On to Seward!

I arrived in Seward yesterday evening after taking the Park Connection bus down from Anchorage.   The trip down took about 2 1/2 hours- I would've preferred to take the train, but it only runs in the morning and I couldn't check in to my hostel in Seward until after 5, so I didn't want to be stuck dragging my bags around all day.  I stayed at the Moby Dick Hostel Monday night because: a) it's cheap, b) I couldn't get into my dorm until Tuesday, and c) I've stayed there before. Once I got settled in at the hostel, I went out to eat and then walked around down near the Sea Life Center. I'm sick already (shocker, I know!) so I called it an early night. 

Today, orientation started at 1:00.  There were about 7 of us new seasonal employees, we are pretty much the last "wave" of new hires coming in  for the season.  We got to watch some very exciting videos on harassment, blood borne pathogens, chemicals, etc etc...such fun! At the end, we received our uniforms- polo shirts, fleece jacket, and heavy parkas. We can keep them at the end of the season, but we have to pay for them, so I'm definitely not keeping all of it!! 

At the end of the day we headed for the dorms.  I had no idea what to expect. It's a 2 bedroom, with 3 ppl in each room (they're decent size rooms), and since I'm the last one to arrive, guess who gets the top bunk?!? Of course. I'm just picturing all the ways I can get hurt since we all know how graceful I am :) It's like being in college all over again, climbing up and down a ladder to get in/ out of bed. Big difference from college is that I won't be drinking here- it's against the rules to have any alcohol on property and we will get fired it there is.  I'm the oldest one here, can I pull the "you're younger than me" card and switch??  We may actually see if we can disconnect the bunks and put mine on the ground, cause lord knows I do not really want to be climbing a ladder for the next three months!!  

My dorm is a good 20 minute walk to work- with a decent sized hill involved- I am sooo happy I'm in decent shape now- otherwise, that hill (who am I kidding- just the walk alone!) would kill me! I can't wait to start hiking Mt Marathon (3022 ft)- by the end of summer, I will make it to the top!! 

             Park Connection Bus in Anchorage 

Small boat harbor

Start of the Iditarod 

 My awesome bunk!! 

One LONG day later...

The day has finally arrived! Everyone has been asking, "are you excited?" and I haven't really been, because I was dealing with getting all my school stuff situated.  Nothing like teaching a new class when  I'll be gone the whole summer and unable to plan for it. Luckily I have some fantastic coworkers that have really helped me out!  When I finally finished things up at school, said goodbye to Ms Oreelio, and walked out of my classroom, THEN I got excited... 

I started out today with a flight to DFW at 725...then I had 2.5 hours to kill at DFW, then on to SEA. 3 hours of waiting here at Sea-Tac, then a 3 hour (ish) flight to Anchorage. I'm due to arrive there at 830 Alaska time, which is 1230am on the east coast. I'm so tired already, and I still have one more flight to go! 

So now that I'm sitting here, I'm thinking to myself, "who does this?" Who gets a job and goes clear across the country without knowing anyone? Me :)   WHY am I doing this? I don't really have a good reason- it's more along the lines of why NOT do it? I'm young(ish), single, have summers off, so what the hell? It's going to be a great experience! 

Aaand now it's 1015 at night, I'm finally in my hotel room and winding down. 1015 here in Alaska is 215am back home- I think I need to go to bed!  Sorry this entry is so boring, but it was a non-fun day! I just need to mention one thing: my flight to anchorage was the smelliest flight I've ever been on. The man sitting next to me was letting some horrifying farts out the entire time AND as the hours went by, he started smelling worse and worse- B.O. + Farts = yuck. I felt like I smelled when I got off the plane! 

Alaska, Part 3!!

So, if you're not aware, I'm heading to Alaska for the third summer in a row this coming Saturday. A lot of you seem to be confused as to why I'm going- you're getting all of my awesome Alaska experiences mixed up :)

Tis summer I'll be working as a deckhand on a whale-watching/glacier-sightseeing tour ship in Seward.  This is a totally random job that I applied for in January- it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I teach Marine Science - it's just a happy coincidence! Go to www.kenaifjords.com and see my working conditions :). Last summer, while there on vacation, I went out on one of their daily sightseeing tours and had a great time (even though the day was cut short because of rough waters), but I didn't walk off the ship saying, "Oh my gosh, I HAVE to get a job here next summer!" I honestly don't know where the thought to apply for a job there even came from...So, in January, I saw that they were hiring seasonal employees, applied for the deckhand position, did a Skype interview, and now I'm heading back to Seward for the whole summer! It's not a "teacher" thing that I'm doing, it's just me, applying for a job that happens to be in my realm of interest! 

In the summer of 2010, I was selected to participate in NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program, and I ended up on a fisheries research vessel in the Gulf of Alaska for three weeks. Besides being an AMAZING educational experience, that trip is what got me hooked on the great state of Alaska!  You can check out my blog from THAT trip at www.orilioisateacheratsea.blogspot.com.

So, to sum it up: Summer 201- Teacher at Sea, no pay, a "professional development" trip.

                           Summer 2012- vacation in Alaska.

                           Summer 2013- working in Alaska. 

Follow my posts as I document my journey this summer!!