Solstice, Earthquake and Soccer!

On Saturday night, Brandon and I went to the Long Branch Saloon for a burger and drink, then headed to Humpy's--they were having a music festival of sorts in honor of Solstice. It reminded me of Austin: lots of tie die/hippies, and just "different" people in general, all coming together for one common purpose! I will spare you all of the long, unnecessary but interesting details...basically we made a lot of new random friends and it was a really good time!

Today I experienced my first earthquake! I was sitting at the computer in the office at my house, much like I am right now, and felt some rumbling for about ten seconds. The thought crossed my mind, but I thought I was exaggerating and that maybe something was just going on down in the garage. But when I got to work, everyone was talking about it. Crazy! It really wasn't that big of a deal--nothing went flying or anything, but it was just weird to experience and the news said it was a 5.4 , a decent sized-earthquake. Check that one off the list!

Other than that, nothing too eventful happened today. I finished updating my resume and cover letter for an assignment (thank you for those who helped me :)) and will be sending them off this week! There is a recreational therapist position at a pediatric center in NYC which would be wonderful! It probably wouldn't work out because I won't really be able to start anything until November-ish (coming back from AK 9/17 and then doing stuff for Chels' wedding until the end of October) and I doubt the position would be open then, but you never know! Also, our soccer team had their first game tonight in "The Dome" and it was a lot of fun, the kids really enjoyed it! That's all for now :)

The Life of an Alaskan!

Greetings from Alaska! I've decided to keep a blog for those who are interested in keeping up with my life here in Anchorage. It's hard to keep in touch, especially with the three hour time difference!

Where to start--I'm really loving it here in the "Last Frontier"! My living situation has served me well--the owner of my house is an older Polish man and he is really quirky and funny. For the first few weeks of my stay he drove me around a lot, including to and from work (which isn't super close to our house) every day! My other roommate is a nursing student at UAA--she's really nice and friendly, but our schedules conflict quite a bit.

Work--I love my job! Basically we have different weekly programs; right now we have a hiking group, book club, picnic in the park, tai chi, and a soccer team. Most of the clients who attend those are children or adolescents with developmental disabilities and are a lot of fun. We also hold a variety of events. My favorite so far was a four day kayaking trip in Blackstone Bay on the Prince William Sound. It was incredible--definitely one of the most BEAUTIFUL places I have ever laid eyes on! Our campsite was right on a black sand beach right next to a waterfall and the Nellie Juan glacier. We saw whales, seals and sea otters, a variety of exotic birds and two black birds (I've also seen a couple of moose while I've been here). As far as other events we've had some hand cycling races and other camping trips. This Saturday we'll be hosting "Summer Splash", going out to a lake and having boating, jet skiing, canoeing, water skiing, etc! And in July we have the Sadler's Race--an eight day wheelchair/hand cycling race--the longest in the world. It is a pretty big deal--all the Paralympic medalists from around the world will be participating! Lastly, we go to the hospital most days during the week to do therapy with the patients there. That is probably my least favorite part of the internship--it's really good experience but all of the patients I've seen so far have been older stroke patients, which doesn't interest me as much as working with children and adolescents. Needless to say, I have kept pretty busy! We usually work 6 or 7 days a week, including many nights.

I haven't had much time to make friends but I really like my co-workers and have enjoyed getting to know and spend time with them. I've gotten to go to church once and their high school/college ministry and met a few people there. A friend/distant relative lent me a vehicle which is a huge blessing--I never realized how hard it is to live without a car! I also have a bike that I borrowed from work. I had a tragic bike accident when I was eight years old haha, and last night was pretty much the first time I had rode since then--we went ten miles!

What I really love about Alaska, other than the absolute beauty of the mountains, water and landscape in general, is the vast amount of opportunities to recreate outside. Everywhere you like there are parks, walking, hiking and bike trails, etc. There's really no excuse to claim boredom! The downside really is the price of things here. Food is super expensive and as I experience last night, movies cost ten bucks! 

A FAQ by everyone has been about the weather; it has definitely been fluctuating. Some days it is gorgeous, sunny and almost hot-- upper 70s. Other days it's pretty chilly (to me at least!) 4os/50s and rainy. But no matter the temperature, I definitely don't miss the 100s and humidity of Texas! It also stays light for about 20 hours a day here, and when the sun goes down in the early hours of the morning, it is never completely dark. I thought it'd be weird but it's pretty cool actually, I have dark curtains that block out the light when I go to sleep, and the bright nights provide so much more time to do things! Tomorrow is Summer Solstice (as well as Father's Day!)--the longest day of the year and technical first day of summer. People go all out here to celebrate so that's kind of fun.

All this aside, I do miss Texas and all my wonderful friends and family. If I could bring everyone here, I most definitely wouldn't mind staying here forever! But for now, I am completely content in my new home and am enjoying all the opportunities God has given me. I think that's all for now--thanks for reading! Pop--Happy Father's Day, I miss you and wish I could be with you on your special day!