So, as many of you know, I am officially in Alaska (and have been for about a week now). I flew into Anchorage on the 25th, and then went to my village, Atmautluak (At-Mouth-Luck), on the 30th. Currently I'm sitting in a dorm in Bethel because I've got a New Teacher Orientation going on for the next 2-3 days. I'm on Alaskan Time, which is 4 hours behind Eastern Time, which it puts it at 7:50pm right......now. But anyways, that's the uninteresting stuff, I suppose. Unfortunately, this first post is going to contain mostly uninteresting stuff (how's that for a hook?).
Anchorage was very nice. I had good weather, and got see some friends (Melissa "Lakes", and Tyler "Cobby"). Didn't get a chance to see Dave Murdoch, mainly because I was dumb and lazy, maybe next time...if I get my crap together. I didn't do a whole lot of exciting stuff in Anchorage, it mostly errands and business. I got a new phone, a hunting license, an Alaska state driver's license, started up my 403(b) (I have an investment portfolio now - very impressive, I know), and bought a bunch of food for life in the village (right now that consists of granola bars, ramen noodles, condensed soup, oatmeal, and some canned corn), most of which will be flown to me sometime in the near (I hope) future. When that comes I'll have a little more variety in my pantry.
It wasn't all business and what-not, however. I did a lot of biking (mostly because Melissa needed her car for work), went on a couple of hikes (one in Chugiak at Ptarmigan Valley, one to the top of Flattop in Anchorage), pictures of which I'll toss up here (a few) and Facebook a little later, drank some beer (the last until around Christmas, awww......), and went to my favorite Anchorage establishment, The Bear's Tooth - a Theater Pub (movie + food + bar = awesome). I also went to a BBQ where I was able to talk hockey for a few hours with a fellow ice lover (sadly, he supports the Flyers). Finally, Saturday rolled around and flew out to my village.
This is where it gets a little more interesting, I suppose. My flight to Bethel was pretty standard. Flew on a major airline, on a big jet (737, I believe), no big deal. However, my flight to Atmau, was a little different. I hauled my 4 bags (2 backpacking backpacks, a normal book bag, and a gun case) down the street to the Yute Air building, where not only did my bags have to be weighed, but I had to stand on the scale as well. That was a first. Then I hopped on a little 4-seater plane (single engine, I assume). This was also a first. The flight to my village was took about 15 min and was quite nice. We were quite close to the ground, which was nice, and I got to really see what the topography is like firsthand (the flight into Bethel was quite foggy, so I couldn't see much). Google Earth, shows the terrain pretty accurately. LOTS of water. Water in ponds, water in rivers, and water pretty much everywhere in between. What really surprised me about the flight, however, was the landing. The airstrip in Atmau isn't paved. This possibility never struck me before. Not until I looked down saw what looked like gravel on the runway did I ever consider such a thing. It really wasn't a big deal, it just surprised me.
When I landed, Tim (my principal's husband) picked me up on his 4-wheeler. We tossed my bags on the smaller trailer he was towing, I hopped on the back, and away we went - down very muddy, uneven roads, then across boardwalks - until we reached my new home. My new home is very interesting, but I quite like it. It doesn't look like much, but it certainly has character...and storage. I've got 2 full sized freezer, plus a refrigerator/freezer combo. About 15 cupboards/drawers in every room, several dressers, a few bookshelves, an entire room of floor-to-ceiling shelves, and then a breezeway with about 6 shelving units. It's quite nice.
Aside from superior storage facilities, it kind of a homely looking place, to be completely honest. The paints, white-ish/yellow-ish/cream-ish color. Everything is quite obviously 30+ years old (it's very reminiscent of the first "Place" for those of you who understand that reference). The ground actually got so soggy this summer, that the front corner of my house sank into muck half a foot so. It obviously needed to be re-leveled, but it jacked up my front door, so the school maintenance people had to kick it in. They say that I'll be getting a new lock soon.
The house itself is on "stilts." The "stilts" are really just a bunch of stuff that has been stacked up, and then house has been placed on top of that stack. I can't help feeling as though I could have a sturdier foundation. The walkway up to my house is a boardwalk. Most of the boardwalk is in good shape, but there are a few "soft spots." I suppose when it rains as much as it does (it drizzles all day, every day from what I've seen) that's bound to happen.
I really like my bathroom, though. It really isn't much to look at, but it has one awesome feature (beyond the aforementioned myriad drawers and cupboards): My toilet is on an elevated platform about 2 ft off the ground. There are 2 steps leading up to it, and I certainly do feel very impressive when sitting on my throne (it was pretty moldy in the bowl, at first, but oh well...). The bathtub was pretty sketchy though. Most bathtubs that I have seen come in white. This one was that color, I'm sure, at one point in it's life. However, water with an apparent 50% iron content had turned this particular tub to a rich, rust color. An hour of elbow grease, metal scrubbie, and some comet toned it down to more of a dull rust, but it was quite vibrant at first. All of it's...uniqueness....aside, however, I really do like my new home.
The village is really neat, too. You certainly would never mistake it for Beverly Hills, or call it beautiful, or really even ever go there, but it has a really cool atmosphere. As I said, it rains always, and there's unlimited water around (but don't drink it). The ground, at any given place, has a consistency somewhere between a mud puddle and a bog. The buildings are more like shacks than anything else, you get around on boardwalks of varying structural integrity, and I have a large pond of raw sewage 50 ft beyond my back door (fenced off, topped with barbed-wire, and posted, of course). But I feel like a pioneer. It feels like the edge of civilization. It has the feel of a temporary settlement, like I'm a part of something fleeting. A mining town, or railroad town is what comes most to mind. It really adds to this sense of adventure, and I like that.
I guess that's about it for right now. Like I said, over the next few days I'll put up some pictures both here and on facebook, disseminate some other general information, and maybe write some more...we'll see. I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope your lives are enriched at least a little bit through my attempts to keep you all updated on this experience and to describe what it's like up here. So, take care down in the Lower 48 (as I can now refer to the contiguous US), and God Bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment