I Come From The Land Of The Ice And Snow

Winter sucks.

All the crap you hear about a white christmas and freshly fallen snow is totally bunk. The temperature here has been in the single digits fahrenheit (-13C), the sun sets a little after 4pm, and there is over a foot of snow. It has been below freezing now for over two weeks and it probably wont get over freezing again for another three months. All the cars create a black slush that stains anything it touches, so if you walk you have to make sure to avoid stepping or touching the slush.

..and did I also mention that it gets dark really, really early?

I was born in the wrong part of the world. I can’t stand the winter.

I am counting down the days until I can hit the road again. My current plans are to be in Los Angles sometime around the first week on January, then fly to Fiji via Hawaii or directly from LA. I don’t know yet. Then I’ll head to Thailand where I’m going to get an apartment for two months and work. I will probably take a side trip to Burma while I’m there. The plan as of now (and it might change) will be to go to Panama or Colombia in April.

I’ve spent much of my time during the last several weeks doing a lot of thinking about my site and where I want to take it. I’ve been clarifying exactly what I want to produce, what areas I’ve been lax in, and what changes I need to make. I’ll be making a much longer post about this next week, but it has been a productive exercise. I’ve been working on new and better ways to integrate photos, layout articles, and make what I do more engaging than just making the same old blog posts.

That being said, I’m getting antsy. I can’t wait to make my return to Fiji. My time there was one of the best I’ve ever had traveling. I’m looking forward to going back and taking photos with 2.5 years more experience. I have very few photos of Fiji and that is something I want to rectify. I also want to do some video stories of the interesting things I found on the islands.

Likewise, I can’t wait to get to Thailand and eat street food.

I’m going to be entering a new phase of my travels. I’ll be moving much slower and deliberate, and I hope the quality of what I produce will correspondingly increase.

7 thoughts on “I Come From The Land Of The Ice And Snow”

  1. I have never experienced winter in a place as cold as Wisconsin but I enjoy the level of cold I have experienced at home and on trips to places like Chicago. And I am determined never to get annoyed at snow.

    One area in which you could improve your blog is copy editing. I don’t mean to be rude, since I understand your site is a one-man show and you are writing on the go, but various typos (usually at least one per post) detract from the quality of the otherwise excellent content you produce. Perhaps you could find a volunteer to do some minor editing either before or after you post blog entries.

  2. I love winters and miss the white. It doesn’t feel like Christmas without it, that’s for sure. I hope you enjoy your more relaxed travels.

  3. I feel you on the whole winter thing. We had 2 feet of snow last weekend and I was over it before it ever started!

    Good luck on your travels and can’t wait to see what changes are coming to the blog.

  4. I like white winters, I find celebrating Christmas in summer heat ridiculous. It does get dark early, but its not like street lighting is lacking anywhere. Its also really really beautiful, frozen lakes, streams, waterfalls, forests all covered in white, cross country skiing – winter is one of my favourite seasons, especially since I get to spend weekends at my parents house in the countryside.

  5. I totally hear you on winter! I can’t bear it!

    I’m currently enduring my first real winter in almost a decade, having just moved from LA to the Midwest.

    And all I can do is dream of moving somewhere warm again!

  6. well i have never had a white Christmas or even a remotely cold one for that matter being that i have lived on Maui my whole life. Hey Gary are you planning to stop by Maui when you come to Hawaii? if so maybe we can take you fishing on our boat. it’s a real privilege and an awesome thing to do in Hawaii especially if you are a tourist and chartering a boat for a day can cost you big bucks but all you would have to do is bring your own beer. I’m twenty and my dad is in his sixties and would probably be interested in meeting someone who had traveled to so many countries. let me know

  7. I really don’t mind winter – I love to ski. But here in Canada where I live there’s not much of the white stuff – just enough to make the surroundings dirty with black slush – but it’s too long darn cold – lucky you is at a point where I dream to be one day…I am on my way and hope to say one day – hey, why don’t we meet in Fiji, or Panama or for a street food dinner in Thailand? That’d be bliss ;-)

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