Fireworks, booze, and guns

 It has been awhile since my last update, but other than the passing of the holidays, it doesn't seem that anything of importance has happened. Holiday season away from family is difficult, so the events carry little significance and pass with little notice except for the much needed break from school and work.

We spent the week before Christmas in Anchorage and enjoyed the chance to have a change in scenery and unwind a little. The weather in Anchorage was considerably different than what we were getting used to in Emo. At 35*F we felt warm compared to the -30*F that we left back at home. It was great to catch up on eating some of our favorite foods and indulge in some craft beer and red wine after enduring a respite from our fermented friends. We spent some time wandering around the city and gawked at the drastic differences in the prices of similar things at the grocery store compared to the one I work at in the village. Finally, we spent a day at Mount Aleyeska and did some snowboarding and lazing in the lounge snacking on various fried things.

Christmas was spent with our new friends Greg and Candice who, with the help of their kids, kept close watch of the cats while we were on vacation. We feasted on turkey, stuffing (or as grandma calls it, dressing), fruit salad, and some delicious homemade bread. All of which was made from scratch by Candice. Sharing a nice home cooked meal with them helped to bolster our lacking holiday spirit, as did the many wonderful gifts that we received in the mail from family and friends. Thank you!

Although I personally didn't find this amusing, I'm sure that some will appreciate hearing about me getting suckered into being Santa for the AC store. I find myself to be an unlikely candidate for the job, but this was actually my second appearance as Santa. Fortunately this time none of the kids cried at the sight of me, but I have to say that I wouldn't have blamed them one bit as it was a pretty sketchy set up. First, they had to brave near blizzard conditions only to find that their Santa was some tall, skinny dude with hipster glasses. To make matters worse the "Santa station" (a folding chair next to a Christmas tree) was located in the poorly lit, back storage area of the store. The best part though, may have been that right next to me was a plain cardboard box filled with expired Halloween candy that the said "hipster Santa" would offer to the kids before having their picture taken. Other than that it was back to work as usual for me and Marta got a little while longer to relish in the time away from school. 

For New Years we met with a few of the teachers and had a nice dinner and played games until midnight. And just like with most places I have been to, the local tradition for celebrating independence seems to involve (in no particular order) fireworks, booze, guns, and screaming WOO! The only difference here was that it took place on a frozen river. We could only stand to watch the spectacle for a few minutes, not forgetting to mention it was nearly -40* that night.

The days are short and the isolation is much, we are missing home and looking forward to the idea of returning and staying awhile. The experiences and the extreme conditions so far are sure to remain etched in our memories for a long time. I'm not saying that things here are bad. However, I will say that when we get home I don't want to talk about having lived in Alaska for a year and not once going fishing.