The awkwardness and simultaneous excitement that come from moving into a new home have slowly been subsiding into comfortable familiarity. My home feels very much like my own, and I love my neighbors, even if there are quite a few vocal dogs around. In my moving to Alaska I have gotten so much more than I bargained for. I have come to depend on the other people who live here in a way I have never relied on a group of people before. We are everything for each other because we have to be. This forms a unique bond between us. When we need a helping hand, someone to talk to who can relate to what we are talking about, or even just some extra freezer space, there are only a handful of people in the entire world who can be that someone for us, simply because of proximity.
You learn to get along out of necessity. It is surprisingly peaceful. I have not been here long, but already I have made some very dear friends. I have a tendency to be fairly reserved so I am proud of myself for getting out as much as I have. There is room for improvement, though. It can be tough trying to develop a balance between work and play during that first teaching job, so I have heard and am now experiencing. I am typically the type to "work hard, play hard", but right now I am doing more working than anything else. I will get the hang of it soon- I am very hopeful about that! It will be nice when I can relax a little more often, but for now, there is soooo much to do. It can be overwhelming at times, but I know that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. And my mind is SET. :)
These past few weeks have been so exhausting, but so much fun! I have been meaning to blog and meaning to blog and keep finding other things to do. (It doesn't help that the internet isn't too reliable, but hey, what can you do about that?!) I have really been stepping outside of myself to try not to be so reserved and form relationships with the people in the village. I have joined in on Eskimo dancing with the native White Mountain tribe. We may be traveling to Teller here in a couple of weeks to perform for a cultural festival, so I am very excited for that. I am even more excited to watch some of the other tribes dance! We watched video footage of some of the King Island dancers from the region yesterday, and I was awestruck! The coordination and intricacy of some of the more experienced tribal dancers' moves is amazing. Watching them perform makes me want to continue to pursue dance, because I would love to dance that gracefully some day.
Today I joined one of my co-workers and another villager in making sewing patterns for a kuspuk, a traditional garb for the region. I have already purchased and received my fabric and am VERY excited to begin sewing, hopefully sometime this week. I will post photos when it is completed! Maybe I will also find a way to record some of the dances to share with you all.
I am feeling more and more at home very day! What an adventure this is!
Namaste,
Kelly
