Just an update for all of you who think I'm still living in darkness: Daylight Savings Time has done wonderful things for Bethel. We're gaining minutes of sunlight every day, and are at approximately 12 hours of light a day. It's awesome- only March and it's already light until 9p. I can't wait for June when it's light until midnight again.
I was amazed how quickly the light came upon us. I had heard that the Yup'ik word for February meant "the month between the short and long days," and that couldn't be more true. In January, we were still making our way through loooong days of darkness - the residual from December. In February, between retreat, and being home and whatnot, I wasn't around long enough to notice a difference. All I could tell was that when I got back to Bethel on February 23, I was shocked by the fact that the sun was up when I left for work and when I returned. It was like a whole new world.
Well, you should see it now. I walk to work in the sunrise light, and it's not completely dark until 9p or later. All the darkness didn't seem so bad in the midst of it, but now that we have this much light, we're ecstatic. Makes doing more in the evenings a lot easier and more inviting. Next, we just need it to warm up! We're back down to windchills in the negative 20s, after a week of balmy mid-thirties. However, break-up (when everything unfreezes) officially happens in May, so we're imagining warmer weather will begin soon enough, to prepare the frozen Kuskokwim to break by early May. Stay tuned for updates.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Jya Know the Capital of Alaska? Juneau?
The weekend of Feb 6-9 was our second JVC Alaska retreat. We traveled to the Shrine of St. Therese in Juneau to meet with the rest of the Alaska communities, our area director, her husband, and Leah Nusse, who is head of alumni relations and recruitment for JVC:NW. The theme of our retreat was social justice, and we spent our time talking about justice issues in Alaska, comparing the issues each community deals with, and relating them back to Catholic Social Teaching. Considering I a) love retreats, b) love talking about justice issues, c) love seeing the other communities, and d) loved the place we were staying at, it was an overall wonderful weekend.
Our retreat was facilitated by Patrick Tam, who was JV in Emmonak, a village on the Yukon River in the 1980s. He has stayed in Emmonak (and/or the YK Delta) since then, working for the Archdiocese of Fairbanks, doing Catholic ministry and Development work. He facilitated an interesting and engaging retreat for us, and I have to say, it was pretty great to have a facilitator from the YK Delta because he could relate to me and my community specifically about the issues we see here in Bethel day in and day out. Because we usually spend most of each retreat trying to explain the differences between life in Bush Alaska and the Road System Alaska to the other communities, that was nice.
And, as always, it was lovely to see another part of Alaska. Juneau is beautiful...mountains, water, snow; it was like a fairytale land. And, we got to see all the weather has to offer Juneau - it was overcast when we got there, raining by nightfall, icy the next day, beautiful, sunny, and warm the next, and blizzarding by Sunday night. Apparently all of Alaska goes through the ridiculous weather changes that Bethel does.
Lastly, the best part about this retreat (and any retreat) is that my community got to spend some quality time together while also bonding with the other Alaska communities. It's always great to take time away to remind ourselves of what is really important during this year. And, it's especially cool to see how other people are experiencing living the same values we are in different places. My community has grown close with the other Alaska JVs and it's like a mini family reunion every couple of months when we all get together. Sadly, we only have one more retreat that we'll ALL be at, buuut we do have FolkFest in April where MOST of the Alaska JVs will be to spend some purely recreational time together. Who's got two thumbs and is excited? THIS KID.
And, some pictures of Juneau.
Alaska JVs following our bus on foot because it was too slippery to drive with all of us in it up the hill to leave the Shrine's grounds.
Alaska JVs pushing the bus around the corner when we got to the top of the hill.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Kuskokwim 300 - A YK Delta Holiday Weekend
I'm back in action! After a long hiatus, a whirlwind trip home, and many people yelling at me for not blogging enough, I'm back. I need to catch you all up on some cool things I did in the meantime, so we're going to travel back in time a little bit. First, to Kalskag, January 17, 2009.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, after a day and a half of being on weather standby, Jon and Erin and I hopped on a plane to Upper Kalskag, Alaska, a small village about 100 miles upriver from Bethel. Kalskag is a main checkpoint on the Kuskokwim 300 dog race trail. Each year, the JVs are race checkers for the "K300," as it is so affectionately called. It's a win-win deal: the K300 gets free labor out of us, and we get free trips to villages, adventure, and funtimes with dog mushers and the people of the delta. And, the race didn't start until noon on Sunday, which meant that mushers weren't into Kalskag until after 9pm, so we had a lot of time to explore.
Working the K300 was one of (if not the) most fun and exciting things I have done all year. As race checkers, we were responsible for noting what time each musher came into the checkpoint, counting their dogs, taking care of any dogs they decided to drop (you don't need to finish the race with as many dogs as you started with), and making sure they stayed the amount of time required by race rules. Because Kalskag is a main layover checkpoint on the race trail, we got a lot of face time with the mushers and got to be right in the craziness that is completing a 300 mile dogsled race. And, because the K300 trail goes from Bethel to Aniak and BACK AGAIN we got to see everyone twice in a 24-36 hour period. Lucky us!
The atmosphere at the checkpoint was a ton of fun. Mushers coming in at all hours of the night, one after another, very hectic. Families, dogs, race officials all hanging out - K300 is like a holiday weekend in the Delta. We met lots of Kalskag-ians, including many, many a cute little kid. I played some rousing games of Go Fish while waiting for the mushers. We had a lovely woman named Loreen cooking looots of native food for us all weekend - I ate toons of frybread, agutaq (Eskimo ice cream), moose stew, etc. I even tried moose intestine! (Not bad.) It was awesome.
However, the most fun thing about it was my actual responsibilty as a race checker. Despite getting almost no sleep for the weekend, lots of confusion, and having mooost of my clothes smell like dog, it was incredibly fun and invigorating to be a race checker. We felt like we were right in the thick of it, seeing the mushers in, adrenaline pumping, calling times into headquarters, etc. And, we got to see how not only the community of Kalskag, but the whole YK Delta came together for this race. It really is something huge out here, and a real source of pride. People from all over the Delta were in Bethel for the race start, and everyone in every village along the race trail was excited about the race, keeping close tabs on who was in the lead, etc. And, we're proud to report that local mushers did incredibly well this year, with three of the top ten finishers being from the YK Delta. Because the Delta is not known for mushing in the way that other parts of Alaska are, this is a huge achievement.
Flying back to Bethel and going to the closing banquet on Tuesday evening made me realize just how much this event meant to the people of the Delta, that it was much more than just a dogsled race. The K300 is something that brings attention to Bethel, and puts it on the radar of the rest of the world, in some small way. This is huge for the people of the Delta, and it felt great to be a part of it. I realized that I was just as excited as everyone else there because I was proud, too. Bethel has become a home for me this year, and I was proud to share in the excitement with everyone. For one of the first times this year, I felt like I was part of something "big." So, I understand why the K300 is the deal it is. It's pride.
Lastly, I have a story from Kalskag that is probably one of the oddest/funniest things that has ever happened to me. I can't do it justice without telling it in person, but if you remember, next time you see me, ask me about my experience walking 33 dropped sled dogs a mile and a half.
And of course, some pictures. (Of course, I don't have any of the dog teams. Sorry. I was actually doing stuff when they were around.)
View of Bethel from the plane. Pretty legit, huh?
View of the Kuskokwim at sunrise (circa de 10:30a) from the top of the mountain we hiked up in Kalskag.
Playing Go Fish with the ladies of the Kalskag. Stephanie, the girl on my left, followed me into the bathroom later in the weekend to ask me if I had a boyfriend. Pamela, the girl on my right, drew me a lovely picture of a sunset that is now on my bedroom wall.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, after a day and a half of being on weather standby, Jon and Erin and I hopped on a plane to Upper Kalskag, Alaska, a small village about 100 miles upriver from Bethel. Kalskag is a main checkpoint on the Kuskokwim 300 dog race trail. Each year, the JVs are race checkers for the "K300," as it is so affectionately called. It's a win-win deal: the K300 gets free labor out of us, and we get free trips to villages, adventure, and funtimes with dog mushers and the people of the delta. And, the race didn't start until noon on Sunday, which meant that mushers weren't into Kalskag until after 9pm, so we had a lot of time to explore.
Working the K300 was one of (if not the) most fun and exciting things I have done all year. As race checkers, we were responsible for noting what time each musher came into the checkpoint, counting their dogs, taking care of any dogs they decided to drop (you don't need to finish the race with as many dogs as you started with), and making sure they stayed the amount of time required by race rules. Because Kalskag is a main layover checkpoint on the race trail, we got a lot of face time with the mushers and got to be right in the craziness that is completing a 300 mile dogsled race. And, because the K300 trail goes from Bethel to Aniak and BACK AGAIN we got to see everyone twice in a 24-36 hour period. Lucky us!
The atmosphere at the checkpoint was a ton of fun. Mushers coming in at all hours of the night, one after another, very hectic. Families, dogs, race officials all hanging out - K300 is like a holiday weekend in the Delta. We met lots of Kalskag-ians, including many, many a cute little kid. I played some rousing games of Go Fish while waiting for the mushers. We had a lovely woman named Loreen cooking looots of native food for us all weekend - I ate toons of frybread, agutaq (Eskimo ice cream), moose stew, etc. I even tried moose intestine! (Not bad.) It was awesome.
However, the most fun thing about it was my actual responsibilty as a race checker. Despite getting almost no sleep for the weekend, lots of confusion, and having mooost of my clothes smell like dog, it was incredibly fun and invigorating to be a race checker. We felt like we were right in the thick of it, seeing the mushers in, adrenaline pumping, calling times into headquarters, etc. And, we got to see how not only the community of Kalskag, but the whole YK Delta came together for this race. It really is something huge out here, and a real source of pride. People from all over the Delta were in Bethel for the race start, and everyone in every village along the race trail was excited about the race, keeping close tabs on who was in the lead, etc. And, we're proud to report that local mushers did incredibly well this year, with three of the top ten finishers being from the YK Delta. Because the Delta is not known for mushing in the way that other parts of Alaska are, this is a huge achievement.
Flying back to Bethel and going to the closing banquet on Tuesday evening made me realize just how much this event meant to the people of the Delta, that it was much more than just a dogsled race. The K300 is something that brings attention to Bethel, and puts it on the radar of the rest of the world, in some small way. This is huge for the people of the Delta, and it felt great to be a part of it. I realized that I was just as excited as everyone else there because I was proud, too. Bethel has become a home for me this year, and I was proud to share in the excitement with everyone. For one of the first times this year, I felt like I was part of something "big." So, I understand why the K300 is the deal it is. It's pride.
Lastly, I have a story from Kalskag that is probably one of the oddest/funniest things that has ever happened to me. I can't do it justice without telling it in person, but if you remember, next time you see me, ask me about my experience walking 33 dropped sled dogs a mile and a half.
And of course, some pictures. (Of course, I don't have any of the dog teams. Sorry. I was actually doing stuff when they were around.)
View of Bethel from the plane. Pretty legit, huh? View of the Kuskokwim at sunrise (circa de 10:30a) from the top of the mountain we hiked up in Kalskag. Playing Go Fish with the ladies of the Kalskag. Stephanie, the girl on my left, followed me into the bathroom later in the weekend to ask me if I had a boyfriend. Pamela, the girl on my right, drew me a lovely picture of a sunset that is now on my bedroom wall. And, most exciting news of the weekend: Erin, our resident vegetarian, tried moose stew! Granted, this bite was about as far as she got, but it was a big deal for Jon and me.
I'll continue to travel back in time for my next few blog posts until we're caught up. Next: our winter retreat in Juneau...
Monday, January 12, 2009
Holiday Weekend
I wanted to share some pictures of the Bethel JV Christmas weekend. My whole community stayed in Bethel for the holidays and we had a really special Christmas together. I think we were all a little nervous about being away from home for the holidays, but we had a lovely Christmas in our new home.
Then, on 12/27 my roommate Mike mushed in the Holiday Classic, a 50 mile dog race on the Kuskokwim River. It was really great to go see him off and then be back to jump and cheer as his sled came back in. He's only been mushing since Oct. and already raced his first race. As we were yelling, give it up for Mike Parker and the puppy team!
All of us and our secret santa gifts. Aren't we cute? And kind of tired looking?
Sneak attack! One of my roommates caught me napping in front of the fire after breakfast.
Mike, on his dogsled, getting ready to take off.
Fran, (illegally) practicing her backstroke in the Kuskokwim.
This is what happens when you try to jam the cross-country skis (that you don't really know how to use) into a full car.
Some of the sled dogs, after the race. It was just a little cold that day.
Waiting for Mike to come in. (L-R, Jon, Meg, Me, Fran, Erin, Elyse)
Then, on 12/27 my roommate Mike mushed in the Holiday Classic, a 50 mile dog race on the Kuskokwim River. It was really great to go see him off and then be back to jump and cheer as his sled came back in. He's only been mushing since Oct. and already raced his first race. As we were yelling, give it up for Mike Parker and the puppy team!
All of us and our secret santa gifts. Aren't we cute? And kind of tired looking?
Sneak attack! One of my roommates caught me napping in front of the fire after breakfast.
Mike, on his dogsled, getting ready to take off.Fran, (illegally) practicing her backstroke in the Kuskokwim.This is what happens when you try to jam the cross-country skis (that you don't really know how to use) into a full car.Some of the sled dogs, after the race. It was just a little cold that day.Waiting for Mike to come in. (L-R, Jon, Meg, Me, Fran, Erin, Elyse)This upcoming weekend is the Kuskokwim 300, the third biggest race in dogsled racing. It starts in Bethel, goes upriver to Aniak, and back to Bethel again. The JVs will be going to villages to act as race checkers. There is a looong tradition of JVs acting as checkers and we're pumped about it. I'll be sure to blog about it afterward because it should be a really fun and unique experience. Woo!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Merry Christmas, Baby (Jesus)
The title of this post was inspired by the Bruce Springsteen playing on my radio right now (as so much in my life is), but what's to follow was inspired by my spiritual musings this Advent season. So watch out, it's about to get reflective. You can skip this post if you're looking for something about my proximity to the North Pole this Christmas. Sorry.
I thoroughly enjoy Advent. Theology nerd that I am, I can safely say it is my favorite time of the liturgical year. I enjoy the sense of quiet anticipation and joy that comes with knowing that Christ will soon be entering the world. I also enjoy the challenge that Advent offers: the challenge to personally re-evaluate the way I have been birthing Christ into the world in my own life. How have I figuratively welcomed good and love into the world, the way Mary did literally? What has distracted me from this?
This Advent season I've realized that, ironically, anticipation itself has distracted me from doing my best to welcome good and love. Knowing that this JVC commitment is only a year long has had an odd effect on me: dreamer and planner that I am, I have found it very difficult this year to stop looking ahead. I am constantly steps ahead of myself, creating fantasies of where next year will take me. As you could guess, this has made living in the present much more of a challenge than it ever has been for me before. And, because I value ministry of presence above all else, this constant planning has made me feel that I am not bringing Christ into the world to best of my personal ability this Advent season. While others must fight to gain motivation and look ahead, I must challenge myself to live singularly in each day.
I hope that this Christmas, each of you are able to question how good and love have entered your world, and how you can bring these things to others. For me, this will literally mean the end of anticipation, both liturgically and (hopefully) personally. Because, this Christmas, I am asking for presence.
Sending light and warm wishes from the dark and frozen tundra, Merry Christmas!
I thoroughly enjoy Advent. Theology nerd that I am, I can safely say it is my favorite time of the liturgical year. I enjoy the sense of quiet anticipation and joy that comes with knowing that Christ will soon be entering the world. I also enjoy the challenge that Advent offers: the challenge to personally re-evaluate the way I have been birthing Christ into the world in my own life. How have I figuratively welcomed good and love into the world, the way Mary did literally? What has distracted me from this?
This Advent season I've realized that, ironically, anticipation itself has distracted me from doing my best to welcome good and love. Knowing that this JVC commitment is only a year long has had an odd effect on me: dreamer and planner that I am, I have found it very difficult this year to stop looking ahead. I am constantly steps ahead of myself, creating fantasies of where next year will take me. As you could guess, this has made living in the present much more of a challenge than it ever has been for me before. And, because I value ministry of presence above all else, this constant planning has made me feel that I am not bringing Christ into the world to best of my personal ability this Advent season. While others must fight to gain motivation and look ahead, I must challenge myself to live singularly in each day.
I hope that this Christmas, each of you are able to question how good and love have entered your world, and how you can bring these things to others. For me, this will literally mean the end of anticipation, both liturgically and (hopefully) personally. Because, this Christmas, I am asking for presence.
Sending light and warm wishes from the dark and frozen tundra, Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Acclimation Updates
It is 28*F in Bethel today, and has been around that temperature for a few days now. 28*F is now my definition of positively balmy weather. I carried the garbage down the road to the dumpster last night in a t-shirt and was completely comfortable. I would also like to point out that 28*F is exactly the temperature in Rockaway, NJ today. Solidarity! (Doubtful that you wimps are wearing t-shirts, though.)
Also, because of the warm weather, Bethel has become a slushy mess. Walking to work is much more difficult this week, due to slush, than it has been in previous weeks with windchills of negative 20*F. I am looking forward to when temperatures drop again and everything freezes. Then, I will be able to walk to work without taking my life in my hands.
Lastly, this Sunday is the winter solstice! That means that here in Bethel we will have approximately 4-5 hours of sunlight. Lately, the sun has been rising between 10:15a and 10:45a and setting by 5p, with twilight beginning around 3:30p. Yes, this means most days, I go to work in the pitch dark and walk home in the dark. While it makes getting out of bed that much more difficult, I have noticed something really cool that I would never be able to see anywhere else: often, while I am walking down the block to the courthouse for a morning hearing, I will be able to see the moon on one side of the sky and the sunrise on another. Amazing. Anyway, as for the solstice, my community and I have decided that we want to spend as much of the sunlight hours outside on Sunday, and will probably be building a snowman to rival all snowmen. (Or, a snowperson to rival all snowpeople, for the politically correct.)
And, a few things to check out:
www.goeok.blogspot.com - this is my roommate Erin's blog, and I highly suggest you all check out her most recent post (12/16/08). It is about Marvin, a Bethel dog who has become very near and dear to our hearts. I was going to write a post almost identical, and then she beat me to it. So, I direct you all there to share in my life.
www.servicenation.org - stories of service from volunteers of all kinds, all over the world. Servicenation is a campaign to inspire volunteer citizen service across the country, in many different capacities. JVC has asked me to post a reflection about my job under the "stories of service" tab, because my job is very unique - both because I'm here in Bethel, and because I work for a state agency. Keep an eye out.
Also, because of the warm weather, Bethel has become a slushy mess. Walking to work is much more difficult this week, due to slush, than it has been in previous weeks with windchills of negative 20*F. I am looking forward to when temperatures drop again and everything freezes. Then, I will be able to walk to work without taking my life in my hands.
Lastly, this Sunday is the winter solstice! That means that here in Bethel we will have approximately 4-5 hours of sunlight. Lately, the sun has been rising between 10:15a and 10:45a and setting by 5p, with twilight beginning around 3:30p. Yes, this means most days, I go to work in the pitch dark and walk home in the dark. While it makes getting out of bed that much more difficult, I have noticed something really cool that I would never be able to see anywhere else: often, while I am walking down the block to the courthouse for a morning hearing, I will be able to see the moon on one side of the sky and the sunrise on another. Amazing. Anyway, as for the solstice, my community and I have decided that we want to spend as much of the sunlight hours outside on Sunday, and will probably be building a snowman to rival all snowmen. (Or, a snowperson to rival all snowpeople, for the politically correct.)
And, a few things to check out:
www.goeok.blogspot.com - this is my roommate Erin's blog, and I highly suggest you all check out her most recent post (12/16/08). It is about Marvin, a Bethel dog who has become very near and dear to our hearts. I was going to write a post almost identical, and then she beat me to it. So, I direct you all there to share in my life.
www.servicenation.org - stories of service from volunteers of all kinds, all over the world. Servicenation is a campaign to inspire volunteer citizen service across the country, in many different capacities. JVC has asked me to post a reflection about my job under the "stories of service" tab, because my job is very unique - both because I'm here in Bethel, and because I work for a state agency. Keep an eye out.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Day of Giving Thanks
I just wanted to offer you all physical proof that I cooked a turkey. Below are some pictures of the Bethel JVs' Thanksgiving.
Still baking...looks good, yea?
The final product.
So pleased with myself.
Our table, and apparently Anthony is the only one ready to eat.
Wishbone! (I won. Boo-yah.)
The aftermath.
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