first impressions

Below I have copied and pasted the email that I sent out after first arriving in Bethel. I gives some of my first impressions. I have many more thoughts that I want to share and pictures too. I have been keeping a list of things I want to share with everyone so I don't forget them. Don't forget to post your comments...I want to hear them.

Hello everyone!

We've made it! Avery and I have been in Bethel since Wednesday morning. We knew it would be different and it is. Very different. To start with, even though the airport is the third largest in the state, it is still quite small. We had to walk accross the tarmac into the building. there was only one baggage carosel because there is only one plane that comes in at a time. In fact, there are only three major passenger planes into and out of Bethel for anchorage everyday. other than that, there are lots of small private planes and cargo planes. the building that handles the passenger planes is one small building with people claiming their bags on one side of the room and people checking in to depart on the other side of the room! The roads are all dirt roads and very bumpy, with only the major road that circles through town being paved. many of you know that my principal is letting us stay at her house while her family is on vacation and we are looking for a place. She has one of the nicest houses in town, right on the river. they have a spectacular view! She picked us up from the airport on Wed. morning and we spent most of the morning relaxing and hanging out after spending so much time traveling. later that day, she drove us around Bethel and gave us a little tour. the roads have no pattern, they just kind of go wherever they need to. It's very confusing, but I'm getting the hang of it. She also took me over to the school and I got the keys to my new classroom and got to see it. It is in the part of the building that HAS NOT been renovated. first thing i noticed was the smell. it smelled VERY musty. it is probably about half the size of my old classroom at Vantage, but seems to be well equipped. on Wed evening, we were invited to go to one of their friends houses for dinner and swimming. there are all of these little naturally occurring lakes everywhere. they had a cook out and we got to try our first taste of fresh caught salmon. it was quite good. avery got to meet a couple other boys his age and they all went swimming in the little lake behind their house. It was very warm that first day...about 80 and everyone said that that was about as nice/warm as it gets. sure enough, it has been overcast, chilly and rainy every day since. On Thursday morning, my principal and her family all left for vacation early in the morning and Avery and I were so tired from traveling that we slept right through and woke up at about 10am to a note on the bathroom door that said, "We're out of water...the water truck will deliver today." so, we had to wait until about noon to shower and get around. most people have to have their water delivered. they have big tanks outside or under the house that they come and fill at your discretion. you can have your tank filled twice a week, once a week or twice a month, it just depends on how much water you use. but no matter how often it's delivered, they are still VERY conservative with the water usage...once the tank is empty, it's empty. they have a 1000 gallon tank here, which gets filled twice a week and they told me that they are "water rich" and that i didn't have to worry quite so much about water while staying with them. but they did tell me a little rhyme that i wont soon forget, "if it's yellow, let it mellow. if it's brown, flush it down". interesting, eh? the apartment that Avery and i will be living in has a 500 gallon tank and with it being just the two of us, people have said that we should be able to get it filled once per week. everyone says that that is the hardest thing for most people to get used to...being water conscience.

on Thursday and Friday, Avery and I spent most of the day driving around town looking at apartments and trying to get to know the city a little bit. we also go to the store in the evening to pick things up for dinner. I have been cooking three meals a day and loving it. my principal and her family order all their fresh produce online from a company that sends them a shipment once per week. lucky for us they had just had a shipment delivered the day before they left and they told us to make sure we ate all the vegetables before they went bad, needless to say, we've been eating quite good. food is very expensive here. a gallon of milk is $7.95. I went to the store yesterday and got three large potatoes, a bottle of poppyseed salad dressing, some boneless chicken thighs and a chocolate cake...$27.00! luckily that's enough to feed us for two nights. I've noticed that in general, everything is about double. although, some things are very expensive and other things are cheaper.

yesterday, we pretty much lazied around the house all day, although we did look at the apartment that we are going to rent. so by the end of next week, i should have an address and phone number for you. it's a small two bedroom duplex. it's one of the nicer ones we've seen, although it is quite small, but the landlord is very nice and seems to take good care of the place. it's got kind of a cottage feel to it, with a little front porch. it is at the end of fifth street with open space all around, good for riding your snow mobile in(that's what people tell me). avery went exploring out there while i was looking at the place and came back soaked to his knees from a puddle. all of the places have what is called an "artic entry", it is to keep the freezing cold air out of the main part of the house when you enter. also, for taking of your shoes and boots and coats and stuff. You have to take your shoes off at the door because all the ground is sand. It is kind of like living on a beach(except it's not warm or sunny). all the dirt is sand and the plants are just wild, people dont landscape or trim anything. the plants are native and they grow whereever they want. everything smells kind of funny here. it's very strange. it all has a beachy, sandy, salty, marshy, moist kind of smell. some of the places we looked at were very dumpy. it rents for $1100, which is pretty inexpensive, most of the other two bedrooms we looked at were up around $1500. the fuel oil(heat) is included which many have told me can be as high as 5 or 6 hundred in the winter. we have to pay for water, which will run about $75 per delivery (500 gallon tank). hopefully we will only have to get water once per week or maybe even every other week! I dont know...never had to think about it before. we will also have to pay electricity, which people have also said is very expensive. you've probably noticed the theme by now....everything is very expensive. they call it sticker shock, but they say you get used to it. we'll see.

This morning we went to church to hear my principal's nephew sing. it was all very casual. people wearing jeans and just kind of hanging out. the church is just in a regular building, not what i would consider a "church" type building. the service was nice. they sang alot and had a little band and put the words up with a projection screen. they didnt have bibles, everyone brought their own. avery enjoyed singing along with the words on the screen. now we are just hanging around doing laundry and stuff. we played packer monopoly earlier. they are packers fans! cool, huh?

all the people are so friendly and will do anything they can to help. I like it already and avery seems to like it too. although he is kind of bored and it will be nice when he meets more kids his age. What else? the mosquitos are extra big and we both have killer mosquito bites. well, I think that's it for now. I know that most of you are curious about what it's like here. I'll let you all know as soon as i have a phone number and address.

take care,
miss you,
alisha