And so it begins

The flight to Emo was surreal. The vast openness of the tundra supplemented by a menagerie of colors and textures is unlike anything I have seen. From the sky ponds and puddles speckled across the ground covered in various algae reminded me of looking into a Petri dish full of bacteria. Winding rivers and streams seemed almost like veins and capillaries flowing to the heart of the Bearing Sea. The seasoned hunter just in front of me had obviously seen this landscape numerous times before because as my eyes were fixed to the window the entire time, he was doing the sleepy head bob most of the way. After two hours though it starts to look pretty much the same, but still wonderful nonetheless.

Soon after the plane landed Hunter and I were picked up in the school truck by Marta and Bob, the principal. Happy reunion and off to the new home. Bob was hospitable enough to bring us via the scenic route past the dump and deteriorating road alongside the river. He thought this would be a nice way to show me what I was getting myself into. I received a first warm welcome from the seagulls as they feasted on open garbage bags and moose parts. Further down the muddy dirt road was the Honda and snow machine graveyard, which is actually an impressive attraction.  We passed the company store on the way into town and and continued further past some very modest local houses. Soon after arrived at our home.

View from our living room window

Situated practically right on the river our house is in a very nice location. It is somewhat away from the school so we don't get bothered too much by the rambunctious kids, but close enough that it is only a five minute walk away. Either of the two stores are fairly close as is the post office. The house itself is more than I had expected. There are two good sized bedrooms, a nice kitchen, a separate laundry room, and even a decent sized room where the water heater is that I use for tool storage. It has new carpet and linoleum, a new couch with even newer holes bitten into it (thanks Moggie), and two new Queen size beds.

After Spending only a little time getting situated at home we were off to the community center to watch some Yu'pik song and dance. It turns out that I arrived on the same day that a weekend long community event was starting. This was great because I got to introduce myself to a lot of new people and get a great chance to see some of the traditional culture from this area. At this event there were prizes consisting of different clothing items as well as snacks and treats in addition to the different songs and dances. And of course no community get together can be complete without Eskimo line dancing. Yes, its true. There was even country music and they were quite good at it.

It was sure an exciting day and I feel most fortunate to be able to live these sorts of events. The next couple of days consisted of more community events like watching the kids play basketball, making tie die shirts, and having a barbeque, but most of all just getting settled in and acclimated to this new place. This next year will be exciting and at times challenging, but we are looking forward to meeting many new people and learning a very different way of life. However, at the same time we will be missing all of our wonderful family and friends at home and everywhere else.