Grocery & Payday

What do the grocery store and Payday have in common besides that fact that many flock to the grocery on payday?

If what I'm being told is true, the town has figured out a way to try and make their shipments go further. The hospital, being the single most common employer has a different payday from most of the rest of town. This way, the hospital employees shop closer to their paydays and the rest of town shops on the opposite week. It makes sense i suppose, I'm just not used to such cooperation.

Fresh, Organic Produce

I just signed up for deliveries of fresh fruit and veggies from Full Circle Farms. It's a farm co-op in the pacific Northwest that delivers a variety of produce (link in title). Think of it like a farmers market that gets shipped to you. They ship orders in weekly and give you helpful hints and recipes in every box. I'm gonna stick with some basics for a while, but I can totally see branching out into some newer varieties that haven't been part of my previous repertoire.

From the Full Circle website:

What’s in the Box?

In a nutshell – a fresh, seasonal assortment of locally-grown and regional organic fruits and veggies to give you year-round variety and balance for your meals each week. 

 Now when you check out the site, you may notice the prices seem steep for what you get, but realize that it's a) cheaper than the exact same foods at our local grocery store, b) much fresher, c) a wider variety than our local stores and d) organic. When you have all kinds of ridiculous allergies (like me), the fewer chemicals and junk, the better.


This is what's in my first box next week...

Bagged Carrots, Organic - 0.5 pound Full Circle, Carnation, Washington. details...

Spinach, Organic - 1 bunch California Growers, California. details...

Red Potatoes, Organic - 1 pound Full Circle, Carnation, Washington. details...

Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch Cal-Organics, Lamont, California. details...

Fuji Apples, Organic - 2 each Earth Conscious Organics, Brewster, Washington. details...

D'anjou Pears, Organic - 2 each Earth Conscious Organics, Brewster, Washington. details...

Gold Nugget Mandarin, Organic - 2 each Corona College Heights, Riverside, California. details...

Kiwi, Organic - 2 each Wild River Ranch, Marysville, California. details...

Kidnapped!

Sat 5:00pm: Phone call...

A: "We're going to come and get you at 7 and take you somewhere. You'll need $20 but we have everything else"

Me: "Do I get any hints"

A: "Nope"

Me: "what should I wear?"

A: "comfortable clothes"


2 hrs later, I was picked up and taken to BINGO. Apparently, it's something like 11 games that range in prizes from $100 up to $1000. Each pot is split between however many winners call bingo at once.

I had a bit of beginners luck because I got a BINGO on a $120 pot. Unfortunately, there were 4 winners so I only got $30 but I still won something.

Roller Derby!?!?

I was informed today that Bethel might be starting their very own Roller Derby League. I have virtually no idea what would be involved with this as I have absolutely no experience with Roller Derby. Can anybody fill me in so I can start to decide if this is something I want to get into?

A little past the season but...

My grandma got this in an email and sent it to me... (click link in title above).

This is one of my villages up here.

sirens

I'm currently hearing sirens of some sort. Not sure exactly what's going on, but there are a couple sets of them going off in the distance. it's pretty rare you hear much of anything around here, let alone that. I suppose we'll see what happens.

Word on the street...

There's been sightings of a brown bear in town. It was in one of the neighborhoods, Tundra Ridge, and apparently 'ate a dog' in that area. I was not in the area and would not have approached said bear given it's taste for meat prior to its winter hibernation... so no, i do not have pictures. But thought you might enjoy.

Good News!!!

Background:
I have student loans to pay back for graduate work at a private institution. This adds up to a pretty penny, and the plan prior to relocating to Bethel, AK was that I'd slowly pay off these debts for the next 17or so years. This cuts into my paychecks fairly substantially when you look at interest and principle over the repayment period. I know many of you out there understand exactly where I'm coming from.

When I looked into the job here in AK, I found out that 1) There's no state tax in AK. 2) There's a dividend paid to AK residents every year (you have to establish residency first) and 3) working int he medical field, there was the option of getting loan forgiveness or repayment for working with the native population/working in a rural area.

Enter stage left... Loan Repayment Program (LRP) through Indian Health Services (IHS). Those who work in certain medical fields are qualified for tuition repayment if you work with the Native Alaskan or Indian populations and/or rural areas.

When I looking into the LRP, it was quite clear that all Federal and State loans taken out during the education period to obtain my degree (all of grad school) would be eligible for repayment, the question was IF my private loans were qualified as well. The application and policies said "federal, state and corporate loans". Corporate loans in my understanding were loans for a business but as it turns out, they consider private loans for school to be under this category.

Current:
I received an award letter that all of my grad school loans are qualified for the LRP. This means I get to save more money, and Pay off my school debt in 5-6 years instead of 17-20 years. Also, I'll be staying a little longer in Alaska than originally planned (unless I absolutely HATE the winters, which I'm doubting).
As I put it to my parents... I'd be an idiot to turn down free money.

My insides are all gooey at the prospect of being completely debt-free by the time I leave here. And who knows, maybe I'll love it enough to stay forever. Only time will tell.

Birthday Presents... Alaskanized

I had a surprise knock on my door on my birthday and when I opened the door I was surprised with gifts. Fish strips, Akutaq (pronounced agutuk) (Eskimo Icecream - without the fish, there are versions with and without) and a Mukluk keychain.

Eskimo Ice cream with blueberries and salmon berries

Mukluk key chain

 

Back of Mukluk key chain

The Akutaq wasn't nearly as sweet as the ice-cream you'd buy in the store. Also you don't have to freeze it, you can refrigerate it. I think it was the salmon-berries that had an almost crunchy texture. It's a bit on an acquired taste, but not at all bad.

Post on Community Bulletin Board 8/26/11

"The historic White Alice troposphere scatter communication antenna (Bethel’s part in the Cold War) will be demolished at 4 pm TODAY."

Don't know what a "White Alice Communications System" is? (Neither did I) Click here to read...

Language differences

So I was talking to a friend who has been up here for about 5 years and she filled me in on a difference between English and Yup'ik that makes a significant difference in some cases. Keep in mind, that there are some up here that are truly bilingual and then there are some that only speak either Yup'ik or English. For those where it's a definite English as a second language situation, think of it much like learning Spanish or French. There are subtle and not-so-subtle differences in language structure that can make things seem disjointed and awkward.

(Please remember grammar is NOT my forte, as anyone who's ever edited a paper of mine will reiterate)

In English, we speak with something similar to verb/action(-article)-noun/subject, e.g. :Jump the Fence" or "He likes/wants ice-cream" (implied noun)

In Yup'ik, thoughts are the other way around, it's noun/subject-verb, e.g. "Ice-cream, you want some?"

I was told of the story of a guy who grew up here and went off to college. He was at a party of some sort and looking to spend some time with a female companion. So as he's sitting there talking to someone, he says,

"F*ck, you want to?"

Now, this is amusing and all, but it explains some glazed over expressions as I've explained some things to parents where English is the second language. If those who speak Yup'ik generally think in Big-picture->Details... it's not going to make sense when I give them the little things that all add up to the point. Or at least, it takes a couple seconds longer to process.

Good things to know to better communicate with those I work with.

Fun-Run t-shirt

A funny thing happened...

So while I was waiting my turn at the DMV office yesterday -completed test in hand- there was this little boy  kinda dancing around and he sits on the chair a couple chairs away from me and sneaking looks at me. I smiled but didn't initiate conversation, a lot of kids up here are really quiet around strangers and get kinda nervous if a gussuk (sp?, 'white person') starts talking to them. After a few more minutes of pretending not to look at me he whispers to me, "Are you a doctor?" I caught a flash of my hospital ID around my neck and told him I was. His little eyes got HUGE. I told him I was a special kind of doctor, a hearing doctor. That was all the springboard he needed, then launching into stories upon stories about all the things that happen when he's a doctor (mom told me he got a doctor's kit for his birthday). Oh, and my new friend LOVES to 'shoot people' and take their 'arm pressure'.

Way to make the wait not so bad kid. Here's to a future Dr. here in Bethel.

I'm official

I'm now officially an Alaska resident. I got my license today after having taken and failed the written test yesterday. Of course today i got a more practical exam that didn't care so much about what the repercussions were but more about what the rules actually are. It was much better than yesterday. The license itself is different than what I've seen before. Samples of license and license-plate.

DMV

Went to the DMV today. Not too bad. I was able to get Alaska license plates no problem. I unfortunately wasn't able to get my license yet. Anyone getting a new license MUST retake the written test. Now, I've had licenses in 3 other states and I haven't had to re-take a test. this might be a good thing overall, but I still don't understand why I need to know if the suspension time on X violation is 30 days, 60 days, 90 days or 6 months. If my license is getting suspended I've got a problem. I shouldn't have done it nor should I be sitting here trying to calculate well, I'll be out of town on a cruise for the next month so I can go ahead and get this violation since I won't need my car, but not this one cause then I can't drive when I get home... are we serious?

And the drinking stuff. Why do we need to know that at this level it's this violation and at that level it's a whole new game. If you drink and drive you should be up shit-creek. Just don't do it and then you won't need to worry. Ask me all the questions you need to about the signs and right of way, and things like that but the other stuff is just... i dunno... a waste of valuable space in my head.

mixed up mail

On a slightly sad note. having a name so close to a family member is putting a damper on re-routing my mail. The electronic sorter can't separate us well apparently and is now forwarding bills for someone else across country to me... sigh... working on straightening this one out.

(and yes, i set it up for individual move instead of family move)

FYI, Flight Discounts

I found out quite recently that Alaska Airlines tends to have a bunch of deals that go on sale in October. You can buy then for anytime during the year, but they'll run the sales sometime during Oct. Just thought I should share for my friends/family who are thinking about visiting.

Also, if you're not already a member of flight miles through Alaska Airlines or their affiliates -namely Delta- you can sign up for a mileage account on their website too.

Interesting observation

It randomly hit me the other day that I work in a hospital, the only hospital in the region and there's no restrictions about allergens. No "do not wear perfumes", and no mention of "no peanuts or peanut products". The peanut one surprised me. Back home, I know a number of people with nut allergies, yet here... nothing. I asked around and no one knows of anyone up here. There's another white woman up here who also has a Gluten allergy, but no one that lives here. The cafeteria even has nothing but diet or sugar-free drinks, even the juice (much to my dismay and this is all per the nutritionist on staff).

Just thought I'd share.

Duluth Trading Company

Yay!!! my pants came and they fit. AND... there's a free shipping until August coupon that came with my order... so I'll be ordering more. They're perfect for work. And the fleece pair will be utterly fantastic when I want to stay outside for long periods of time... like for sitting outside while watching the Iditerod.

Just wanted to pass along the message. Very excited about this turn of events.

Lots of little things...

Alright friends, I have a little bit of time to sit down and fill you guys in on things. This has the makings of being a long entry if I get long-winded so I'll separate it out by topics.

Apartment Search: 
This is an ongoing process. You may remember a previous post where I talking about what ads I responded to or the places I went to go see during the first couple days I was here. There were a couple that were not going to happen at all, and there were a couple that weren't bad but didn't quite meet my needs like the 2 bedroom. I couldn't do much looking this last week just because of where I was and the hours I was working (9am-8/10pm). Not super helpful to try and call people at night. I had a patient whose daughter has a place. When I got in touch I found out it won't be available until probably August. I'll hopefully have something by then. I also found out Monday there was a new 2 bedroom available but by the time they had the keys in hand to show me 18 hrs later, it had been rented by another employee without the employee I'd been talking to knowing it. A bummer for sure. I talked to my supervisor today and she's got a few more options for me, including possibly rooming with someone. We'll see what happens.

Cleaning/Organizing my office:
So when I walked into my office, my brain was already mentally going through things to figure out if things would fit better a different way or what might be easier to get to if it was somewhere else. But it's all a matter of prioritizing and getting patient charts done first and also getting used to the new paperwork, policies and procedures. I've had a few days to get a feel for things and my assistant and i just keep slowly making changes to make things easier for both of us. We've cleaned out most of the shelves to throw out really old hearing aid information for hearing aids that are no longer made. Between patients we've created new forms, moved reference material and we've got a list of new charts and information to file. If I remember correctly, I was dubbed "Organizer In Charge" for my whirl-wind cleaning sprees. I have a feeling it will be this way for a little while. It's going to be an ongoing process but I'm excited to get things to the point we know where everything is and can get a good inventory.

Dogsleds:
I think I've briefly mentioned the dogsled races in the area. The most notable are the Iditarod, there is also the Kuskokwim 300 (a 300 mile race) and then there's a number of smaller races, including kids races throughout the season. In an awesome twist, I've been told that my assistant knows a bunch of of people who could possibly put me in rotation to drive a team of dogs. Apparently, it would be something where once I've been taught how I'd be put in rotation and have a scheduled time to work with the team. I was also told that the single-most important rule is to stay on the sled. If you fall, the dogs will keep going, they're doing a job and they'll finish it. Period. Can you imagine me driving a sled team? I'll give it a shot though.

Ice Fishing:
My assistant also offered to take me ice fishing this weekend. I've only been fishing a few times with poles and hot dogs as bait. So this will definitely be different. 

Ice Roads:
If you haven't already, I would pull up an online map searching for "Bethel, AK", then zoom to the point you can see the surrounding towns and a bit of the river.  During the summer months, the river is thawed and a boat highway. During the winter, it's a real highway. Yep, once that baby's frozen over... people DRIVE on it. With snowmobiles, snowmachines and even cars/trucks. You've gotta have traction and  a 4x4. We've talked about the possibility of taking JAX (my X-terra) out on it. Hopefully, he'll be ready.

Reindeer/Moose meat:
While I was in Hooper Bay, I was introduced to Reindeer Sticks. These look to be a cross between a stick of beef jerky and sausage.  It should be refrigerated and they taste yummy. It kinda reminds me of eating venison which makes sense given the fact that it's a large hooved beast. Nice snack to have hangin around. I bought a pkg of moose sticks too so I'm hoping they taste as good. I'll let you know when I open the pkg.

Team Mascots:
Again, while I was in Hooper Bay, I noticed my cohort's sweats on our beach-walk. Down the leg in large letters, it spelled... H-A-L-F-B-R-E-E-D. OK, many of you, like me, came from a culture that is becoming more and more politically correct. So I see pants that say that and wonder... WTF? And so I asked, and the answer was this. The Halfbreeds are the team mascot for the school in Aniak. And when the school travel to play other teams through out Alaska and even further... well, the opposing team's announcers don't like to use the name and so it just doesn't get said. They become 'the team from Aniak, etc. The secondary lesson for me was what it is to be a halfbreed here in Native Alaska. What I was told, keep in mind it was from a Gussuk (white person), that a halfbreed is someone who has 1 native parent and 1 non-native parent. Those who are products of such a union typically claim native status. It's not necessarily that they deny their non-native heritage, but it's more like they just identify more with non-native. I'm not quite sure why a school would choose a term like that though. Mostly just because it doesn't make sense to me why if you claim one heritage as yours and not the other, why halfbreeds. that makes me thing someone's embracing both. Side-Note... many teams up here have 'native' mascots, like Warriors, etc... with no signs of changing.

Instant Milk:
So a gallon of milk is $6-8 and heavy when you're walking from the grocery store. Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (powdered milk) is ~ $4 for a gallon's worth in pre-measured packets. When mixed well, it tastes almost the exact same as regular skim milk. There is a slight difference when you get to the bottom of the jug just because there's more powder that hasn't been mixed super well, but mostly... it's surprisingly tasty, and worth the difference in weight in my bag.

Pilot Bread:
Last 'lil thing... Pilot Bread. I was told about this grocery item. It's not a loaf dispite what the name implies. This is actually a cracker. Sailor Boy Pilot Bread. I mean, what would make something that says 'bread' actually mean cracker? Well, here's what the side of the box say?

"Sailor Boy Pilot Bread
Interbake Foods is proud to bake Sailor Boy Pilot Bread, the generations old recipe, providing Alaskans, outdoors people, snackers and travelers alike with a delicious, sturdy cracker.

The origins of this hard-tack product have been traced back to our country's very beginnings. For years Americans have been eating Sailor Boy Pilot Bread spread with various toppings, including traditional Alaskan spreads, meats, cheeses and more recently everything from peanut butter and jelly to pizza topings.

We appreciate your patronage and would love to hear from you in you have any thoughts on our product.
Thank you and happy eating!"

And even better... it's made in Richmond, VA... did you read that people? I moved across the country only to find a staple of dietary amazingness (yes, I just called hard-tack amazingness) then this world really is smaller than I could've ever imagined.

So that is my update for now. I'm learning tons of new things everyday. I'll keep sharing if you keep reading. Goodnight, until the next time. :D