drunker and lost concentration, did some shots and left for the bonfires. I managed to detatch myself from the group but they managed to find me wondering around campus. I then fell flat on my face tripping over a wall, I didn’t even put my bloody hands out to stop.  THANK GOD only Vicky and Alex were there to witness it, I felt like a twat, so what I must have looked like is 100x worse i’m sure. We moved onto Ben’s once again and from there I have little memory, apart from of course the stories you always want to hear from your friends the morning after…and waking up to facebook statuses of

“I met this guy named John seiler and he’s pretty awesome. Totally snogging material.”

Thanks John, of course my mother was on the status commenting straight away.

Anyway, I love a bit of Sinatra, and last night Brent treated me to a whole film with Franky boy in, Robin and the 7 hoods. I’d never seen a film with Sinatra in before and nor had I heard (well not really) about The Rat Pack. I think I may almost be replacing my Frank Sinatra love for Sammy Davis Jnr. He is hilarious, Frank will always have the lovely blue eyes on his side though. Anyway the film was hilarious, proper american gangster styley accents and all, with great bits of song and “dance”. My favourite song was without a doubt Mr. Booze.

Irene Morgan sent me the Queen’s face on a postcard today and it has completely made my day. I’m going to take it to lunch with me NOW to show the world.

Vicky wishes to share this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTxD49qBDvs HA HA

The all rapping band were hilarious. It was the strangest thing being in Fairbanks and watching rap. It was a strange home comfort feeling in that I felt a bit like I was in Brixton just not quite, I got a bit excited about the glow sticks Dawson had bought too. Boy did the band members have some funky grooves going, especially the larger of the group. Apparently to be G-star brappin you dance waving a Towel. Vicky, Kayleigh and I so totally had it down too. My favourite quote of the night was “Go get your fucking degree, because we fucking didn’t”. At the end they were like eyyyy lets get 5 or 6 girls up here, about 30 cram onto the stage and begin just grinding. One girl in particular was bloody loving it and gave a little individual dance to each member. I was shocked by such behaviour in Fairbanks.

Despite having said I wouldn’t give into my long johns until -10, I did. I am so so glad I did as it was bloody cold, but then you go inside and you’re like a toaster oven, actually sweating. It especially didn’t help that vicky and I ran all the way to mine to pick some vodka up before heading to Benjamins, we had turned up previously empty handed so our donation of vodka in my handy dandy Nalgene and half a cup of flat Mountain Dew definitely made up for it…but anyhow I was roasting and had to delayer and sadly remove the long johns. My plan of having a few drinks turned out to me being a little on the drunk side, oops.  Might calm it tonight as became a little rowdy. Despite this I still had fun. Though the drinking game stressed me out a little too. It was basically horse racing with cards? I would explain but I still don’t really understand it, it involved math and in my eyes math should not be incorporated into drinking games.

I love the BBC, I like to listen to the english accent on the radio and read the news pages online. I especially enjoyed todays top read about the Prime Ministers baby and I really enjoy looking at the “in pictures” bit. If you haven’t done this before check it out. It’s about the only intellectual thing I do. I did start reading the odd newspaper at Sussex, but to be honest, it never really caught on.

We are yet to watch the next episode of the Inbetweeners and I am ITCHING to watch it. I’m hoping an english kid will wake up and get onto facebook soon. I could do some work but Facebook is so much more exciting.

I’ve now begun to take everything I’m told with a pinch of salt. Here is why:

• It never rains in Fairbanks
• oh no, it’s never windy in Fairbanks
• You’ll be fine snow boarding! What was that you broke your leg in 3 places your first time?
• Yeah just run away. No wait play dead. Actually just don’t meet a bear.

Well yesterday I went for a run, it was sunny, so I put on my shorts and T-shirt as normal only to meet Vicky in her bloody fleece and joggers. Started running and I have never felt wind like it, it was SO cold. It was about 4 degrees out, I got back and my legs were just bright red, my arms too, but man my legs hurt so bad. Especially once I’d put my jeans on. I’m still in a little bit of pain but feeling much better today after a bit of good Sudocrem. I definitely got exposed to windburn and never ever again.

Equinox fell on Wednesday, this is right between the longest and shortest days, 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. It was also the day where the temperatures just dropped. It was about 17 degrees on Tuesday & on Wednesday morning it was -1.  I’m NOT putting my long johns on until -10, I’ve decided. I don’t want my body to be comfy at these “high” temperatures, -40 is going to be FUN. I now have 3 sets of long johns, they are super sexy and I can’t wait!

This weekend is Starvation Gulch on campus, I’m not completely sure what it is but basically they build six MASSIVE bonfires in a car park and obviously burn them. It’s also the first ice hockey game, so party time! Tonight there is a band playing, this is a big thing to most people as not many bands come up here. I checked out the music and it’s a bit gangster wanna beish. They’re called Nappy Roots check them out on YouTube…I can tell you will all be super jealous.

So last night, Kayleigh, Cory and I set an evening aside to watch our one love of David Attenborough eat pizza and drink wine from mugs. We watched him in his prime at about the age of 30 in New Guinea, with his skinny legs and shorts to Life of Mammals and his hair loss. He’s never been a looker, but if I had to choose marriage between David or Hugh Grant, David Attenborough would get my heart every time.  We had a bet on his age as I said I remember reading somewhere he was now 84, they disagreed with me. I then of course doubted myself saying ok I go with 78, kayleigh went with 74 and Cory (to be a dick and beat me out) went with 79. Of course he is 84 so the dishes are to be done by kayleigh and I next friday, this may not seem so bad, but he doesn’t actually have running water.

I am definitely doing the things my mother would never let me do or near! So he let me shoot a gun last week well this week we were lighting fireworks and setting them off from a bottle in our hands. Oh I had so so much fun! I also got a few cheeky photos of his cabin whilst he popped out so you can see why I am in love with it! I am yet to get a picture of the front:

He very kindly gave us some Dolly fish he’d caught, we had it as a dip at his Potluck with the Dolly, cream cheese and dill and boy it was tasty tasty. Were going to try and recreate it and will be nice to have proper food instead of the Tilly (canteen) which was O.K. for the first couple weeks, but now, I’m beginning to get fed up with trying to identify the meat.

My mutti gay (via grandparents) sent me a MASSIVE box full of chocolate CADBURY’S, GALAXY, ECLAIRS AND MILK CHOCOLATE digestives nom nom. On sunday I plan to put on a tea party for the americans who have neverhad REAL biscuits before and dislike the name Digestives.

I totally just found the “Alaska Men” website check it out for some comedy gems: http://www.alaskamen.com/

EVEN better if you need some dating advice, check out: http://www.alaskamen.com/advicefromsusie.htm

Personal Favourite: “Don’t show up on their doorstep, ring the bell and say, “SURPRISE!!!, I’m yours!”