- Jan 6, 2016
- 3 min read

The Flashing Dancing Polar Lights

I headed to Vancouver on March to visit my grandmother. When searching some local information, I happened to find that it was at the polar light period in Canada so I decided to try my luck and go directly to Yellowknife in the northern part before heading to Vancouver. I asked two friends of mine living in New York and the three of us began our journey to Yellowknife. In order to find the polar lights, the only way is to get off every night. Even the local weather reports said the weather was bad, but you still need to get off since no one can predict the cloudy sky would turn translucent and clear in the next minute. We stayed in Yellowknife for five days and tried out luck every day. In the first two days, the polar lights were weak, plus the heavy clouds, so we could barely see anything. The lights at the temperature of 34ºC below zero were mixed with pain and wonderful taste. To endure the stingy cold wind in the winter is without a doubt painstaking and yet the wonderful part lied in the process of expectation. I think my friends in the pursuit of polar lights felt the same way. After several nights of waiting, the polar light finally emerged before my eyes at the dawn of the third day. In my first reaction I felt I was totally lost. The icy and snowy environment and the dark woods reinforced the magic of the lights and numbed my reaction and even frightened me a bit. After my eyes adjusted to the lights, I could finally recognize what was in front of me. It was then I started to crow with delight. At first the surroundings were immersed with rainbow lights and then the colorful lights emitted through the darkness. Finally the dispersing lights came over me and shrouded the whole earth. The view was magnificent and the horizon was just beautiful. I surely appreciated the whole visual experience.

三月前往溫哥華探望我的嫲嫲，在網上搜尋當地資料，發現那段時候正值加拿大的極光期，於是我決定先到北邊的黃刀鎮碰碰運氣，才再回去溫哥華。找了兩個住在紐約的朋友，就出發前往黃刀。

追逐極光，你唯一能做的就是每晚堅持出發，就算當地的天氣預報説當晚天氣不佳，也要出發，因為真的沒有誰能說現在烏雲密佈的天空，下一刻會否突然變得通透。

在黃刀留了五天，我們每一天都走了出去碰運氣，最初兩天的極光較為弱，又碰上厚雲，因此並沒有怎樣看到。在這個氣溫只有-34ºC的黑夜，靜靜等待光線是非常辛苦，卻又是一種很奇妙的體驗。嚴寒中忍受刺骨寒風無疑是辛苦，奇妙卻在於期待看到她的過程。我想所有追逐極光的朋友都會身同感受。

靜待了數晚，在旅途第三天的凌晨，她終於出現在我眼前，當我看到極光時的第一個感覺居然是不知所措。冰天雪地，加上周邊的漆黑林木，都令突然出現在眼前的光線變得太神奇，不知如何反應，甚至有點恐懼。待眼睛適應了好一陣子，認知眼前所見的是什麼，那刻才真正的歡呼雀躍起來。開始時，先是四周漸起的虹光，慢慢是五光十色的光線貫穿黑夜，然後是散開來的光線朝自己蓋過來，籠罩整個大地, 美不勝收。我們所在的星球，美得太超乎想像, 感激我能看到這一切。