And the Adventure Begins...

10/22/10

                Today was my first day in Perryville.  I woke up this morning at about 4:30am.  I foolishly thought that since I would be staying in the state of Alaska that traveling would be easy and much less exhausting than it usually is when going out of state.....how silly of me. 

                After spending the entire day yesterday shopping for groceries and packing to leave, I ended up having two suitcases (one large and one small) and four bright purple totes full of food.  I decided not to take my leopard print suitcase because I figured that might get me some pretty weird looks traveling to a native village.  It sounds like a lot, but I was packing for a month and trying to keep in mind that there are no stores in Perryville, and while I can have stuff shipped to me, it may take a while to get here.  I take that back, I guess there is one general store in Perryville, but it’s only open for maybe an hour every day, and the items that you can buy are extremely limited. 

After loading up all of my luggage/food totes into the car I tried to get just a tad bit of rest on the drive to the airport, but my dad kept talking to me and asking me questions about where I was going to be staying and how I was going to figure things out.  It would have been nice if he had asked me these kinds of questions during the week when I had the time to find out the answers to them.....not on the ride to the airport when it's too late to do anything about it.  And it wasn't like he was carrying on a constant conversation with me either.  There would be a good chunk of silence where I thought I might actually be able to fall asleep for a bit, and then........another question.  Or he would make a comment about the road or a car next to us.  I know that he was just worrying about me going away by myself for a month to a remote village and wanted to make sure that I had everything I needed, BUT sleep would have been nice.  If you know me at all you know two things:

 1.) I am not a morning person.

 2.) I need my sleep.

 This situation was both very early in the morning and allowed for little sleep, which resulted in a very grumpy Mary.  I guess in the future I'll have to have my dad write out a detailed list of all his questions ahead of time so I can make sure they are answered before the drive to the airport.  

                I flew on Pen Air to King Salmon.  My flight was supposed to leave at 7:30 am, which did not happen, because apparently air travel to and from the remote villages of Alaska is much more leisurely than your typical scheduled flight.  I suppose flights get delayed all the time for other airlines too, but I don't think that everybody on the plane usually knows everybody else on the plane.  I thought Palmer was a small town because I always go to the grocery store and end up seeing people I know.  In comparison to the villages, Palmer is like a big city.....at least there is a grocery store to go to.  Seriously though, everybody seemed to know everybody else even if they weren't from the same village.  The people flying on the plane with me were all going to different places, but they all knew each other.  It was kind of neat to see, but also kind of strange.  When you're in the villages you're supposed to be secluded from the outside world.  At least in the outside world you can get away from people because they don't all know you, but in a remote village even though you're far away from the rest of the world, literally everybody knows who you are, where you live, and all of your personal business.  It's interesting to think about. 

                When I got to King Salmon I was surprised to find that people were driving vehicles around.  I thought for sure that no one would have a car so far away, but I guess they must bring them in on the ferry.  There are roads, although they're rather rough.  And it is nice to have a vehicle for hauling things.

                From King Salmon we "puddle jumped" in a plane that was big enough for about 10 passengers.  It's a good thing that I have lived in Alaska most of my life and have had some experience with small planes, because it would have been a rude awakening as my first flight in a small aircraft if I hadn't.  I know that there are some teachers who come from the lower 48 to teach in the bush, and I can't imagine how they must feel getting into one of those things.  It's pretty much like a sardine can with all of the stuff and the people in the plane.  Trying to climb up in the plane by itself was a challenge.  There was a little step ladder that folded out from the front door of the plane, but it was a few feet off the ground.  There really wasn't a good handle to grab onto to heave yourself up (at least not that I noticed, but for all I know I was the only person that missed it) and you have to climb up with all of your "carry ons" (I say it like this because there's not exactly overhead compartment space to store it) in your arms.  I'm sure it was quite the sight, and I'm glad I couldn't see myself, because it felt very unflattering.  I'm surprised someone didn't biff it trying to climb in the plane.  I bet it's happened before.  I'm just glad it wasn't me.   

                The flight itself was beautiful, but it's a good thing I don't get motion sickness.  You could feel every bump and dip and gust of wind, and it wasn't even bad weather.  The mountains and scenery were gorgeous though.  I got to see places and sights that I would have never seen otherwise.

                When we finally landed in Perryville (on a gravel/dirt runway) it seemed like a lot of people from the town had come out to meet the plane.  I suppose people were coming to get their mail or pick someone  up, but maybe they just didn't have anything else to do.  I found out later that the plane comes in on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, so I guess those must be pretty happening days in Perryville. 

                Linda (the head teacher at the school) and I got a ride with a guy who lives in the village, Thomas, who helped us to load up our stuff in a truck and haul it into the village.  I got to see the school, which looked much more like a school and was much bigger than I had expected, and then I was taken to my apartment where Thomas helped me unload my stuff. 

                I took the afternoon to unpack my food, clothes, toiletries, etc. and get myself settled.  I set up my pantry and kitchen area and chose which room I was going to sleep in (there were two to choose from.)  I hung up or folded all of my clothes and put them away in the closet, and I called my mom to tell her I had gotten there safely, and to tell her what I knew I had forgotten already.  I guess it was bound to happen. 

                The apartment is actually very nice and very spacious, which would be nice if I had somebody to share it with, but at the moment it's just kind of lonely.  I'm sure that I will meet lots of the people from the village and have opportunities to do all kinds of neat things, but for right now I'm not sure what there really is to do until I start teaching.

                Well, while the day has been very eventful, it hasn't been all that interesting.  I'm anxious to have some unique experiences and adventures, but I'm also nervous about not knowing anyone.  I'm sure it will be fine, but it will just take some time.