After a year, I had to leave for 60 days, part of their rules. I went home, did some more work for Dad's company, and then returned to the frozen south. Most people would give the place a try for the experience, and we'd never see them again. For me the forced solitude, isolation, and shortage of 'new' people to meet was like heaven. During winter the place was mostly evacuated, and I was depended upon as a jack-of-all-trades, which I didn't mind.

With nothing to do with my spare time, I studied, worked out, and spent my off hours learning some weird stuff, from whoever was willing to teach...