Thursday, May 17, 2012

They have me headed south....

For the first time in almost exactly 4 months I have left my tiny valley home of Fairbanks AK and made it to the booming metropolis of Anchorage. This is actually quite a lovely city. From pretty much anywhere that you look, you will spot the towering, snow capped Alaska range. These picturesque mountains are what you would think of when you think of the rockies, they are not round and green like the appalachian mountains of North Carolina, but brown until your eyes reach the stunning snow tops. They are the back bones of Alaska. There also happens to be a very neat architectural trick that a lot of the buildings around town are made only of windows; so if you are not look directly at the mountains, you can still see their reflections in all the buildings. There is a brisk wind that seems to constantly flow here, which is actually what keeps Anchorage cooler than Fairbanks during the summer and warmed during the winter. Anchorage, like Fairbanks, is still recovering from a very difficult winter. Instead of blistery cold temperatures, they received the most snow fall they have had in about 45 years, close to 18 FEET! The lady running the conference said that it has only been in the past couple of weeks that the snow has melted. But I would have no idea. It has been nothing but bright and sunny since I stepped off the plane a few days ago. There are some key differences in Fairbanks and Anchorage. I feel that when imagining what my ALaskan town would look and feel like, I actually imagined something closer to Anchorage. It is a well planned out city, with central parks and community gardens. There are definitely hidden corners everywhere in this town that would make it a very unique and eclectic place to live. The people also seem more open to change and the acceptance of the social issues that in places, act like a plague, in Alaska. This may be because I have spent the last couple of days learning how to advocate for these issues, with like minded people, but as a whole Anchorage seems to actually MOVE. So far I have not seen a homeless person stumbling out of a bus onto the side walk in search for the closest place to sit down for a while, or even a person stumbling around the central bus depot. Which unfortunately, is an all too familiar sight in Fairbanks. Either way I have throughly been able to enjoy my time here in Anchorage and am already looking for ways to get back down here. So if anyone from the lower 48 wants to visit this summer, I would more than happily meet them in Anchorage for the week ;)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

And so it is...

Sorry for the pause in my blogs of late, the weather has changed drastically in the past few weeks, so instead of bundling up in the mornings and braving myself for the teen and twenty degree weather, I have been hoping on my bicycle (a beautiful vintage yellow Schwinn varsity) and biking to work.  The sunlight has officially returned as well, inching closer and closer to the famed "midnight sun" we are averaging about 17 hours of daylight.  Although this is not the first time I have experienced this, during my study abroad experience in Estonia, the "midnight sun" existed as well, but it seemed to have a calming effect on the town; patios were set up, afternoons were spent lazily sitting in the sun, eating Russian dumplings and drinking beers while "studying" for finals.  Here this light has a sort of nervous energy that constantly reminds you...."this won't last long, better get off the couch and stay outside for as long as you can".  And this is precisely  what I am trying to do.  My roommate and I have joined a nature class at the creamy turned wildlife refugee every Thursday, I am heading up our garden project at work (still not sure how that one happened seeing as I have a black thumb and tend to kill anything that is green and good when left in my care....I killed a cactus once. A. CACTUS.), and I am spending about as much time as possible on my bike.

The birch trees are slowly waking up and signs of life are all over Fairbanks.  People are returning, festivals are happening, and the constant sound of hammering can be heard anywhere in the city.  Although we haven't reached the glorious days of summer yet, the break up has not been a disappointment!

Service is going well, the school year is winding down and so is my after school program.  Which means I will have plenty of time to write grants and start on my next youth activity, a resource group for young mothers in Fairbanks.  I am going to be linking them with agencies throughout Fairbanks to help them stay afloat and raise a healthy child.  This is going to last about 6 weeks and then it will be about time for the after school program to start back up.  I am also heading up and supervising our youth work experience.  I will have the opportunity to go to job sites with youth and make sure they do the designated work that has been assigned to them.  I am really excited about this because a lot of the sites are outside town limits and I will finally get to see what Ak looks like outside of Fairbanks.

Well I better return to work.  I hope everyone is enjoying the late spring, early summer weather and know that I am very jealous and miss it so!