I AM OFFICIALLY IN ALASKA, PEOPLE. HOLY CRAP!!!!!

Ok y'all, in case you haven't heard, I am in fact now in Alaska. It is AMAZING!!! There is no way I can possibly describe everything I have done in the past few days just in this one post but I will try to give a brief overview.

SO I flew into Anchorage on Sunday night after saying a tearful goodbye to Roman (who I will be seeing in a month when Dad brings him up...still, it put me over the edge) and was picked up at the airport by one of my new co-workers who had generously offered to let me stay with her and her family in Anchorage and help me get fitted out for the bush.

It was a warm welcome, but after hearing some "horror stories" from life in the bush and coming to realize how vastly unprepared I am for the coming school year, no matter how exhausted I was from my travels, I didn't get much sleep that first night.

Yesterday we were out the door by 10am to start our day of shopping. We hit Costco ($450), then Wal-Mart (~$300), then we returned to our home base to pack up all of our food. I took some amazing pictures of that whole process but I will have to post them later because my poor computer just won't handle uploading any more of anything. We were able to take one load of bins to the post office last night but the others had to wait until this morning.

I sent 23 bins from Vancouver last week which contained all my worldly belongings. I checked three bags and carried on two for my flight. After shopping in Anchorage yesterday, I sent five bins filled with food out this morning. And my Wal-mart bush order will probably be at least 4 or 5 boxes. HOPEFULLY I will have some if not all (dare to dream) of my items by the time school starts. Until then, I'm living out of my suitcase(s).

Today we flew from Anchorage to Unalakleet, our district hub village. I will be here until Friday for new teacher training, then I will fly to Stebbins for the weekend. It's back to Unalakleet on Monday for the district-wide inservice, then back to Stebbins and school starts August 23.

My first impressions of Alaska are:
-Anchorage was gorgeous, like Idaho on crack. Panoramic mountains, lots of trees. Seems like a fun and welcoming city and I am anxious to visit again.
-Unalakleet is on the coast and it smells fresh and salty, not unlike the Oregon coast. The rain is also familiar. The hills in the distance are also reminiscent of Idaho and eastern Washington: golden brown with streaks of dark green trees. I haven't gotten out in the village yet, just holed up in the school for now getting my bearings.

Overall, I am doing pretty well here in my new home. Still feeling a bit daunted by the task at hand (my first year teaching, yikes), worried about my belongings getting here, but still having a great time meeting and getting to know the people I will be working and living with for at least the next year. I just can't believe I am finally actually here! Excited to get to Stebbins in a few days, and you can expect more updates and first impressions from that experience after I get there.

Stay posted, there's lots more to come!