When I first read my call and saw that I was assigned to Alaska, I was expecting something completely different than what Alaska truly is. I was picturing Igloos, Polar Bears, Penguins, Walrus's, Ice Bergs, and a huge frozen wasteland. I really wasn't thinking it as a civilized place.
First of all,
Alaska is not a frozen wasteland. Where missionaries serve anyway. I was thinking Alaska was like Antarctica. Well... I thought Alaska was a frozen wasteland, so I really have nothing to back up my reasoning that Antarctica is a frozen wasteland. Where I am living, Palmer, it is quite beautiful. Trees are everywhere, it reminds me of Oregon, but most roads are dirt roads. The main roads are asphalt, but other than that it's gravel/dirt roads. Everything is very beautiful. Lots of trees, lots of mountains, rivers, and beautiful scenes.
Light:
For my first month out here it was light all the time. When I got up it was light, when I went to bed it was light. By about 12 I think, it was dark. But by 10 pm, the light was the same light it would be at around maybe 5pm in Utah. We are quickly losing light here, and right now it is normal light hours. Soon it will be dark longer. As far as I know, in Palmer it doesn't go completely dark all day everyday in the Winter. We get about 3 hours of sunlight. On the otherhand, different places in Alaska actually do have completely dark days.
Concerning the light:
I've heard that Winter can be extremely depressing. Its dark and cold. Many missionaries cope with the lack of light through music. They write songs, and sometimes poetry. There are some really talented missionaries. In the past, the mission president and his wife would record the music by missionaries and compile it into a cd. There would be monthly albums. They would burn those albums onto cds and send them out to all missionaries. We refer to these albums as AAM (Anchorage Alaska Mission) cds. Most of the music is quite amateur, but if you spend some time weeding through the albums, you can find some amazing music. Unfortunately our mission president has not continued the tradition for now. Hopefully President Robinson will pick it up again. Even though they don't record the songs now, the missionaries still make music. Its really fun.
Bears:
I have not seen a bear yet. Bears usually keep to themselves I think, and missionaries really don't need to worry about them most of the time. Most of the time. I don't know much about areas other than mine, but in Palmer there is no need to worry about bears. I've heard that when you shoot a bear, you want to shoot them during the fall, when they are "Sweet bears." They become sweet bears when they are on a berry diet. They smell good, and taste good. During the running of the salmon, apparently you don't want to hunt a bear. They smell nasty, and don't taste quite as good, because they eat fish.
Moose:
I see moose all the time. I have not seen a bull moose, but I often see cow moose and their calves. Right now is moose hunting season, so I'm looking forward to having some fresh moose once the season is over. They are only allowed to shoot certain types of moose, so they usually go on hunting trips.
Alaska is huge, and from what I hear it is totally different in different areas.
Right now we live in a pretty civilized city, and we live about an hour away from Anchorage. In Alaska, people refer to something called "The Bush." From what I gather, the Bush refers to areas that are not very big, that are not connected to any main roads. I think you have to fly out to them. Places in the bush where missionaries serve are Healy, Kotzebue, Barrow (Which I will talk about in a bit), Nome, Delta Junction, Eagle (I think there a missionaries), Whitehorse Canada, Bethel, Kodiak, Ketchikan, and others. Basically if you don't serve near Fairbanks or Anchorage, you serve in areas of the Bush which are more isolated.
Barrow:
Apparently Barrow is one of the coldest areas to serve. They only serve missionaries during the Winter, because during summertime everything is just muddy and dirty. I've heard that Barrow is one of the most depressing areas to serve. But there are Natives there. Stuff like Whaling happens there I think. I've heard that two white missionaries cannot serve there together. There has to be a darker skinned missionary that serves there with a white missionary. The natives do not like white people. So they usually send Samoans, Tongans, and so forth up there with a white missionary. The Islanders protect the skinny white boys :)
Food:
Where I am, food is normal. Most of the time ground meat isn't ground beef, it is ground caribou or moose. You can't really taste the difference. I've had halibut twice, first Fish and Chips (Amazing!), and then halibut fish tacos (also tasty). Halibut doesn't really have a fishy taste. Its quite good. I've only had straight fish once, and it was red salmon. I've heard that red salmon is the most fishiest of all the fish, and it wasn't fishy at all. It wasn't amazing, nor was it disgusting. Its not very filling, and doesn't have much taste. Well this one didn't. I could eat it, but its not my first choice.
Winter:
I'm not excited for Winter. No, its not a wasteland, but it will be cold. You have to plug your cars in so they won't die. I really am not excited. I'll have to fill you all in when it comes. I don't even want to think about it right now. Elder Nichols told me to refrain from bundling up as long as I can, because it will help my blood thicken and I won't be as cold. Not sure how much of a difference that will make, but I guess I will try it.
I'm a fool:
That wasn't gold. It was fools gold. I am definitely a fool. But that's okay, its a funny story. Our bishop gold pans, and he has offered to take us. Then I can get some real gold.
We have been painting the barn at the reindeer farm, and we are almost done. Last time we were there, some of the neighbors pigs got out and we had to chase them down. It was so much fun. There were two, and I got the first one, and Elder Nichols got the second one. They were little pigs, so they were fast. Boy did they squeal when you finally got a hold of them.
Everyone by now should know how much of a Seinfeld fan I am, and if anyone knows Seinfeld pretty well, they will appreciate this picture:
Alaska's mail system is a little different, because I haven't received any letters from any of you yet. Its weird. I know that you all have been really religious at sending me letters, and they will show up sometime ;) If anyone forgot my address, it is:
Elder Tyler James Garver
Alaska Anchorage Mission
3250 Strawberry Road
Anchorage AK 99502
I love you all! Keep reading your scriptures!
Elder Tyler James Garver
No comments:
Post a Comment