North Dakota's a very friendly, comfortable place to live - with regards to the people. I don't mind winter so much, but the -20 degree Celsius (and below) temperatures I've been living in for the past month are certainly starting to wear on me. Back home in Ontario, it would get this cold for a few days each winter, but it would never last.
Here, I've been wearing full long underwear to bed through all of January, with no end in site. The cold slows you down, zaps your motivation to work, and fuels (for me at least) cravings for any and all baked goods. I'm exhibiting all of the behaviors of an animal entering hibernation. Though I take a multivitamin, I can also feel the impacts of limited sun exposure. I doubt I'm deficient in Vitamin D, but the cheery neural pathways in my brain that are stimulated by sunlight haven't been firing in a while.
A taste of North Dakota's iconic landscape.
Anyway, I could complain about the dead of winter for ages, but the weather wouldn't change. It does make organizing particularly challenging though, because people's time becomes that much more restricted. Driving anywhere takes longer, houses experience water problems and heat problems, and the cold immobilizes many people, keeping them huddled under blankets in front of the TV.
It's about the people. . .
With that said, my campaign isn't going as well as it could, and I think that's as much my fault as anything else. I've been having issues staying motivated. Partly it's the weather, and partly it's loneliness. My volunteers are wonderful, but I must admit that it's tough working alone and lacking really good friends and family to talk with face to face. The campaign itself also presents some problems. While I think it has the right goals and strategy, the its urgency is hard to pinpoint and develop, as the bill we're working on will not be introduced until May. It's my job to develop a community group that will continue this work after I leave, and that is what I have to become more invested in doing. I tend to be very self-reliant, but here, as with all classic organizing, it is my job to get behind others and push.
Some of the great community members I've brought together so far; my job is to keep developing them as leaders.
Skiing with Berkeley friends at Heavenly with Lake Tahoe in the background.
I head to San Francisco for training in a week and a half, and so I've just got to perk up a bit until then. I'll likely be heading to Lake Tahoe again for the President's Day long weekend. My brief trip two weeks ago was fantastic; my ski mates challenged me more than ever before, and I conquered some pretty gnarly black and double black diamonds because of it. I have a growing love for the mountains, and foresee myself living near the Rockies at some point in the not-so-distant future.
North Dakota - I love your people - but the barren landscape is hard to handle for a girl from the land of lakes, ancient rocky shores and thick forests. I'm glad to have lived here, but I doubt I'll ever call the prairies home.
I hope that winter is being a bit kinder to those of you at home. We'll have to see what Wiarton Willy says tomorrow!
