My First Winter

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Here in the Bahamas, we don't get snow like the northern countries. Instead we only get, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and storms. Fortunately I don't have to shovel the driveway or the side walk every time it snows. Less work for me, I guess.

Where are my manners! My name is Astrid. I am sixteen years old and I am the oldest of four children. I have two younger brothers and one sister. Both of my parents are wildlife conservation ecologist, and what they do is conserve the wildlife and the inhabitants that live there.

Because of my parents jobs, we travel all over the world. I have never seen snow in my life. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. A lot of people complain about the cold, saying it's bitter and has no mercy. Other people say that's how they get into the holiday spirit, sledding down hills with their friends and bundling up in winter gear. Next week, I am going to the Americas to live in Seattle where my parents are going to be in charge of making the forest grow. I'll finally be able to find my own opinion on the snow and the cold. The bad thing is is that I'll have to go clothes shopping because there's no way I'm stepping into Seattle in a tank top and shorts. I may live in the Bahamas, but I'm not stupid.

You might be wondering where in the world I have been. How can a person avoid snow for sixteen years? Well, I have been to Africa, the Amazons, and some countries in South America. We, my siblings and I, have never been to a place with a cold climate. Before all of us were born, my parents traveled everywhere, cold or hot, they have seen more difference in the weather than I have. It's all because of their job though. They mostly help conserve national forests, or forests that have been through forest fires, droughts, trees being cut, and animal population. Two weeks before winter break, my gave the news that we are moving. Again. I asked her were are we moving to now. And she responded with "America". I was shocked. We were finally going to America for the first time!

I asked her what state we are moving to. She said with a grin, "Seattle, Washington." I asked her if it was on the city proper and she said that we are living at the outskirts of Seattle. Then she told me to go pack my things because we are leaving in two weeks and we have a lot of moving to do.

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Two weeks had past quickly then I expected. During that time, I was cleaning my room for the last time, seeing my friends for the last time, and helping my brothers and sister pack. Two days before moving, we shipped all of our things to Seattle and they are to arrive in three days.

Right now, we are staying at my aunts' house while we wait until my parents are done talking to the conservationists here in the Bahamas.

Before bed the next night of our last day here at the Bahamas, I told a fairy tale to my brothers and sister. It was about how it should feel to live in a cold place during winter and hot during summer. How it snowed all the time in Washington State and how it rained all spring. And how it was always looked like some put a gray blanket over the sky and on special days, the sun would penetrate the clouds.

One of my brothers asked me if it was going to snow soon in Washington. I said that it might. And I didn't want to disappoint him, so I googled it up. It said that it was going to snow in four days time. Guess when we arrive, we are going to shovel the driveway for the first time.

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The next morning, we drove to the airport at around dawn. It was a one hour drive to and fro and so I took the liberty to gaze out the window and see for the last time the beauty of the Bahamas. At dawn, the rain forest looked alien. So many shadows lined the trees, the ground looked so dark that it was hard to see what was hiding in there, looking at you.

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Washington State

We were thirty minutes from touching down. The windows where pulled down, so we couldn't see anything from here. Guess I have to wait to see how Washington State looks like.

We finally got out of the plane after four hours of flight. Me and my family were exhausted. We were one hour away from home. There were windows lined up and down the terminal, and I was too exhausted to look out the window. I was getting my suitcase when I noticed something white out the windows.

I went to go see what it was and it was just a white pile of something wet on the ground and side walk. Is this snow? It just looks like a pile of white cloth that has been run over a few times then dumped on water and left out here. Shrugging, I went to the taxi where my parents were waiting for me.

Thirty minutes from our house, we were finally out of the city. I looked out the window to see white stuff coming out of the sky. I asked my mom what it was. She said that it was snow falling from the sky.

I was amazed on what I saw. I nudged my sister who was sitting next to me in the cab and pointed to the snow that was falling from the sky.

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We finally arrived at our house by noon. When the taxi finally pulled over, I got out as quickly as I could and looked into the gray sky. The small flakes fell into my heated face. Smiling, I dashed into the awaiting mounds of snow.