Alaska

For those of you who don't know...my husband and I just moved to Alaska...right off the coast of the Bering Sea. We came out here after much prayer of me taking the position as a Public Health Nurse going to remote villages along the Bering Strait serving the Native American Eskimo population. We arrived one week ago. Our journey began leaving Kansas City traveling through Nebraska, then to Iowa, then to South Dakota, then to Montana, Idaho, and finally Seattle Washington! Where we are now located is not accessable by any road...only by boat/barge or plane. We barged our car from a port in Seattle (our car will not be here till sometime in June). We started off on a rough start. At the airport..we had NINE bags plus Gabby (our German Shepherd) and her big kennel. To make a long story short our bags got through with us not being able to declare the guns first.... and before we knew it we heard our name on the loud speaker in the airport and we were surrounded by the police!! I tried to explain, but I was told to be quiet. Again to make a horrific/frightening experience short the supervisor over something like homeland security told all the policeman to let us go and we were NOT going to be fined a 10,000 dollar fine. This was ONLY by God's GRACE that this miracle happened to us!!!!
Exhausted and frazzled we arrive to our destination in Alaska...at night but of course the sun in still shinning. We get to our halfway furnished house/cabin..... and it was less than desirable...but we cleaned up the items laying around ...and with a little elbow grease we got it looking pretty good. The wonderful nurses that I am working with had a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table along with food in frig. AND they also bought us cleaning supplies...which I am sure they did some cleaning themselves before we got there so we did not immediately run away.
The next day was the hardest...I wanted to go home...missed my family and friends. Thankfully we got to spend some WONDERFUL time with my family and friends before we left...at which I was so thankful for!!
This place is so very different!!! They are truly set back in time. Never in a hurry to do anything! They just got cell phones/internet about a year and a half ago.....it is not the fastest but I am so VERY thankful to have it!!!
Due to the swine flu creeping up I along with my co-worker had to go into town to distribute information on prevention of spreading the illness. I had to walk into all the bars ...and I in NO WAY drink .....but it was so neat to go into these bars...it absolutely looked like the Old West...they are used daily (alcohol consumption is a HUGE problem in Alaska) and they smelled so old!! I hope to send my husband in briefly to get some pictures.
I desperately want to get some pics of my neighbors Peter and Pay-on .....they are precious little boys!! They are so cute!!! Little round chubby Eskimo faces!
I flunked my Alaska State driving test! Guess I was feeling a little over confident when I went to take it and did not really look at the book...there were questions about alcohol consumption that I had no idea! I guess I will read the book next time! :)

PLEASE DO NOT THINK THAT I DO NOT CARE IF I DO NOT WRITE BACK OR RESPOND TO COMMENTS!!! I am having to do so much training now that I am exhausted! We are having to walk everywhere we go!! Which is VERY humbling and so tiring!! I feel exhausted by the time I get to work...maybe I can lose some weight!! I don't see how I can't lose some!
I will begin my village trips next month...will be leaving for Anchorage next week for training......I will be so glad when things die down a bit.
Please write whenever anyone can......I will be much more able to write back in about a month...please know we would LOVE to hear from anyone who wants to write!!
This internet...is not the best...had to wait like more thatn30 mins to see who got voted off survior!! Forget being able to watch the show.
Thank you to my DEAR friend Monica...for setting up this blog for me!!