We come in Peace!

It’s been a couple of good days here in Gambell, Alaska. Warmth is now reaching its way up onto this tiny island, and I’m hoping it’s going to make its home here for a while. Well, at least until I leave tomorrow! It’s been very clear, which is making the view of Russia better and better each day. Yesterday was the clearest it has ever been. It was also a great day for whale watching. We saw over 15 humpback whales passing by the island. Luckily, whale hunting season has passed, and we were able to watch them without the distraction of the natives on their boats. The whales were absolutely amazing, and you could hear them even before you spotted them. The noise they made from their blowholes made it sound like some alien language, to which I jokingly said, “We come in peace.” And of course, someone was videotaping around me, and they got it on video. It was pretty funny to watch though. We were quickly entertained by throwing rocks to this small iceberg in hopes that if we put enough on it that it would sink. Well… it didn’t work, but we did get a new game started :)

Most of the teachers have left the island already. I think there is only 2 more left besides my sister and her friend, Ashley. But because we have to mail all our stuff back to the lower 48 and we have to check out like a day before, we have to get rid of a lot of food and stuff we need. So we have been eating some strange stuff lately. Ok, well, it’s not strange food; it is just strange combinations of foods. As of now I have not tried any of the local food, such as whale, walrus, and polar bear. I guess the whale my sister got wasn’t a good “batch” and they had to throw some of it out. So it looks like I will not be trying any of that.

Right now we are just finishing packing and laying around because there isn’t much for us to do when you don’t have anything in your apartment, and you’ve explored the island multiple times already. Less than 24 hours until I will be on a plane headed to Nome, and headed to Anchorage! Let the adventures restart!!

P.S. I just figured out that I can upload my pictures using my memory card on my computer, so pictures will be added hopefully sometime this week!

The Birds are Singing

It's a warm and sunny day here on the island. And when I say warm, I mean that a light jacket is just perfect. I can not believe how quickly the weather changed here! Yesterday I was completely freezing with my fluffy jacket on... and now I really don't need anything. It's so warm, the birds are singing outside!

School is now out for summer here, and more kids seemed to show up after school was out, than when school was in session. The just walked right on through the windows... craziness. I spent 4 hours playing monopoly on my iPhone today. It was INTENSE! I am still completely amazed that I played it for that long. I went from having everything I owned (which was over half the board) mortgaged and only$1500 in my account (whilst my opponent, the computer, had at least $14K) to winning the whole darn thing! I came from behind and in the end, I won with over $40K in my bank account. Now that was some dedication.

I had to break into my sister's apartment again. Not because we locked ourselves out, we just didn't have the key. I was only with one of my sister's friends on the island and we didn't want to wait 20 minutes for anyone to show up. So we went through the window, and no, this time I did not need a Walrus rib to pry open the window. The only downfall was Ashley not getting proper footing before I used her leg as a brace to get through the window, and she went falling into the snowdrift. Another good moment we should have had a video of. Anyways, only 2 more full days left on the island, then I'm off to Anchorage. I am sooo excited for that. Camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, shopping!!! What's not to like?!

That's a coma I just poured into my hand...

Hooray for another day of survival on the island! I've got some stuff to catch you up on. I forgot to mention my hilarious experience with a snowdrift. While going to the beach, in which I did get to touch the Bering Sea water, I got an unexpected surprise. Before I knew it... whoosh! I was 4 feet down in a snowdrift. Let's just say, it was video worthy, cuz not only was it hilarious to watch, it was hilarious to hear. It was pretty awesome, and definitely made my night.

So the next day (which was yesterday), was just another day at the school. My sister had her eye appt. from some guys that flew in from Anchorage. We walked home shortly after. Only to find out that a door was locked that we didn't have a key to. Which is completely stupid, why put up a door with a lock on it if you don't have a key?! We had the idea of using an ax to break down the door once and for all, until I realized that the windows are never locked and one doesn't even have a screen in place. (Truthfully, I had that plan in my head all week, especially since my sis doesn't have keys to this apartment, and we really needed to get in at some point). So we go over to the window, and the drift + my height = perfect height to get to the window. I was able to budge up the window with my hands just enough for it to open, but not enough to open it all the way. So Mary Ellen, my sister's roomate, walked up and handed me a Walrus rib to pry open the window... she didn't even think twice about handing it to me... I however was like... ok.... So I was able to pry open the window and climbed right on through, I gained a new nickname to show for it, I am now a gazelle. :)

The next day while we were off to school, I was fortunate enough to get a ride on a Honda. That lasted aobut 2 minutes, til I kind of slid off... my sister said I fell. I just however lost my grasp on the bar because I was holding an iron in a box and just kinda slid right off (landing on my feet of course). After I wasn't holding the iron anymore I was perfectly fine. Ashley's (my sisters friend) headphones had a different fate. We aren't quite sure how, but they ended up completely destroyed with wires hanging out and ear pieces missing. It's definitely a mystery. Today was field day at my sisters school, I was able to help "run" the games (meaning I just set up the courses). It went really well, and I think the kindergardeners are absolutely adorable! We were lucky enough to get a Honda ride back with one of the students from the school, which made it a quick trip back to the apartment. We had breakfast for dinner... and that's basically it.

I jokes :)

Yet another day here on the island. I guess it's time to update. It was another clear day yesterday, clear enough that Russia was very visible, even a lot of the teachers that have been here all year said it was probably the most clear they have ever seen! Looks like i've been completely lucky this past week to be able to see Russia and see a complete Arctic white-out. I didn't really do much yesterday. My sister's class was mostly watching movies and were painting. There topic was pointillism, well, that was more than they could apparently handle. Before we knew it, some kids had black "gloves" on... The lunch here was especially disgusting. It definitely lived up to the old crappy elementary school lunch expectation. It was some sort of fish stick/nugget thing of sorts... that paired with the powdered mild (which by the way, is absolutely DISGUSTING!) just about did it for me. When I got back to my sisters apartment, it was spaghetti and rice for me. It pretty much made my day.

Of course, that was after we were almost ran over by the Hondas (their 4 wheelers). I must say, no matter where you are living, whether it be on an island or in huge cities, they have crappy and rude drivers everywhere. They just expect you to get out of the way while they are driving. HELLO!!! you are on a 4 wheeler, you can drive ANYWHERE! why must we move out of the way when we are the ones who are walking... just plain rude.

A new game I've been addicted to now, is Monopoly... yes, Monopoly. I am still not sure why I am getting so addicted to these old school games. Maybe because they seem much cooler on my iPhone... again, I really don't know.

Why yes, I'm addicted to Battleship!

It's been another day here in the ever so sunny village named Gambell. My sis took the day off from work so we could just relax and explore the village a little bit. We went to one of the beaches and saw some of the natives take off in their boats. They were going walrus hunting today. I know they at least caught one, I was unfortunate enough to see someone walking around with the head of one... lets just say it was pretty darn disgusting. We then headed to the "blue store" (because they building is blue) and just looked around. I found $10 pickles! I don't know about you, but that is quite ridiculous. Even the detergent peaked up to $30. INSANITY! Afterwards, we headed to North Beach, I was unaware how long the walk would take. It was quite a ways away from the other beach. Here we just took some pictures and walked around. We even saw some of Russia again. But it was mostly cloudy on the horizon so we didn't see much. However, Gambell was relatively clear and it was getting pretty warm, at least in the mid to late 30s. So much so, the snow was turning to slush. We came back to the apartment and had some dinner and played some games. I am now addicted to online Battleship. I am not sure why, but I have a talent for it... I am not sure when my next post will be. The next few days I will be with my sis helping out in her classroom. I've already seen most of the island, so there isn't much left to explore. Just 1 week left here, then off to Anchorage.

Random thoughts of the day;

$10 for a jar of pickles is craziness.

I have noticed by the footprints in the snow that the Yupik children walk one foot in front of the other, while we (non Yupiks) do not, our footprints are diagonal from each other.

Sandhill Crane

It's been another day here in Gambell, although you do tend to lose a sense of time when you don't see the sun set or rise at all. It is close to being daylight for 24 hours. I'm suprised that I am actually sleeping through the night. Although, I have been waking up thinking it is about noon and I slept in really late, when it is only like 9 in the morning. I'm not sure if that is really bad jet lag, or my sense of time is just really that off....

Today I went with my sis to the school to help her pack up her classroom and get her stuff ready to ship back to Oklahoma. Not really exciting... After we decided to walk towards the lake to see a part of Gambell I hadn't seen yet. We walked for a little while around the mountain, where I learned the reason why the planes don't fly when they can't see the top of the mountain. Apparently, in the 70's or 80's a plane crashed at the top, where only 2 teachers survived.... that is definitely not something they put in your teacher travel guide. I don't understand why you would fly over that one mountain, especially on a day you can't see it, with a plane that doesn't fly too far off the ground. Not smart. We kept walking and finally stopped about half a mile from the school. I kept thinking, "Where is this lake?" Suprise!!! I was practically standing on it. It was still iced over from winter. We continued walking and passed the shed they call an airport. And a TON of whale, walrus and seal bones along the way. I guess you can't walk anywhere without running into some type of animal remains. The reason you don't notice it, it's probably still covered by the huge snowdrifts around. We then went to the beach, the same beach I went to the day before during the white-out blizzard. And I must say, it looked completely different. The weather was just starting to clear up when we got there, and guess what?! I saw RUSSIA!!! How awesome is that? It wasn't clear enough for it to show in pictures, but I definitely did see it and that is ok with me. We then went to dinner at a neighbors house, we had spaghetti and Matilda chocolate cake. And by that I mean, it looked EXACTLY like the cake in the movie Matilda that the boy was forced to eat by the Trunchbull. It wasn't quite that big, but the cake was almost 3 layers. Afterwards, we played more Arctic Boccie Ball, and then called it a day. Not much entertainment, but the sightseeing was good enough.

If you are wondering about my title of this post. That is my Yupik name I was given by my sister's class. I am not sure how to write it in Yupik, but I shall find out soon!

I am not a "freeper"

Well, I've spent my first 2 days in Gambell. And I must say, it is crazy cold!! Yesterday I met a lot of the natives while helping my sister out with her school day. We played Mafia (which is a game I've played a few times with my sorority sisters). Instead of it being called Mafia, we named it Twilight because apparently her kids love that movie. What should have been a fun game, turned bad quickly. Not many of the kids were taking it seriously or were really actually trying at all. About half way through the day the kids were turning into little devils. The worst group of kids I have met in my life. While yes, some were actually kind and would do their work, the others would just slack off. How they made it to 5/6 grade is beyond me. They use words like "goodly" instead of better. My favorite is them calling Walmart bags "thank you bags". I guess it is some language translation that is off from what it should be... The end of the day couldnt come fast enough. At 2 every Friday they have Yupik dancing, (their culture). They even let people join in on the dances, which means I was definitely down there to try it. Apparently my sister has been Yupik in a past life, because everyone loves her Yupik dancing. I, however, was not blessed with this type of gene, and was pretty much terrible at it. But at least I tried!

Today, I woke up at 9 am, thinking it was at least 11. WRONG! I guess the jet lag is keeping with me for a little while. We were going to head to the school today to get some work done (yes, school on a Saturday). Only because the school has way better internet than her apartment. Well, we waited to long, and before we knew it, it was a white-out blizzard and you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. We just layed around for a few hours, not really doing much besides playing board games and just packing up some stuff in the apartment. About 4, my sis and I decided to adventure out into the blizzard and walk to the beach. So I put on my heavy winter gear, and by "mine" I mean my sis' gear and we headed out. It wasn't too cold, the temperature was probably in the teens. But the wind was killer. It blew me all the way to the beach. While there we saw this figure coming from somewhere in the blizzard. It was my sis' roomate of all people just wandering around. We took a few pictures and headed back because it was getting a little worse. It was really hard for me to get back, I guess I'm too light here, and the went kept pushing me 2 steps back for every step I took. I eventually made it. :) Then we again, just hung out in the apartment. Funny thing, my sisters wool socks are almost completely warn through at the soles. They look like little faces at the end, so we took some pictures. I named her right one Artemis and her left one Jean-Paul... yes, we are just that bored. We eventually got so bored, we decided to go outside and play Bocci Ball. Let's just say, it was the most epic Bocci Ball game EVER!

So far I have not had any whale, or seal, or anything that screams "Alaska" so far. I'm not quite sure when I will be trying this food, but I have a feeling it is not too far in the future.

Random thought of the day: Why do they put holes in the middle of crackers??

It smells like Whale...Everywhere.

After a really really long day of traveling (which spanned over 2 days) I finally made it to Gambell. The bush plane ride was absolutely awesome! While in the plane, it was extremely foggy, so I didn't get to see much while I was flying. It cleared up a little bit closer to the island. You know the scene in Star Wars where Obi Wan goes to the water planet, when he is going to land, he looks down at the water below, that is what it reminded me of (minus the heavy waves that were in the movie). When we landed I wanted to ride again, it felt so much like a roller coaster. I thought we were gonna spin out at first once we had landed, but it was much smoother than I thought. They unloaded the 6 passenger plane and I had finally set foot on Gambell, right next to the blue shed they call an airport. It might as well be a shed, you aren't allowed in it. It was absolutely freezing, and I didn't see a colored blob I was familiar with (referencing my sis in a huge coat). That's because she was still walking here, with a sled that was flying all over the place in the wind.

The walk back wasn't bad at all. I placed my suitcase on the sled, which made it sooo much easier to take back to the apartment. I found it strange at how many people keep their windows open because they are "hot". Hello!!! It's 30 degrees, by no means is that considered hot! My sister was gracious enough to keep the window closed last night so I wouldn't freeze, because I was freezing. I slept in a hoodie, with a down comforter over me, and my fleece jacket on top of me as well. Although I don't think me being cold would have kept me awake, cuz I was out once my head hit the pillow. I was sooo tired.

My dinner was not what I was told it was going to be. A facebook post my sister put up said I would be eating whale.... I had chicken and rice and stir fry. But I did touch a whale though! They had some frozen that they weren't going to eat (cuz apparently they don't like the blubber and skin). So I don't know what the blubber actually felt like, since it was frozen solid, but I got to touch a whale, so it doesn't matter.

Right now I am sitting in my sister's classroom while she teaches. Class starts at 9:20 here. Wish I had that kind of start in elementary school, even high school I wouldn't mind. I felt like a puffy penguin while walking to school today. I was wearing snow boots, snow pants, and 3 jackets.... oh and a hat, scarf and gloves... Picture's of my outfit will be posted in a few weeks. I, being smart, brought my comp (it was a last minute decision) but didn't think about bringing my computer cord to hook up to the computer.... So the pictures on my camera shall have to wait for a while. Well, that is all for now. I shall post again tomorrow of my adventures I will be having today.

Thought of the day: It smells like whale....everywhere.

Random Thoughts on the Plane

1. Earth Science really sucks, I can't look at any rock formation without thinking if it is concordant, or even what type of rock it is.

2. My split ends have split ends... it's time for a haircut.

3. I like how a plane can get us to a destination faster than by car. But they really need to look into teleportation.

4. It would be awesome to have a touch screen where you can order your drinks so they won't have to go back and forth with the cart.

5. $6 burgers are ridiculous.

6. Why are crops formed into circle shapes.?. they look pretty cool.

7. Some people really need to learn manners.

8. Telling a 2 yr old to be quiet, only makes them scream louder...

the EPIC Journey to the Land of the Midnight Sun

Day 1- Airport1- OKC - 2:23 pm (CST)

Well, I've been sitting here for 15 minutes now, and I'm already wishing I was at my destination. The real fun is in the journey, right? Well right now I am sitting watching the airplanes take off in front of me, and hoping this weather gets better. It is supposed to storm not only here in OKC, but in Dallas as well, which isn't good for travel plans. Once I get to Alaska Airlines I should be fine, I've got my flight insurance to back me up. I feel kinda strange walking around the airport with a fluffy winter coat. The looks should be even better when I am in Dallas and it's almost 90 degrees. Airports are some of the best places to listen in on people's conversations. This one lady has been asking if the time is going to change between here and Dallas constantly. She obviously doesn't get out much.... I also met an Alpha Xi alumnae. I didn't get her name and we didn't get to say much, because we were being rushed to get on board. But I did learn that she went to UCO and graduated in 2008. And that's all I got.


Day 1- Airport 2- Dallas/Ft. Worth- 6:39 pm (CST)

Tram moving overhead+being in boarding tunnel=the scariest noise and motion EVER!!!

Well, I'm off to Seattle now. Not really much to report thats interesting. I did however get my ticket problem all figured out. OKC printed some weird seat numbers on my tickets that didn't correspond to anything I printed off or bought. So I got the first two Alaska Airline flights reprinted, having to wait for my last one since it was too far away from the departure time. Now I'm just hoping my luggage makes it all the way to Nome, I don't like how it has to change airlines, but thats the way it is. If it doesn't then I won't be seeing my luggage for a while. It's a hassle just to get it in roughly the same area, but Alaska?! Especially and island of Alaska. Even worse, I can't just go to the nearest Walmart either. I am, however, proud to report that no airplane was on fire on the ground this time. The last time I was here, there was fire coming out of an engine that had firemen scrambling to get it under control. I am pretty sure no one was on the plane at the time, but it was pretty scary to see.... Hm, I guess thats it for now. I'm off!!!


Day 1- Airport 3- Seattle- 9:06 pm (PST)

So right about now I'm super hungry. Paying $6 for only a burger on the plane is a little ridiculous. All these darn places are closed by 9 pm. and there is nothing simple like Burger King, or Taco Bell. What does a person have to do to get a darn McDonald's around here?! On the plane I kept getting annoyed by the guy sitting behind me who kept kicking my feet (which is hard to do on airplanes), and he kept using my chair as leverage to move as well.... ahhhh!!! But anyways, this is my first time in Seattle, it's actually my first time in Washington. We passed over the Rockies and I assume the Cascades and I got some pretty cool pictures. There was still quite a bit of snow on them which made them b-e-a-utiful to look at from the sky! All throughtout the flight the captain kept giving us messages over the PA system thing. Well, out of the whole 3 1/2 hours flight, I heard 1 of 15 announcements he made. It was completely pointless for him to talk. He knew we couldn't hear him, so why continue to do it? I just don't understand.

First impression of Seattle, they have A LOT of trailor parks on the path the plane takes to the airport.


Day 2- Airport 4- Anchorage- 4:26 am (AK)

Ah my gosh, I'm such a tourist!

ALASKA!!!!!! I made it, finally! My flight went really well. To get to the plane I had to go down to the tarmac. I was awesome! I've always wanted to go to the ground level, and now I have. :) Hooray! My plane was 1/4 people and 3/4 cargo, it wasn't a big flight at all, but the plane was HUGE! Although, it could partially be because I've never been on ground level before.... Right now I'm sitting in the lobby, I got 45 minutes of sleep until I woke up to the Airport PA System. I'm not doing too bad right now actually. I did find a McDonald's though!!! Finally some food I recognize.. ha. On the flight here, I thought for a while I needed to cut off my leg or something because my RLS was unbearable!!! But I tried to focus on something else other than the shooting pain. About 2 minutes ago I decided to look out the window behind me (the one I fell asleep in front of on the chairs) and noticed these beautiful mountains, the sun had just risen enough to see them. So far Alaska is absolutely GORGEOUS!


Day 2- Airport 5- Kotzebue- 7:41 am {not pm, AM} (AK)

Only 1 1/2 plane rides to go! This place has a lot of snow and it's absolutely freezing, and I'm still on the plane... My observation is a lot of the people on the plane know each other, but I've seen this town, it's hard not to know everyone... I wish I had taken a picture, it is not like any other town I've seen. I must say though, it is pretty cool to be above the Arctic Circle!

Oh, if you're wondering about the not pm, am thing... I looked at my phone and it said 7:30. I seriously thought that it was 7:30 pm. It was then I realized I really needed some sleep!


Day 2- Airport 6- Nome- 12:52 pm (AK)

I made it to Nome! And so did my luggage! It seemed like a good morning, so I went straight over to the Frontier Airlines building (more like room) and checked in, only to find out that the small plane we saw take off moments after we landed, was the plane I wanted to be on. It wasn't my original flight, but I didn't want to be stuck with what I'm doing now... sitting in the middle of a 6 hour layover.. on facebook, texting many many ppl, on skype, typing up my blog while watching Hoot, (wasn't my first choice of a movie, but it was all I found). As of right now, I have 2 1/2 hours til my flight to Gambell, and I can't wait!!! I'm just ready to be done with all this traveling for a little while.
So the plane headquarters I guess you could say, is one big room... and can be kinda awkward at times. Like when those teenagers wearing handcuffs that are being sent to jail walked right on by... staring at me!!! Uhh... I'll be leaving now... but unfortunately it isn't that easy. The Nome Airport isn't exactly in Nome. It apparently is a 15 minute walk away. I dunno about you, but I'm not walking in 33 degree rainy weather.... so thats a no on that one. And this is where I am presently... sitting, typing this blog....

the Night before..

Well, it's the night before I leave. (Well, technically it's the day of since it's 1 am) Anyways, I can not wait until I am finally in Gambell. It seems like my sis and I just started counting down the days til my trip (we started at like 67 or so). And now I am down til just 1 day. I feel as if I am forgetting something, which sux, because that really does mean I am. Being brought up a military kid, we become expert packers. For me to forget something is quite a shock. I think the main reason it is bugging me, is because I just can't drop by the nearest Walmart and buy it. They don't even have cars or a fast food place there. Shoot, their "airport" is a storage building. But this shall be an adventure and I am ready to start my journey.

New Beginning

Well, as you can see my blog is completely stripped of any remnants of of my first year of college. While yes, that was the purpose of this blog, I quickly came to the realization that a blog is simply too hard to maintain when you're trying to build up your social status and keep up grades. So now it is a time for a new beginning.

In just a few days, I'll be headed on a plane for Alaska. More specifically, Gambell, Alaska. If you aren't familiar with my blog, I have mentioned it a few times before in various posts. For the past year, my sister has been living in the "bush." And I get the chance to visit her for a month in various places in Alaska. I'm so excited, I've been counting down the days since 57 (i'm at 10 now) :) This is going to be an experience I only get to have once. If you would like a little backstory of what I should be expecting, go to Megan's blog, I am a follower of it. She is bad at updating her blog as well. What can I say, it runs in the family. ha!