Today was a day of travel, and by 6 AM, I had learned two things: early mornings agree with me much more than they should, and my go-to meal is anything on a bagel.
I woke up a little before 4 AM, and headed to the airport from our hotel in Harrisburg, in order to be there 2 hours before departure. Security was a breeze, and I got to my gate fairly quickly, and with enough time to get a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel and coffee. I sat in front of the gate for a good hour, trying to decide which (if any) of the people around me would be heading to Alaska with me. I found that this was a good trick to distract myself from worrying about losing luggage or crashing into the Pacific ocean. At this point, the realization that I would actually be on an island off the coast of Alaska, with the same few people for four months, all of which I had never met before, and wasn't yet sure that I liked, had not really sunk in.
The flights themselves were a blur, as I was most focused on looking out windows and not getting lost in the airports. I flew from Harrisburg to Detroit, Detriot to Seattle, Seattle to Anchorage, and Anchorage to Kodiak, and the moments during those trips when I could see mountains were the most distinctive parts of the flight. During my flight to Seattle, I was squished between two guys, one of which was completely silent, and one of which was very foreign. We didn't speak very much at all, except for when we flew over Mt. Baker and Glacier Mountain and beside Mount St. Helens. The foreign man and I stared in awe out the window, while the previously silent man told us about the topography of the land we were flying over.
From thereon, I began to connect the mountains and sights outside with the friendliness of the people around me.
The view from the Anchorage airport cemented its position as my favorite stopover. The windows were expansive and stretched from floor to ceiling, and I followed them throughout the terminal, and nearly to the exit. Sure enough, the people in Anchorage seemed friendlier. The woman behind me asked me about my well-loved, potentially abused hiking boots and the older couple I sat between on the plane was very interested in sharing their experiences in Alaska. Even the pilot on the way to Kodiak seemed more relaxed. As we flew into Kodiak, sharp mountain peaks rose up to greet us, and I had no worries besides wondering how I would find my supervisor in the airport.
And then we arrived at the airport, and I finally realized exactly how isolated I would be, and why that worry would not be a problem. The airport was literally one room about half the size of my high school cafeteria. The majority of the people flying in were unloading clothing and groceries from the mainland. A few people were standing in line chatting about a bear they had run into, and I was left wondering, "what did I sign up for?"