- Alex Wester

Strange Encounters

       As I toured the University of Alaska Fairbanks museum, the last thing on my mind was looking for someone to interview.  Along came Doug Murch who insisted I speak to a group of students who were part of a people to people trip.  As I met the three teens, James, Marla, and Delaney, I realized that I had found the perfect people to interview.  These three were experiencing the pretty much same journey through Alaska that I was, and it was a treat to hear their opinions about their trip so far.
         James, Marla, and Delaney were, as mentioned, part of a people to people trip to Alaska.  People to People is a program that selects teenage students to visit various parts of the world and get to know the environment and culture of that location.  This particular group of students included teens from Maryland, Georgia, and Florida.  The students met and flew to Alaska with the teens from their state.  In Anchorage, the three groups met and began their Alaskan journey.
         The students began their journey in Anchorage; they then traveled to Fairbanks where I met them.  After Fairbanks they plan to travel to Denali National Park, more time in Anchorage, and a visit to Seward.  Along the trip the students have engaged in extensive hiking trips, steamboat tours, museum visits, and sightseeing.  One other thing the teens enjoy are debates. The students recently did a debate on the Alaskan oil pipeline.  Marla explains, “We are randomly chosen a side which we fight for.  We may be the President or a conservationist, or an oil driller.” James then continued “We debate the economical and environmental aspects of the pipeline.”  The teens debate whether they should keep the pipeline or not and why.
         Throughout the trip, the teens say they most enjoyed hiking.  They hiked extensive trails up mountains in the Fairbanks area.  The teens also said that they have been enjoying the trip very much so far.  “We love it up here!” Delaney enthusiastically claims. The teens spend their evenings in dorm room arrangements or hotels.  So, as I get ready to go to bed in my tent at Grizzly Bear Campground in Denali, where temperatures drop to below 40 degrees at night, I understand that though their trip visits a lot of the same places, we are going through completely different experiences.