Life is full of surprises. The irony in that is, in general, I think people end up surprising themselves more than they ever let others do the surprising to them. Tonight happened to be one of those nights for me. I was always known as the Whitty girl that never took chances or risks, pinched pennies and rarely ever relied on others for much. But the tables have turned, and here we are thousands of miles away. My family found it comical to think about us "roughing it" out here...but boy if they could see us now.
Never in a million years did anyone think I'd initiate a move like this, much less thrive here. Brandon and I received our first shipments for our SpanAlaska order. In it included: 50 pounds of onions; 25 pounds of carrots; 36 pounds of butter; 88 Granny Smith apples; and 113 oranges. In addition to that, we received 12 pounds of ham to share with the neighbors and their twelve packages of turkey bacon. So we rolled up our sleeves, divvied out our shares, and got to business. With "Finding Nemo," blaring in the background, Brandon and I peeled and chopped about 10 pounds of carrots, blanched them and bagged them for the freezer. For those of you thinking that that's not much, recalculate and get back to me. We had carrots from hell to breakfast. Unfortunately, after breakfast tomorrow morning, we'll be doing the same with 20-30 Granny Smith apples for apple sauce and crisps we can make with the apples we preserve in the freezer. When that's done, we'll move onto chopping some onions, and possibly even try to batter the rings for an evening in the future where we'll need a fried food fix. We made another two gallons of homemade laundry detergent last night, but I must be doing something wrong with my mother's recipe. The gelatinous molds we've created with the tubs we've filled leave me to wonder whether or not the washer will be able to handle breaking down what I'd describe best as flubber for our clothes.Tonight we had our first field trip for the Rural Teachers class I'm taking. Brandon came with us in the skiff that took us about 10 minutes down river. There, we were shown how to shave birch bark off of the birch trees that lined the Nushagak. With an axe and a few with pocket knives, we shaved back the top layer until we reached the white, meaty center of the tree.
Between this white center and the rough surface lies a brown, spongy material that when boiled, is a native remedy for the common cold. We'll be boiling this next week as a class, and hopefully will collect tundra tea in the future for other home remedies in the bush. I loved this experience, and sit here punching numbers wondering if maybe Bran and I will be able to tuck away enough for a skiff next year. We'll see...
Now that we're here, we've found ourselves clinging to the people around us for support in experiences outside of our comfort zones. The things we thought we'd never do would be moving to Alaska and living in the middle of absolutely nowhere with few modern luxuries. The things we said we'd never do, both Brandon and I did within the last few weeks. I said I'd never shoot a gun, and last Saturday shot two. I said I'd never maqii, as a result of my self-consciousness and worries to be so uncomfortably hot I'd melt. Brandon, too, for the same reasons, had expressed his disinterest in "bathing with a bunch of dudes." But after invitations and support from our friends, we've both now attended the amazing traditional maqii. Tonight, Dani and Lily showed up to invite me to maqii. Caught off guard with no excuse, and two friendly, encouraging faces at my door, I accepted. Minutes later, my bag was packed with oversized tubs of shampoo and conditioner, a new bar of soap, a washcloth, hand towel and bath towel in tote. I had a hair-tie around my wrist and sockless-shoed feet beneath me. A kiss from Brandon and I was off to my first experience to maqii.Maqii, also referred to as steaming, is a Yup'ik tradition where men or women sit in a small hut with stones, stoves and water and steam out toxins and gossip and joke about daily life. People are completely naked, and ironically, completely comfortable in these steams. While the heat at points can exceed 300 degrees Fahrenheit in really hot steams, it's a nice and relaxing social time. You begin in the steam by sweating like you've never sweat before. As they "splash" or put water on the hot stones, the heat hits you in palpable waves. My lips burned and nose felt as though it was on fire. My skin peeled in response to the exfoliating heat. After a while, we sat outside of the steam and chatted. In all, we went in three times: the first to sweat; the second to scrub; and the third to rinse. While many men and women go in frequently over long periods of time, we stuck to three visits in an hour and a half. After the third time, we sat around and chatted about school and steaming in general. The ladies love Bath and Body Works body splash, and talk about how expensive it is out here. Dani and I agreed that the after Christmas sales would be receiving a visit from us when we're home, to purchase some lotions and mists for our new Yup'ik friends.
This is one thing I said I'd never do, and here I am, pleased with the experience enough to do it again. While I don't think I'd steam with just anyone, I'm thankful for Dani, a great friend to me out here, to show me the ropes and help me gain confidence in myself and others around me. I'm excited for Claire to come and experience New Stu next weekend. Maybe she'll maqii, too!
Love you all and hope you enjoy reading about our experiences as much as we enjoy sharing them with you.
Brie
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