So, I posted a thing on Facebook the other day about how Alaska has been changing me. My body has changed considerably. I'm fit as a fiddle and have lost quite a bit of weight without even trying. I eat bacon again (I just had coffee and bacon for breakfast!) - after swearing off all mammals for 30 years! Yeah. Bacon is effing delish. I wish pigs weren't so darn cute and smart. Ugh.
Something else, too? My neighbors here are very special people. I've already exchanged ideas, books and any number of food items with all of my sweet neighbors - R, B, S, A, C... They are all dog people, all are outdoorsy, garden, are liberal as all get-out...but above all? They are kind, thoughtful individuals. All are honest to a fault, will call you out on your bullshit, but mostly? They are just kind and VERY smart.
So, it turns out that many of Alaska's people are this cool combination of Midwestern kindness mixed with thoughtful smartness. It's completely the opposite of what I expected. Given, I live in an area of Anchorage called Turnagain. It's a liberal and historic district (much like where I lived in Salem, MA) and the really neat thing about it is that you have every color, creed, race, religion all living together in a lovely togetherness that I never felt in Salem.
In most areas I've lived (minus Europe), races separate from each other. Why is that? What is that for? I really don't get it. Here in Alaska, everyone is from somewhere else. Only a few people are born and raised here and then actually stick around, so pretty much 9 out of 10 people you meet are from somewhere else.
My favorite restaurant, The Rustic Goat is the perfect example of Alaska's uniqueness - I have now met most of the workers there - two are from the Sudan, one is from Concord, NH, the most delightful one is from Brooklyn, NY! His name is C and he has worked his way up from dishwasher to one of the assistant chefs! He was working the pass just yesterday and he was beaming. Such a pleasure to see someone delight in a job well done.
In any case, the workers at The Rustic Goat are from far and wide. Mexico, Honduras, Oregon, Alaska, Michigan, Indiana...Everyone just treats everyone else as equals. Total respect.
My neighbors? Are from everywhere. C is a native Inuit. R and B have lived here in Alaska for 30 years. S is from Cape Cod, MA! And the kicker? My other neighbors are from Minnesota and A? Who lives right next door with her SIX awesome sled dogs? She's from Ludington, Michigan which is about 40 miles from where I grew up in Traverse City, MI. A friend I met a few weeks ago - her name is also Lisa - she moved here a year ago from Traverse City. A couple that I met last week - they're from right outside Battlecreek, MI - where my Momma and her sister were raised.
It's just plain weird. And so plainly wonderful. The rest of the country could learn a lot by living in Alaska. It's a live and let live last frontier. We all could use a lot more of that.
You see how the glaciers have sort of tumbled onto themselves in the pictures above and over here on the right? Those are a formation called a bergschrund. To give you some scale, the bergschrund on the right over here is likely 100 feet tall. A ten story building of ice.
The scale of Alaska is so oversized it's truly hard to grasp.
I will leave you today with this article from Purple Clover, which is an online magazine with wonderful articles. My best friend, June, over there at Bye Bye, Pie also writes for Purple Clover. Anyhoo, this article kind of sums up what has been happening since I moved here. It's by definition that when you move across country, pretty much everyone will be a stranger until you let yourself open up to the possibility that they could be a potential friend.
Looking good Lisa!
ReplyDeleteOnly spent 2 short weeks in AK. It's the most beautiful state in my personal opinion.
(((hugs)))