Wow. It's been more than two months since I left Argentina... I am now back in the US, have been for some time.
I'm currently working at Best Buy, living with my parents, my older sister, and my brother-in-law here in Mount Vernon.
I'm also applying to be a police officer. I started taking tests earlier this month, and I have one interview set up so far for next week. The whole process takes a few months, what with background checks, physical exams, polygraphs, interviews, and everything else...
I'm not sure when my next blog post will be. This blog was created a year and a half ago as a way to keep friends and family apprised of my travels through Washington, DC and the East Coast during my internship in the summer of 2007. Then it followed my year in Nome, volunteering for KNOM. And when I got back, it was a convenient place to document a few weeks in South America.
Now I'm not sure what will become of this little piece of my life. I'll definitely keep it here for all the memories, but future updates on my life may come from a new blog. I'll be sure to post the location here if I ever do start a new one.
Until then, take care and God bless. Thanks for all your support, and thanks for reading!
Jacob
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Back across the Andes
Mendoza province is beautiful.
I was on a bus all day yesterday, crossing the Andes from Argentina into Chile, and the scenery was amazing -- cactus, green and bright yellow leaf-trees, rocky craig-peaks cut through with rivers and lakes, blue sky against rust-flavored gravel and clay arroyos, roaming horses, desert towns, and snow-capped passes.
Made me think of what Thomas Merton said about a certain area of France: "I drank poems out of those hills."
It also made me feel like buying a horse and moving to Argentina to be a shepherd for a few years.
As usual, I'll post pictures when I can, but I DO have them.
It was my sixth international border crossing in three weeks. I'm in Santiago tonight, at a different hostel than before. I wrote most of this post at 2:30 a.m. Woke up with nothing to do, so I wrote, but the internet died and I didn’t get to post it.
I woke up this morning and walked down stairs, only to find Gene sitting in the common area of the hostel typing on his computer. He and Nicole left Mendoza on Sunday, and I didn’t expect to see them until we were all back home, but I guess they just found the same hostel I did.
Last night I ate at "Vacas Gordas" (Fat Cows). The Mexican guy in Mendoza told us it was a good place in this neighborhood, and he was right. It's a nice restaurant (the kind with 2 forks and 3 knives), and I felt under-dressed (wearing my old untucked flannel shirt and nylon pants), but the waiters said they didn't mind. The place was kind of empty at 6 p.m. anyway. I had a shish-kabob of "lomo" with papas fritas and an IPA.
The place is about two blocks from the hostel in Barrio Brasil. I would recommend them both, but I can't remember the name of the place I'm staying. The address is 151 Cienfuegos. (Now that I think about it, I don't know how I feel about sleeping on a street named for "100 fires"...)
I think I found 2 or 3 hostel options for tonight in Mexico City. They're all about 4 miles west of the airport with decent online reviews. Now I just need to catch my flight this afternoon and find an honest cab driver at the airport after dark who knows one of the addresses. Wish me luck.
Jacob.
I was on a bus all day yesterday, crossing the Andes from Argentina into Chile, and the scenery was amazing -- cactus, green and bright yellow leaf-trees, rocky craig-peaks cut through with rivers and lakes, blue sky against rust-flavored gravel and clay arroyos, roaming horses, desert towns, and snow-capped passes.
Made me think of what Thomas Merton said about a certain area of France: "I drank poems out of those hills."
It also made me feel like buying a horse and moving to Argentina to be a shepherd for a few years.
As usual, I'll post pictures when I can, but I DO have them.
It was my sixth international border crossing in three weeks. I'm in Santiago tonight, at a different hostel than before. I wrote most of this post at 2:30 a.m. Woke up with nothing to do, so I wrote, but the internet died and I didn’t get to post it.
I woke up this morning and walked down stairs, only to find Gene sitting in the common area of the hostel typing on his computer. He and Nicole left Mendoza on Sunday, and I didn’t expect to see them until we were all back home, but I guess they just found the same hostel I did.
Last night I ate at "Vacas Gordas" (Fat Cows). The Mexican guy in Mendoza told us it was a good place in this neighborhood, and he was right. It's a nice restaurant (the kind with 2 forks and 3 knives), and I felt under-dressed (wearing my old untucked flannel shirt and nylon pants), but the waiters said they didn't mind. The place was kind of empty at 6 p.m. anyway. I had a shish-kabob of "lomo" with papas fritas and an IPA.
The place is about two blocks from the hostel in Barrio Brasil. I would recommend them both, but I can't remember the name of the place I'm staying. The address is 151 Cienfuegos. (Now that I think about it, I don't know how I feel about sleeping on a street named for "100 fires"...)
I think I found 2 or 3 hostel options for tonight in Mexico City. They're all about 4 miles west of the airport with decent online reviews. Now I just need to catch my flight this afternoon and find an honest cab driver at the airport after dark who knows one of the addresses. Wish me luck.
Jacob.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Coffee, butter and red wine
Mendoza is a beautiful city. In 1860 it was hit by a big earthquake that destroyed a lot of buildings. Now there are ruins of Franciscan and Jesuit churches throughout town.
Nicole, Gene and I arrived yesterday morning. They left today to go back to Lautaro, Chile, and I will leave in the morning to go back to Santiago. My flight leaves on Tuesday.
Today I walked to the other side of town, which is all a big park with a man-made lake in the middle that is about 1/2-mile long. There are palm trees lining the whole thing, and an island in the middle. Unfortunately I left the hostel without my camera, so I don´t have pictures.
Last night I went out with some people who are staying at the hostel. One girl was from Sweden, living in Munich, and her friend from there was actually born in Buenos Aires, then moved to Germany 5 or 6 years ago to be with a guy she met in Spain. There was also a guy from Mexico City and a woman from Colorado. We got pizza, empanadas and wine, then shots of tequlia and a piso-sour.
Mendoza province is wine country in Argentina, and I bought a decent bottle of red for about US$2.50. I´m bringing home some that is a little more expensive. I have never been a big fan of red wine, but South America must be changing me, because I have been drinking it up... I also started drinking coffee.
I have always taken pride in the fact that I don´t have the typical Seattle addiction to coffee, but then one morning in Buenos Aires, for no particular reason, I drank 3 cups of the stuff, and I´ve been drinking it every morning since. Most hostels offer a small free breakfast with coffee, and I like mine with milk and sugar.
I also started cooking with butter: something I have never been able to stand before. So I´m coming home a changed man, and I´m not sure why, but it´s probably about time...
Mendoza has stop lights in the center of town, which is typical for cities I´ve seen down here, but outside of the center, they don´t have stop lights, or even stop signs. The streets are all one-way, and drivers just slow down when they get to every intersection, look for traffic, then speed back up. I have not witnessed any wrecks yet, but it does make me nervous crossing the street at night.
Mendoza also has open culverts running along the streets, so you have to be careful where you step, or you´ll fall a couple feet into the ditch.
Still, Mendoza is really nice, just on the Argentinian side of the Andes with a great view of the mountains.
***
I have to interject that going to Mass in South America is the easiest thing in the world. The population is about 90% Catholic, so there are churches every few blocks. I wake up on Sundays whenever I wake up, get dressed and leave the hostel. Then I walk a few blocks and look for the tallest ¨church-looking¨ building around. Mass usually starts every hour and a half in the big-city churches, so I don´t have to wait long.
***
Argentinians think they are Italian. They pronounce every word or sentence like it was coming out of The Godfather, and they add ¨ch¨and ¨y¨ sounds to random syllables. Still, it´s much easier to understand than Chilean Spanish, which I will not even get into.
Stray dogs are spread through Argentina and in Colonia, Uruguay, the same as in Santiago. Most evenings, if we go out to dinner, one dog or other will latch onto our group and follow us the rest of the night. If we go into a restaurant or shop, he´ll wait outside until we´re done, then tag along to the next place. I´ve started calling them by the affectionate term, ¨perra mia¨.
Well, that´s all for now. My flight leaves Santiago Tuesday afternoon. I get into Mexico City that night, stay for 17 hours, then fly to Seattle Wednesday night. After the Oktoberfest in Mount Angel that weekend, I´ll be home for a while to look for a job.
Take care and God bless. Jacob.
Nicole, Gene and I arrived yesterday morning. They left today to go back to Lautaro, Chile, and I will leave in the morning to go back to Santiago. My flight leaves on Tuesday.
Today I walked to the other side of town, which is all a big park with a man-made lake in the middle that is about 1/2-mile long. There are palm trees lining the whole thing, and an island in the middle. Unfortunately I left the hostel without my camera, so I don´t have pictures.
Last night I went out with some people who are staying at the hostel. One girl was from Sweden, living in Munich, and her friend from there was actually born in Buenos Aires, then moved to Germany 5 or 6 years ago to be with a guy she met in Spain. There was also a guy from Mexico City and a woman from Colorado. We got pizza, empanadas and wine, then shots of tequlia and a piso-sour.
Mendoza province is wine country in Argentina, and I bought a decent bottle of red for about US$2.50. I´m bringing home some that is a little more expensive. I have never been a big fan of red wine, but South America must be changing me, because I have been drinking it up... I also started drinking coffee.
I have always taken pride in the fact that I don´t have the typical Seattle addiction to coffee, but then one morning in Buenos Aires, for no particular reason, I drank 3 cups of the stuff, and I´ve been drinking it every morning since. Most hostels offer a small free breakfast with coffee, and I like mine with milk and sugar.
I also started cooking with butter: something I have never been able to stand before. So I´m coming home a changed man, and I´m not sure why, but it´s probably about time...
Mendoza has stop lights in the center of town, which is typical for cities I´ve seen down here, but outside of the center, they don´t have stop lights, or even stop signs. The streets are all one-way, and drivers just slow down when they get to every intersection, look for traffic, then speed back up. I have not witnessed any wrecks yet, but it does make me nervous crossing the street at night.
Mendoza also has open culverts running along the streets, so you have to be careful where you step, or you´ll fall a couple feet into the ditch.
Still, Mendoza is really nice, just on the Argentinian side of the Andes with a great view of the mountains.
***
I have to interject that going to Mass in South America is the easiest thing in the world. The population is about 90% Catholic, so there are churches every few blocks. I wake up on Sundays whenever I wake up, get dressed and leave the hostel. Then I walk a few blocks and look for the tallest ¨church-looking¨ building around. Mass usually starts every hour and a half in the big-city churches, so I don´t have to wait long.
***
Argentinians think they are Italian. They pronounce every word or sentence like it was coming out of The Godfather, and they add ¨ch¨and ¨y¨ sounds to random syllables. Still, it´s much easier to understand than Chilean Spanish, which I will not even get into.
Stray dogs are spread through Argentina and in Colonia, Uruguay, the same as in Santiago. Most evenings, if we go out to dinner, one dog or other will latch onto our group and follow us the rest of the night. If we go into a restaurant or shop, he´ll wait outside until we´re done, then tag along to the next place. I´ve started calling them by the affectionate term, ¨perra mia¨.
Well, that´s all for now. My flight leaves Santiago Tuesday afternoon. I get into Mexico City that night, stay for 17 hours, then fly to Seattle Wednesday night. After the Oktoberfest in Mount Angel that weekend, I´ll be home for a while to look for a job.
Take care and God bless. Jacob.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Tango and Mendoza
I went to a Tango show last night in Buenos Aires. It was 70 pesos at Club Tortini on Avenida de Mayo, and worth every centavo.
We didn{t have reservations, so I had to sit at a different table from Nicole and Gene, but it was about an hour long, and the dancers/performers were great. If you{re ever in B.A., I recommend it.
Today we are taking a bus to Mendoza. It{s supposed to have really good wine, and it is near the border with Chile, so I can hop over to Santiago before Tuesday to catch my flight.
Yesterday I also walked through "La Boca;" it{s a neighborhood in the West side of B.A. They are serious about their local futbol team, and it{s not the nicest side of town, but it made for a more interesting walk.
This afternoon we walked through a cemetary on the other side of town. I won{t write much about it, because the pictures will speak for themselves when they get up on facebook.
That{s about all. Take care and God bless.
Jacob
We didn{t have reservations, so I had to sit at a different table from Nicole and Gene, but it was about an hour long, and the dancers/performers were great. If you{re ever in B.A., I recommend it.
Today we are taking a bus to Mendoza. It{s supposed to have really good wine, and it is near the border with Chile, so I can hop over to Santiago before Tuesday to catch my flight.
Yesterday I also walked through "La Boca;" it{s a neighborhood in the West side of B.A. They are serious about their local futbol team, and it{s not the nicest side of town, but it made for a more interesting walk.
This afternoon we walked through a cemetary on the other side of town. I won{t write much about it, because the pictures will speak for themselves when they get up on facebook.
That{s about all. Take care and God bless.
Jacob
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
A Night in Uruguay
I am in Uruguay. It´s only a 50=minute boat ride from Buenos Aires.
We were in Tigre yesterday, a 50=minute train ride from B.A. Tigre is in the Delta region north of the city, and has a ¨boat taxi¨ system that runs between some of the islands. We went out on the boat and then walked around the area. It was really nice. There are no roads, but everyone gets around through the back canals on boats. They commute to Tigre, which is really a suburb of B.A. We walked around, then caught the boat on its way back an hour later.
Some nice houses were for sale along the river, and I decided it´s a good place to live when I retire from whatever I end up doing for a career.
This morning we took the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It¨s an old smugglers port from the 1700´s. There are a lot of old buildings and some ruins of Spanish military ports. Today and yesterday were both amazing. Buenos Aires is definitely one of the best places to visit in South America. The city has a lot of opportunities, and Uruguay is less than a day away. We decided to stay the night here. We are still travelling with out friends from Holland, but today we ran into a women from Seattle, Australia, and Michigan.
I now have 4 different types of ¨dinero¨(money) in my pockets: US, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay. They are all worth different amounts, and it´s hard to keep track. On Wednesday we will head back to B.A. for a couple days, then leave on Friday for Chile. When I get back to Santiago, I´m hoping to spend a night in the port town of Valparaiso before my Tuesday flight back to the states.
Right now I´m watching HBO with Spanish subtitles on the TV in our hostel, but it´s 1 a.m. here and time for bed, I think...
We were in Tigre yesterday, a 50=minute train ride from B.A. Tigre is in the Delta region north of the city, and has a ¨boat taxi¨ system that runs between some of the islands. We went out on the boat and then walked around the area. It was really nice. There are no roads, but everyone gets around through the back canals on boats. They commute to Tigre, which is really a suburb of B.A. We walked around, then caught the boat on its way back an hour later.
Some nice houses were for sale along the river, and I decided it´s a good place to live when I retire from whatever I end up doing for a career.
This morning we took the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It¨s an old smugglers port from the 1700´s. There are a lot of old buildings and some ruins of Spanish military ports. Today and yesterday were both amazing. Buenos Aires is definitely one of the best places to visit in South America. The city has a lot of opportunities, and Uruguay is less than a day away. We decided to stay the night here. We are still travelling with out friends from Holland, but today we ran into a women from Seattle, Australia, and Michigan.
I now have 4 different types of ¨dinero¨(money) in my pockets: US, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay. They are all worth different amounts, and it´s hard to keep track. On Wednesday we will head back to B.A. for a couple days, then leave on Friday for Chile. When I get back to Santiago, I´m hoping to spend a night in the port town of Valparaiso before my Tuesday flight back to the states.
Right now I´m watching HBO with Spanish subtitles on the TV in our hostel, but it´s 1 a.m. here and time for bed, I think...
Monday, September 01, 2008
Details from B.A.
Some details about our trip to Argentina...
I was at a border crossing in the Andes, waiting to enter Argentina from Chile when I saw on CNN Espanol that John McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. An interesting choice, and I{m sorry I{m missing out on what American news agencies are saying about it. I had heard some hype during my time in Nome that Palin might be a possible running mate, but never gave it much credence. I have my suspicions as to why McCain chose her, and we{ll see how it works out...
After the 14=hour bus ride, we were browsing several hostels. One had an inebriated Argentinian man sleeping in the entrance. The group elected me to ask him to please move, and that was a lot of fun...
We{re staying at Milhouse. It{s just off of 9 de Julio, which is a main arterial street through downtown B.A. It has 5 lanes each way and a monument at one end that looks almost exactly like the Washington Monument in DC.
The hostel is a lot of fun. I{ve met people from Norway, Ireland, England, Holland, Australia, and several other countries. Last night was a jam session downstairs with hostel staff and some residents playing tunes by Bob Dylan, Lynard Skynard, and some other groups.
I went to bed around midnight. When I got up around 8 and went down for breakfast, I noticed quite a few people were just coming back from the clubs. We were getting up, and they were headed to bed.
The night life in B.A. STARTS at around 2 a.m., so I hear. People are still leaving to go out at around 6 a.m., then wandering back to bed in the late morning (between 9 and 11...).
Well, that{s the latest from here. Signing off, Jacob.
Today, Nicole, Gene and I may take a boat tour of the river and some small islands.
I was at a border crossing in the Andes, waiting to enter Argentina from Chile when I saw on CNN Espanol that John McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. An interesting choice, and I{m sorry I{m missing out on what American news agencies are saying about it. I had heard some hype during my time in Nome that Palin might be a possible running mate, but never gave it much credence. I have my suspicions as to why McCain chose her, and we{ll see how it works out...
After the 14=hour bus ride, we were browsing several hostels. One had an inebriated Argentinian man sleeping in the entrance. The group elected me to ask him to please move, and that was a lot of fun...
We{re staying at Milhouse. It{s just off of 9 de Julio, which is a main arterial street through downtown B.A. It has 5 lanes each way and a monument at one end that looks almost exactly like the Washington Monument in DC.
The hostel is a lot of fun. I{ve met people from Norway, Ireland, England, Holland, Australia, and several other countries. Last night was a jam session downstairs with hostel staff and some residents playing tunes by Bob Dylan, Lynard Skynard, and some other groups.
I went to bed around midnight. When I got up around 8 and went down for breakfast, I noticed quite a few people were just coming back from the clubs. We were getting up, and they were headed to bed.
The night life in B.A. STARTS at around 2 a.m., so I hear. People are still leaving to go out at around 6 a.m., then wandering back to bed in the late morning (between 9 and 11...).
Well, that{s the latest from here. Signing off, Jacob.
Today, Nicole, Gene and I may take a boat tour of the river and some small islands.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Futbol Argentina
We arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina this morning. We left Lautaro Friday morning, stayed one night in Neuquen, and then made the overnight bus ride to Argentina´s capitol.
I found Mass at the Cathedral in Plaza del Mayo. We walked around with a guy and gal from Holland, and even ended up rooming with them at the hostel.
I went to a professional futbol game across town, then we went to dinner. Now I¨m in the common area trying to figure out this South American keyboard and ignore the TV...
Anyway, Nicole, Gene and I are safe and enjoying the warm weather. We¨ll be going to Uruguay later this week. I¨ll be home in time for Mt. Angel{s Oktoberfest! Take care everyone!
Chao!
I found Mass at the Cathedral in Plaza del Mayo. We walked around with a guy and gal from Holland, and even ended up rooming with them at the hostel.
I went to a professional futbol game across town, then we went to dinner. Now I¨m in the common area trying to figure out this South American keyboard and ignore the TV...
Anyway, Nicole, Gene and I are safe and enjoying the warm weather. We¨ll be going to Uruguay later this week. I¨ll be home in time for Mt. Angel{s Oktoberfest! Take care everyone!
Chao!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Starting my second week
I'm still in Lautaro. Yesterday I sat in on Gene's English classes, and today I went to school with Nicole. I'm sorting through photos and video from my evening in Mexico City, and my few days in Santiago. So far the video has not cooperated, but I have put a few of the photos on facebook. Internet is slow.
I have started thinking in Spanish. Nicole woke me up this morning at 6:40, and the first thing through my head was "Hace FRIO hoy! Quiero dormir..." Then it took me a second to figure out what my mind had said. I decided I was right...
At the end of this week, Nicole, Gene and I are planning a little trip to Argentina. Then it's back to Santiago, a flight to Mexico City, 17-hour layover, and home in time for Mount Angel's Oktoberfest in Oregon.
I hope you all are doing well.
I have started thinking in Spanish. Nicole woke me up this morning at 6:40, and the first thing through my head was "Hace FRIO hoy! Quiero dormir..." Then it took me a second to figure out what my mind had said. I decided I was right...
At the end of this week, Nicole, Gene and I are planning a little trip to Argentina. Then it's back to Santiago, a flight to Mexico City, 17-hour layover, and home in time for Mount Angel's Oktoberfest in Oregon.
I hope you all are doing well.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Bienvenidos a Lautaro, Chile!
I'm in Lautaro, living with the los Torres. Hernan and Deisi live with their son Pablo, daughter Nico, a 16-year-old German exchange student, Marje, my sister Nicole and bro-in-law Gene. Pablo's girlfriend, Barbara stays over on the weekends, but lives in Temuco.
Now I'm sleeping on their living room floor.
I arrived by bus at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Lautaro has about 33,000 people, and is about 30 miles north of Temuco, which has about 240,000. The bus stop was a bench along the highway next to a sign that read "Lautaro."
The last time I talked to Nicole and Gene, they were going to meet me there at 11:30, but that was three hours ago, and fog and darkness kept me from seeing anything, so I got out my sleeping bag to settle in for the night. Then I heard someone calling my name in Spanish: "ha-Coab, ha-Coab."
It ended up being Gene and Hernan, so they brought me home.
Lautaro is a nice place. Small town South America, but it has a couple schools, a couple Catholic churches, a river and a small zoo with a cougar and some funny-looking ponies. The Torres' are great people, letting Nicole, Gene and I stay here for free. We joke that all the gringos in Lautaro are in this house, and we outnumber the Chileans in the family. It's not far from the truth... but we speak Spanish in the house, and I'm learning the customs, like greeting women with a kiss on the cheek, and men with a handshake, no matter what else is going on. When you leave, you say "Chao, no mas."
It is definitely still winter in southern Chile. I have been cold most of the time here, but I'm learning how many layers to wear, and what rooms in the house actually stay warm from the wood stove.
Last night Barbara, Nicole, Nico and I played nerts (a card game my family learned from Amelia). I was winning right up until the end, but Nico took the gold. This morning I went to Mass with Hernan and his mother. Chilean Spanish is difficult to understand, but I feel like I'm picking it up. Nicole, Gene, and I are considering spending a week or so in Argentina. We would be leaving as early as Friday, so I will spend most of this week probably hanging out with Nicole in her English classes. She teaches about 6 classes every day, with new students every hour all week long. She and Gene are here so the students can learn the American accent, but with one hour a week, the students don't pick up much, so I hear.
That's all for now. I'm still working on the videos and photos, but they'll be up when they're up.
Now I'm sleeping on their living room floor.
I arrived by bus at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Lautaro has about 33,000 people, and is about 30 miles north of Temuco, which has about 240,000. The bus stop was a bench along the highway next to a sign that read "Lautaro."
The last time I talked to Nicole and Gene, they were going to meet me there at 11:30, but that was three hours ago, and fog and darkness kept me from seeing anything, so I got out my sleeping bag to settle in for the night. Then I heard someone calling my name in Spanish: "ha-Coab, ha-Coab."
It ended up being Gene and Hernan, so they brought me home.
Lautaro is a nice place. Small town South America, but it has a couple schools, a couple Catholic churches, a river and a small zoo with a cougar and some funny-looking ponies. The Torres' are great people, letting Nicole, Gene and I stay here for free. We joke that all the gringos in Lautaro are in this house, and we outnumber the Chileans in the family. It's not far from the truth... but we speak Spanish in the house, and I'm learning the customs, like greeting women with a kiss on the cheek, and men with a handshake, no matter what else is going on. When you leave, you say "Chao, no mas."
It is definitely still winter in southern Chile. I have been cold most of the time here, but I'm learning how many layers to wear, and what rooms in the house actually stay warm from the wood stove.
Last night Barbara, Nicole, Nico and I played nerts (a card game my family learned from Amelia). I was winning right up until the end, but Nico took the gold. This morning I went to Mass with Hernan and his mother. Chilean Spanish is difficult to understand, but I feel like I'm picking it up. Nicole, Gene, and I are considering spending a week or so in Argentina. We would be leaving as early as Friday, so I will spend most of this week probably hanging out with Nicole in her English classes. She teaches about 6 classes every day, with new students every hour all week long. She and Gene are here so the students can learn the American accent, but with one hour a week, the students don't pick up much, so I hear.
That's all for now. I'm still working on the videos and photos, but they'll be up when they're up.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
My 25th Hour
I'm at a hostel in Santiago, Chile. Local time is 9 a.m. That's 6 a.m. in Washington, 5 a.m. in Alaska. It's my 25th hour in South America.
I left Seattle Tuesday morning, and arrived in Mexico City at about 5 p.m. I bought a map from the airport and walked to the metro. A fairly well-dressed man asked me where I was going, I told him I wasn't sure, and I only had 3 hours until my flight left for Santiago, so he told me which line to take and where to change trains to get to the central part of the city.
I followed his advice, metro tickets were less than $1, and good one-way. So I walked around part of downtown and saw the Catedral Metropolitan and some other shops. It was dark by the time I headed back, but I made it. Even bought some dinner and a little case for my new camera from a few different shops in the market...
***
I'm in Chile to visit my sister, Nicole, and brother-in-law Gene. They have been working in a school north of Temuco for the past few months, and I decided to pay them a visit when I left Alaska, so here I am. Estoy aqui.
The international flight from Mexico had individual TV screens and a selection of movies, music and TV shows in English, Spanish and Portugeuse. I watched Blood Diamond, but then crashed for a few hours.... I mean I went to sleep. Probably bad to say "crashed" as something I did on an airplane...
I forgot to declare a bag of trail mix that I was carrying in my bag when I went through Chilean customs, so it cost me an hour in line, and 36-thousand pesos! Well, it's only about $80 USD, and it was the minimum fine, but still not a good way to enter South America.
I have been getting along fine with the Spanish I know, and picking up some extra words. I'm staying at Hostel Chile, near downtown, so yesterday I walked around, went to a fine arts museum, saw a half-dozen churches, and climbed a hill nearby that has a great view of almost the whole city.
The Andes surround Santiago, and their snowy peaks look like distant clouds at first glance, they're so high. It's pretty foggy/smoggy here, but not that bad unless you're trying to see long distances. From the top of the hill, city seems to just disappear into the mist eventually.
I met two girls from Winnepeg here at the hostel, and we talked last night and watched An Officer and a Gentleman in the common area, then I drank wine with two other girls from Finland. They are visiting two friends from their country who are studying here on exchange, so their friends came over and we talked for a while, then went out dancing at a club a couple blocks away. (come on, I need the 'holistic'view of Santiago, right?) I tried Pisco before we left, which to me tastes something like tequila, but smoother. It mixes great with Coke for a Piscola...
So far my stomach has not failed me. We shall see.
One of the men who works at the hostel in from Ghana. He says he has been working here for one year, and wants to work one more. I'm sleeping in a common room with one other man. He is from Australia, but I forget his name...
I've been concentrating so much on speaking the language and finding my way around, that I have become horrible at remembering names, or anything else for that matter. One girl from Winnepeg is named Megan, but that's all I can recall. The Finnish girls tried to teach me to say "Hello" in their language, but I forgot it 5 times already...
One of the Chilean guys we were with was telling us stories of his trip to Colombia. It seems a little crazy: he said they sell marijuana and cocaine in the liquor stores. I'm not sure what the prices are like in the US, but he said it was about $4/gram for cocaine. (He also assured us that he didn't use cocaine.)
He did use the marijuana, and said that the police stopped him when he was trying to enter a national park. They found the 50 cigarettes he was carrying and insisted that he intended to sell them. There were five cops, and it cost him something like $80 to get through without being arrested... great South American police work, $20 each.
Hostels are interesting places.
On the way to the club I was talking to a guy from France who has been studying here for one year and wants to start working. He said most people get jobs by having a friend at the place they work. I explained the word "nepotism" in English. My Spanish must not be that bad because he was surprised when I told him it was my first day in South America.
***
I have been able to figure out the phones here, after some confusion, so I got ahold of Nicole and told her I'm staying in Santiago one more day before I take the bus down to stay with them. There are still a couple of things I'd like to see.
It's cold here. I'm wearing two sets of fleece at night, and one during the day. I'm shivering now, but it's still nicer than Nome, I have to say. :)
Alright, I've been writing for a half-hour, and this is too much English. It will throw me off, so I'll leave it here and get back to my walking and sightseeing. I bought a new camera before I came, so pictures and video will be forthcoming. Adios, cachay!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
23 and 3 hours old
Well, I knew it had been a while since I posted, then I finally looked at this old blog and realized it has been another month.
Yesterday was my birthday. I took the weekend off from the youth facility, and spent the day at NSEDC's Fishermen's Fair in Teller. Teller's about 65 miles north of Nome, so I drove out on Friday and spent the night in the KNOM rig, then went to the fair Saturday and drove back that night. I even got a story or two out of it for the news folder. (Now it's 2:30 a.m. and I have to be at work at 7:30, but I can't fall asleep. I've been trying since 9:15, so now I'm at work getting a head start on tomorrow... well, I WAS getting a head start. Now I'm obviously writing on my blog).
On the drive to Teller I saw some wildlife: a fox was hunting by the side of the road (the Nome-Teller "Highway" is 1.5 lanes of pockmarked dirt and gravel...). So I watched him for a while, then kept driving. I saw a herd of reindeer farther along, near Woolley Lagoon. There must have been about 150 of them, and one was almost completely white, just a few patches of brown, and he stuck out from the rest.
It rained almost constantly this week, but I took a nap while parked along the side of the road, and when I woke up it had stopped. I took the 12-gauge and my .22 and went for a walk out on the tundra for a couple hours. It was cold, and the wind kept the mosquitoes down. I found a reindeer skull with the antlers attached, vertebrae, jaws and ribs scattered around. I took a rib bone back but decided not to disturb the skull. It was set up too perfectly, and I'd like to remember it that way, I suppose.
(By the way, I haven't been able to find my camera the last couple weeks, so I don't have photos; you'll have to take my word for all this.)
I was walking along next to a stream, and I found a nice little knoll above a pond to test out the .22. It's pretty accurate. Moreso than I am, anyway.
Alongside the stream the ground was solid, but it got mushy as I walked back another way. One thing about walking on tundra: it's squishy. The ground just kind of wobbles and rolls under your feet. There are bulbs of solid ground jointed to muck, or at least that's what it feels like. Stumbling through it, the only way I could think was, "This must be what it feels like to walk on corpses." Yeah, it was gross.
***
Kristina left last month. She was a fellow volunteer and housemate. Her flight was scheduled for Sunday evening, and it was a big deal for her last night in Nome, and seeing her off at the airport, since she had been here for a year. She went through security early, so she could be one of the first on the plane. Then the fog came.
Her flight was cancelled, so she rescheduled for the next morning. Yep, cancelled again, but not before we all went through another round of goodbyes, and checking her bags, and driving her to the airport and making sure her connecting flights to North Carolina were in order.
(I was going to post a full blog entry on the airport ordeal, but as you can see, that never happened...)
Anyway, the short story: 4 days of fog and 8 itineraries later, Kristina finally left Nome Thursday night.
Wow. Just writing about that made me tired. Maybe now I can go to sleep (It's 3 a.m.). Oh, and for those of you who have not heard, I bought my ticket home. I leave August 4th on the 151 (morning flight) and get into Sea-Tac at 7 p.m.
Take care and God bless. Good night.
Jacob
Yesterday was my birthday. I took the weekend off from the youth facility, and spent the day at NSEDC's Fishermen's Fair in Teller. Teller's about 65 miles north of Nome, so I drove out on Friday and spent the night in the KNOM rig, then went to the fair Saturday and drove back that night. I even got a story or two out of it for the news folder. (Now it's 2:30 a.m. and I have to be at work at 7:30, but I can't fall asleep. I've been trying since 9:15, so now I'm at work getting a head start on tomorrow... well, I WAS getting a head start. Now I'm obviously writing on my blog).
On the drive to Teller I saw some wildlife: a fox was hunting by the side of the road (the Nome-Teller "Highway" is 1.5 lanes of pockmarked dirt and gravel...). So I watched him for a while, then kept driving. I saw a herd of reindeer farther along, near Woolley Lagoon. There must have been about 150 of them, and one was almost completely white, just a few patches of brown, and he stuck out from the rest.
It rained almost constantly this week, but I took a nap while parked along the side of the road, and when I woke up it had stopped. I took the 12-gauge and my .22 and went for a walk out on the tundra for a couple hours. It was cold, and the wind kept the mosquitoes down. I found a reindeer skull with the antlers attached, vertebrae, jaws and ribs scattered around. I took a rib bone back but decided not to disturb the skull. It was set up too perfectly, and I'd like to remember it that way, I suppose.
(By the way, I haven't been able to find my camera the last couple weeks, so I don't have photos; you'll have to take my word for all this.)
I was walking along next to a stream, and I found a nice little knoll above a pond to test out the .22. It's pretty accurate. Moreso than I am, anyway.
Alongside the stream the ground was solid, but it got mushy as I walked back another way. One thing about walking on tundra: it's squishy. The ground just kind of wobbles and rolls under your feet. There are bulbs of solid ground jointed to muck, or at least that's what it feels like. Stumbling through it, the only way I could think was, "This must be what it feels like to walk on corpses." Yeah, it was gross.
***
Kristina left last month. She was a fellow volunteer and housemate. Her flight was scheduled for Sunday evening, and it was a big deal for her last night in Nome, and seeing her off at the airport, since she had been here for a year. She went through security early, so she could be one of the first on the plane. Then the fog came.
Her flight was cancelled, so she rescheduled for the next morning. Yep, cancelled again, but not before we all went through another round of goodbyes, and checking her bags, and driving her to the airport and making sure her connecting flights to North Carolina were in order.
(I was going to post a full blog entry on the airport ordeal, but as you can see, that never happened...)
Anyway, the short story: 4 days of fog and 8 itineraries later, Kristina finally left Nome Thursday night.
Wow. Just writing about that made me tired. Maybe now I can go to sleep (It's 3 a.m.). Oh, and for those of you who have not heard, I bought my ticket home. I leave August 4th on the 151 (morning flight) and get into Sea-Tac at 7 p.m.
Take care and God bless. Good night.
Jacob
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Life on the Moon
Hey everybody,
It has been a slow few months in Nome. Kind of stuck in a routine. Good and bad, but getting better.
I went shooting a week or so ago with Laura and Kristina. We drove 10 miles outside of town and saw a moose down off the road. We unleashed a couple hundred rounds from the Mossberg, Glock, 410, high standard and Kel-tec, on pop cans and cardboard boxes. On the way back we saw a herd of musk oxen and a bunch of reindeer and their calves along the road.
Yesterday was the warmest day in Nome since I arrived in September. 63*F. I was sweating outside, then couldn't sleep. I don't know what to do with myself with this heatwave! It snowed three times in Nome so far this month, but I'm thinking we're past that.
Sometimes it feels like I live on the moon.
It's June 13, so the solstice is almost a week away. I was up until 2:30 a.m. last night. It was still bright out. I finally got to sleep, then woke up at 5 a.m. to get a drink of water. It was still light out. I went back to sleep, and when I woke up to go to work three hours later, the sun was shining in my bedroom window. I couldn't find a dark corner in Nome if I tried.
I can still remember December, when the sun shone from about 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Then the cold and dark kept me inside, and night ruled. Now it's the dry wind and stinging, caking dust that I try to avoid. The light shines horizontally through windows and keeps me awake all hours. It seems I still haven't found a month in Nome that I quite agree with. Three more left.
The sun this time of year circles the horizon. It never seems to fully rise, but spins around town, dipping for a few hours when it gets to the Northwest, then rising again in the Northeast after a few hours of dusk/dawn. That might not be astronomically correct, but that's my take on things.
Someone gave us a bicycle. We went outside in the morning, and it was locked to our porch with a note thanking us for the work we do. That was nice. I'll probably take it out next week.
At KNOM, we have been having technical difficulties the last couple weeks. We had to ship in a replacement for our broadcasting computer system. Everything is almost back to normal now.
Work at the youth facility is going well. It's tough to see those kids there, sometimes knowing how they got there, sometimes only wondering. Most of the guys (no girls since I've been there) behave themselves. Pretty easy work, and I'm getting used to the rules and routine. It keeps me busy on the weekends. Now I just have to find something to do with my weeknights.
It's always good to hear from back home. Thanks again for all your prayers. Take care, stay busy, and God bless!
Jacob
It has been a slow few months in Nome. Kind of stuck in a routine. Good and bad, but getting better.
I went shooting a week or so ago with Laura and Kristina. We drove 10 miles outside of town and saw a moose down off the road. We unleashed a couple hundred rounds from the Mossberg, Glock, 410, high standard and Kel-tec, on pop cans and cardboard boxes. On the way back we saw a herd of musk oxen and a bunch of reindeer and their calves along the road.
Yesterday was the warmest day in Nome since I arrived in September. 63*F. I was sweating outside, then couldn't sleep. I don't know what to do with myself with this heatwave! It snowed three times in Nome so far this month, but I'm thinking we're past that.
Sometimes it feels like I live on the moon.
It's June 13, so the solstice is almost a week away. I was up until 2:30 a.m. last night. It was still bright out. I finally got to sleep, then woke up at 5 a.m. to get a drink of water. It was still light out. I went back to sleep, and when I woke up to go to work three hours later, the sun was shining in my bedroom window. I couldn't find a dark corner in Nome if I tried.
I can still remember December, when the sun shone from about 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Then the cold and dark kept me inside, and night ruled. Now it's the dry wind and stinging, caking dust that I try to avoid. The light shines horizontally through windows and keeps me awake all hours. It seems I still haven't found a month in Nome that I quite agree with. Three more left.
The sun this time of year circles the horizon. It never seems to fully rise, but spins around town, dipping for a few hours when it gets to the Northwest, then rising again in the Northeast after a few hours of dusk/dawn. That might not be astronomically correct, but that's my take on things.
Someone gave us a bicycle. We went outside in the morning, and it was locked to our porch with a note thanking us for the work we do. That was nice. I'll probably take it out next week.
At KNOM, we have been having technical difficulties the last couple weeks. We had to ship in a replacement for our broadcasting computer system. Everything is almost back to normal now.
Work at the youth facility is going well. It's tough to see those kids there, sometimes knowing how they got there, sometimes only wondering. Most of the guys (no girls since I've been there) behave themselves. Pretty easy work, and I'm getting used to the rules and routine. It keeps me busy on the weekends. Now I just have to find something to do with my weeknights.
It's always good to hear from back home. Thanks again for all your prayers. Take care, stay busy, and God bless!
Jacob
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Six Guns
Today I finally got ahold of the gun that I had shipped up from a shop in the Midwest. And it made me think that I should probably write up a post about the firearms I have acquired in the last couple years. I don't think I've done that yet...
So, here they are (pictures included), in chronological order from when I got them.
1) Heritage Rough Rider Replica in .22 long rifle and .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR). A single-action revolver. My first firearm; it has interchangeable cylinders for the 2 different shells.
2) Glock 17 in 9mm. I got this one, used, from a guy in NJ. It was standard issue at a lot of police departments across the U.S. for a long time. Now a lot go with .40 and .45 caliber. I had wanted the 9mm for a while. It came with 3 magazines.
3) Savage Arms-made Fox, double-barrel, side-by-side, .410 bore shotgun. I got this one from my Grandpa for graduation in August 2007. He kept it in great condition. It works well and is fun to shoot.
4) Mossberg 500, 12 gauge, pump-action shotgun with 5-shot capacity tube and 18-inch, matte black barrel. I bought this one from Nome Outfitters in early February, with the idea of using it for bear defense with slugs and 00 buckshot. It came with a laser-pointer and flashlight that attach to the barrel. Kicks, but is fun to shoot. I'll hopefully be taking it out more this summer.
5) High Standard, Supermatic Trophy, target pistol in .22 long rifle. Father Sean Thompson here in Nome gave me a deal on this one. He said he wasn't using it much. It came with 2 magazines and a compensator for the barrel. It's heavy for its size and has adjustable sights. Great condition and shoots well.
6) Kel-tec P-32 in .32 auto. I have wanted one of these for the last year or so. I finally sent the money order in, and I took it home after my federal background check passed today. It weighs 6.6 ounces unloaded, and is the smallest, most light-weight, auto-loading gun on the planet. I haven't shot it yet, but there are a few accessories I plan to add to it before too long. The frame is composite, and the slide is parkerized (like the Glock); more durable than bluing. It cost a little more, but I like it.
So, here they are (pictures included), in chronological order from when I got them.
1) Heritage Rough Rider Replica in .22 long rifle and .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR). A single-action revolver. My first firearm; it has interchangeable cylinders for the 2 different shells.
2) Glock 17 in 9mm. I got this one, used, from a guy in NJ. It was standard issue at a lot of police departments across the U.S. for a long time. Now a lot go with .40 and .45 caliber. I had wanted the 9mm for a while. It came with 3 magazines.
3) Savage Arms-made Fox, double-barrel, side-by-side, .410 bore shotgun. I got this one from my Grandpa for graduation in August 2007. He kept it in great condition. It works well and is fun to shoot.
4) Mossberg 500, 12 gauge, pump-action shotgun with 5-shot capacity tube and 18-inch, matte black barrel. I bought this one from Nome Outfitters in early February, with the idea of using it for bear defense with slugs and 00 buckshot. It came with a laser-pointer and flashlight that attach to the barrel. Kicks, but is fun to shoot. I'll hopefully be taking it out more this summer.
5) High Standard, Supermatic Trophy, target pistol in .22 long rifle. Father Sean Thompson here in Nome gave me a deal on this one. He said he wasn't using it much. It came with 2 magazines and a compensator for the barrel. It's heavy for its size and has adjustable sights. Great condition and shoots well.
6) Kel-tec P-32 in .32 auto. I have wanted one of these for the last year or so. I finally sent the money order in, and I took it home after my federal background check passed today. It weighs 6.6 ounces unloaded, and is the smallest, most light-weight, auto-loading gun on the planet. I haven't shot it yet, but there are a few accessories I plan to add to it before too long. The frame is composite, and the slide is parkerized (like the Glock); more durable than bluing. It cost a little more, but I like it.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
All AK Sweepstakes finish... finally
I forgot to post this video. It is the end of the All Alaska Sweepstakes Sled Dog Race. Mitch Seavey was first, passing through the human shute just before midnight on Friday, March 28, 2008, breaking the record set in 1910 by nearly 12 hours.
As he crossed the finish line, the crowd closed in around him, which prevented us from getting an interview, but here is a video of the finish.
If you're reading this on facebook, you'll have to follow the link to the original source to see the video.
As he crossed the finish line, the crowd closed in around him, which prevented us from getting an interview, but here is a video of the finish.
If you're reading this on facebook, you'll have to follow the link to the original source to see the video.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
I get handcuffs and everything.
I tossed my first cell, and confiscated my first contraband today. :)
I started work today as a juvenile justice officer at Nome Youth Facility.
We randomly search the bedrooms of the residents to make sure they don't have anything they're not supposed to. I found a pencil tucked up underneath a wall heater -- not necessarily life-threatening, but he hid it because he knew he wasn't supposed to have it.
I am told NYF is the only juvenile detention center in the state of Alaska that allows the kids to go outside the building. Today I went along with another officer on a service trip, where the kids cleaned the Catholic church and the convention center in town.
Anyway, it was my first day of training, so I will still be watching and learning for the next few shifts. In case I haven't mentioned what the situation is: I'm working part-time, one or two shifts a weekend at NYF, but still doing all of my regular stuff at KNOM during the week.
That's all for now. I hope everyone is doing well...
Jacob
I started work today as a juvenile justice officer at Nome Youth Facility.
We randomly search the bedrooms of the residents to make sure they don't have anything they're not supposed to. I found a pencil tucked up underneath a wall heater -- not necessarily life-threatening, but he hid it because he knew he wasn't supposed to have it.
I am told NYF is the only juvenile detention center in the state of Alaska that allows the kids to go outside the building. Today I went along with another officer on a service trip, where the kids cleaned the Catholic church and the convention center in town.
Anyway, it was my first day of training, so I will still be watching and learning for the next few shifts. In case I haven't mentioned what the situation is: I'm working part-time, one or two shifts a weekend at NYF, but still doing all of my regular stuff at KNOM during the week.
That's all for now. I hope everyone is doing well...
Jacob
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
When it's Springtime in Alaska... it's 40 below.
(It's not really that cold, but that's a common expression around here, and lyrics to an old song...)
Well, it's been more than a month since I wrote anything here. Spring has come to Nome, kind of. It was 26*F today, but 17 yesterday. It is still snowing and the Bering Sea is still covered with ice.
The sun came up at 6:33 this morning. It will go down at 11:29. So we're getting about 17 hours of daylight, and the summer solstice is still almost two months away...
Temperatures were above freezing for a couple of days because of cloud cover during a really stormy weekend, so that actually cleared snow from parts of the street and revealed pot holes and puddles. Most of the streets are dirt, but it's not really dirt even. It's more like walking on a thick, muddy sponge. I hadn't really seen the ground since October.
They call it "break-up" when the snow and ice melts for spring. I'm not sure how long it lasts, but so far it is worse than winter -- more wet and less consistent. I miss walking on solid, even dirt.
I see in the national news every day that gasoline prices are reaching record highs across the nation -- up around $4/gallon in some places. It has been twice that high in the villages in Alaska for years. I guess somehow Alaska doesn't count as part of the nation when they talk about statistics and rising costs. Milk here is around $6/gallon, and has been since I got here in September. When we hear the Lower-48 lament on ABC National Radio News it is kind of funny, and kind of insulting.
***
In other news, I got a part-time job at the Nome Youth Facility -- it's the juvenile detention center in town. So I start on-the-job training this weekend.
At KNOM we have a call-in show on Thursday called Sounding Board. We take turns choosing a topic and hosting the show. It is on a 7-second delay in case a caller slanders anyone. I hosted the show last week. The subject was Bypass Mail -- one of those peculiar things we have in Alaska -- where mail carriers can fly mail straight from sender to recipient, bypassing the post office. Anyway, they're thinking about changing some mail hubs, which could change who gets money for shipments, and some people are up-in-arms. We got a caller from St. George. It is an island WAY down south, about 700 miles.
That's like someone in Seattle listening to a radio station in Sacramento, California.
***
A couple of recent news headlines from around Alaska:
"Without Running Water, Illness Rates Soar, CDC Finds"
(A lot of villages lack running water and sewer. The study says, basically, if you don't wash, you get sick... thanks for the tip CDC. I can see why they pay you guys so much)
"Avalanche knocks out hydro power"
(Juneau -- Alaska's capitol city -- lost all it's hydro power and is on back-up diesel generators. Repairs will take at least three months. It's causing all sorts of environmental issues, and the rate is going from 12 to 56 cents per kilowatt-hour. Electricity use has already dropped 30 percent. Just shows how much power we probably use when we don't have to...)
***
Our neighbor, Sarah Hanson, had her CD release over the weekend. You can find her songs on iTunes. She was born in Nome, went to WWU, lived in Fairbanks, and is back in Nome. Really good stuff. One of my roommates also has a song on the CD, and opened for Sarah on Sunday.
***
I took part in a short story writing contest on Saturday. They e-mail contestants the story theme or idea on Saturday morning, and writers have until Sunday morning to submit a story, so naturally it wasn't my best work ever.
Well that's about all I have for now. Sorry it has been so long since I wrote last.
Take care and God bless,
Jacob
Well, it's been more than a month since I wrote anything here. Spring has come to Nome, kind of. It was 26*F today, but 17 yesterday. It is still snowing and the Bering Sea is still covered with ice.
The sun came up at 6:33 this morning. It will go down at 11:29. So we're getting about 17 hours of daylight, and the summer solstice is still almost two months away...
Temperatures were above freezing for a couple of days because of cloud cover during a really stormy weekend, so that actually cleared snow from parts of the street and revealed pot holes and puddles. Most of the streets are dirt, but it's not really dirt even. It's more like walking on a thick, muddy sponge. I hadn't really seen the ground since October.
They call it "break-up" when the snow and ice melts for spring. I'm not sure how long it lasts, but so far it is worse than winter -- more wet and less consistent. I miss walking on solid, even dirt.
I see in the national news every day that gasoline prices are reaching record highs across the nation -- up around $4/gallon in some places. It has been twice that high in the villages in Alaska for years. I guess somehow Alaska doesn't count as part of the nation when they talk about statistics and rising costs. Milk here is around $6/gallon, and has been since I got here in September. When we hear the Lower-48 lament on ABC National Radio News it is kind of funny, and kind of insulting.
***
In other news, I got a part-time job at the Nome Youth Facility -- it's the juvenile detention center in town. So I start on-the-job training this weekend.
At KNOM we have a call-in show on Thursday called Sounding Board. We take turns choosing a topic and hosting the show. It is on a 7-second delay in case a caller slanders anyone. I hosted the show last week. The subject was Bypass Mail -- one of those peculiar things we have in Alaska -- where mail carriers can fly mail straight from sender to recipient, bypassing the post office. Anyway, they're thinking about changing some mail hubs, which could change who gets money for shipments, and some people are up-in-arms. We got a caller from St. George. It is an island WAY down south, about 700 miles.
That's like someone in Seattle listening to a radio station in Sacramento, California.
***
A couple of recent news headlines from around Alaska:
"Without Running Water, Illness Rates Soar, CDC Finds"
(A lot of villages lack running water and sewer. The study says, basically, if you don't wash, you get sick... thanks for the tip CDC. I can see why they pay you guys so much)
"Avalanche knocks out hydro power"
(Juneau -- Alaska's capitol city -- lost all it's hydro power and is on back-up diesel generators. Repairs will take at least three months. It's causing all sorts of environmental issues, and the rate is going from 12 to 56 cents per kilowatt-hour. Electricity use has already dropped 30 percent. Just shows how much power we probably use when we don't have to...)
***
Our neighbor, Sarah Hanson, had her CD release over the weekend. You can find her songs on iTunes. She was born in Nome, went to WWU, lived in Fairbanks, and is back in Nome. Really good stuff. One of my roommates also has a song on the CD, and opened for Sarah on Sunday.
***
I took part in a short story writing contest on Saturday. They e-mail contestants the story theme or idea on Saturday morning, and writers have until Sunday morning to submit a story, so naturally it wasn't my best work ever.
Well that's about all I have for now. Sorry it has been so long since I wrote last.
Take care and God bless,
Jacob
Friday, March 28, 2008
All Alaska Sweepstakes turns 100
In about an hour, the All Alaska Sweepstakes Sled Dog Race will end, and either Mitch Seavey or Jeff King will have set a new record.
The record was last set in 1910 when "Iron Man" John Johnson finished the race from Nome to Candle and back in 72 hours 14 minutes. This year, the winning time will be about 60 hours -- quite a difference...
This is the commemorative centennial running of the Sweepstakes. The last time it happened was in 1983.
I have posted two stories about the race on the Alaska Public Radio Network Web site, to keep the state up-to-date on the mushers' progress. 16 mushers started the race on Wednesday morning. The roster is basically a who's-who of champion dog sled racers...
The Sweepstakes is a winner-take-all, $100,000 race. The Web site is www.allalaskasweepstakes.org
Here are the links to my stories on APRN:
Thursday's story
Friday's story
I will post photos later.
The record was last set in 1910 when "Iron Man" John Johnson finished the race from Nome to Candle and back in 72 hours 14 minutes. This year, the winning time will be about 60 hours -- quite a difference...
This is the commemorative centennial running of the Sweepstakes. The last time it happened was in 1983.
I have posted two stories about the race on the Alaska Public Radio Network Web site, to keep the state up-to-date on the mushers' progress. 16 mushers started the race on Wednesday morning. The roster is basically a who's-who of champion dog sled racers...
The Sweepstakes is a winner-take-all, $100,000 race. The Web site is www.allalaskasweepstakes.org
Here are the links to my stories on APRN:
Thursday's story
Friday's story
I will post photos later.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Iditarod 2008
Howdy,
I haven't posted in more than a month.
Quite a bit has happened, I guess. I've been out hunting for ptarmigan a few times, but still unsuccessful. The best hunting is in the early Fall and Spring, and it takes a couple hours to walk out to the spots with decent hunting.
We are currently in "Iditarod mode" at KNOM. I work 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Kristina works from 10 to 10 during the day, and Laura and Dave work 10 to 10 overnight. Lance Mackey won the Iditarod this year, for the second time in a row. Last year he was the first musher to ever win the Yukon Quest and and Iditarod in the same year. He did it again this year, so it was pretty exciting. Here is a video of the finish. It was at 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday:
I do my regular duties for the news department in the morning, then I'm on duty to interview mushers as they come into town. It has been pretty exciting, but exhausting too.
I have been starting work at 6 a.m. instead of 9:30 since the race started on March 1st. Paul and Amy were on the trail following the mushers, so I had to make sure we had enough news for our casts every day.
At the house, a couple of different people loaned us snowmachines for a while last month. So I got to actually leave the city limits without being in an airplane. It had been a while. We went a few miles out onto the sea ice, and we saw a fox that was caught in a snare. It hadn't died yet and was bleeding and stumbling around, so that was kind of sad to see.
And my parents came up to visit in February. It was nice to have them around. They ended up cooking and cleaning for us, but they also got to see Nome and experience the "thrift store fashion show on Saturday night."
I will keep the posts more regular from now on. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to. Earlier this week when I was out hunting, I saw the back of what I think was a moose moving through the brush away from me. I got some pictures of the tracks and droppings, but I never got a better look. The tracks led up the frozen river:
I'm such a bad hunter that I'm just going to start saying I'm "hiking with my shotgun." At least the scenery isn't half bad (minus the rusted-out machinery near the airport).
I still haven't killed anything with my Mossberg, but there's a big difference in power between #4 birdshot in a 3-inch Remington Nitro Magnum, and #7 1/2 birdshot in a 2 3/4-inch Federal shell.
I haven't posted in more than a month.
Quite a bit has happened, I guess. I've been out hunting for ptarmigan a few times, but still unsuccessful. The best hunting is in the early Fall and Spring, and it takes a couple hours to walk out to the spots with decent hunting.
We are currently in "Iditarod mode" at KNOM. I work 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Kristina works from 10 to 10 during the day, and Laura and Dave work 10 to 10 overnight. Lance Mackey won the Iditarod this year, for the second time in a row. Last year he was the first musher to ever win the Yukon Quest and and Iditarod in the same year. He did it again this year, so it was pretty exciting. Here is a video of the finish. It was at 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday:
I do my regular duties for the news department in the morning, then I'm on duty to interview mushers as they come into town. It has been pretty exciting, but exhausting too.
I have been starting work at 6 a.m. instead of 9:30 since the race started on March 1st. Paul and Amy were on the trail following the mushers, so I had to make sure we had enough news for our casts every day.
At the house, a couple of different people loaned us snowmachines for a while last month. So I got to actually leave the city limits without being in an airplane. It had been a while. We went a few miles out onto the sea ice, and we saw a fox that was caught in a snare. It hadn't died yet and was bleeding and stumbling around, so that was kind of sad to see.
And my parents came up to visit in February. It was nice to have them around. They ended up cooking and cleaning for us, but they also got to see Nome and experience the "thrift store fashion show on Saturday night."
I will keep the posts more regular from now on. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to. Earlier this week when I was out hunting, I saw the back of what I think was a moose moving through the brush away from me. I got some pictures of the tracks and droppings, but I never got a better look. The tracks led up the frozen river:
I'm such a bad hunter that I'm just going to start saying I'm "hiking with my shotgun." At least the scenery isn't half bad (minus the rusted-out machinery near the airport).
I still haven't killed anything with my Mossberg, but there's a big difference in power between #4 birdshot in a 3-inch Remington Nitro Magnum, and #7 1/2 birdshot in a 2 3/4-inch Federal shell.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Island Life
Savoonga, Alaska, population 642
Gambell, Alaska, population 646
According to the last census
I just made another village trip this week, to St. Lawrence Island between Alaska and Russia. Those are the two biggest communities. Googlemap can give you a pretty good perspective. The Bering Strait School District includes quite a few of the communities in the region, and they had a board meeting on the island on Tuesday, so KNOM decided to send me out on Bering Air. I was happy for the chance to get out of Nome!
I'll try to put up some pictures when the internet connection cooperates. I had some time to walk around in each of the villages. In Savoonga I met a man named Julian at the village "gas station." It's the bulk community fuel storage farm. He carved ivory and told me he grew up in Savoonga and didn't want to leave any more. He must have been more than 50 years old. Said the last time he was in Anchorage was 4 years ago, and he said he was the only person around the village who had been to Spain. He said it was in 1975. I didn't ask why he made the trip.
I didn't see a single car or truck on the island. There's no need for them. Everyone gets around on snowmachines and 4-wheelers.
I caught a glimpse of a fox running by outside the school, but I didn't realize what it was until I was talking to the school board members at lunch and they mentioned that a fox had been living under the school.
In Gambell I climbed a little bluff that overlooked the village. Then I climbed down, walked across the village, found the IRA and interviewed the general manager, then walked out the other side and down to the beach. I looked at my watch, and it was a little more than an hour.
Every few minutes someone would come by on a 4-wheeler and ask if I needed a ride, who I was, what brought me to Gambell. I told one man my name was Jacob and I worked for KNOM. He said, "Jacob Buckenmeyer! Yeah, I know all of you from the radio." Then he asked me why some people weren't on the radio any more. Mostly past volunteers I didn't know.
I met Edwin. He was one of about seven or eight men on 4-wheelers circling the village coast with their rifles looking for seals. The water isn't completely frozen over on the shore, and big chunks and floes are moving through the current. I saw birds, and Edwin tried to point out a seal, but he knows what to look for I guess. Said he was 33. Took his first polar bear when he was 22, with a 7mm. He was carying a .338 Ruger and let me take a shot at a bird on the water. No luck. He said if I waited long enough I might see a walrus. He said he's seen the weather change over the years -- "global warming," he says, "is for real." Good guy.
Later I took a ride back to the school with a man who said someone spotted a polar bear out on the ice. Said he hoped it would come in off the ice by tomorrow where someone could take it. As soon as we got back to the school I checked in with the flight agent to see what time my flight was coming in, then started walking out toward the beach again.
I spotted four or five men on snowmachines and 4-wheelers speaking Siberian Yup'ik (I think that's what it was). One was standing up and his hands were covered in blood. The others were looking out at the water, talking. I stood apart for a few minutes, then moved down for a better look. The man was cleaning a small seal, but he was just finishing up. I could see a small pile of bright red with what looked like a spine. On the side he had set apart two sides of meat. Later he came over and introduced himself: Nikolai. Said he came from "over there" and motioned toward the mountains of Russia across the water. Moved here 12 years ago and now had 5 kids, I think, he said. It was well below zero, but still a warm day for the island this time of year. Nikolai cleaned the seal with bare hands and rinsed the blood in the water.
So I never saw the bear. I told them I'd heard they saw one, and then laughed and said, "Now we've heard that from you!" I waited around, then headed back to the school and waited for my plane.
Another man took me out to the airport when the agent called the school to say my flight was getting close. As I was putting my bag in the back, one of the members of the school board -- a Native man named Aaron -- said good bye and joked that he would give me my "Eskimo name." He conferred with a woman standing by and then said, "Awkmalook" I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, but it sounds like "awk-MAW-luke." He said it means "One who wears a backpack," because I had my big pack on all day, back and forth across the village.
So then I got on the plane, fell asleep and woke up in Nome. Two days, two villages, and back to Nome.
Gambell, Alaska, population 646
According to the last census
I just made another village trip this week, to St. Lawrence Island between Alaska and Russia. Those are the two biggest communities. Googlemap can give you a pretty good perspective. The Bering Strait School District includes quite a few of the communities in the region, and they had a board meeting on the island on Tuesday, so KNOM decided to send me out on Bering Air. I was happy for the chance to get out of Nome!
I'll try to put up some pictures when the internet connection cooperates. I had some time to walk around in each of the villages. In Savoonga I met a man named Julian at the village "gas station." It's the bulk community fuel storage farm. He carved ivory and told me he grew up in Savoonga and didn't want to leave any more. He must have been more than 50 years old. Said the last time he was in Anchorage was 4 years ago, and he said he was the only person around the village who had been to Spain. He said it was in 1975. I didn't ask why he made the trip.
I didn't see a single car or truck on the island. There's no need for them. Everyone gets around on snowmachines and 4-wheelers.
I caught a glimpse of a fox running by outside the school, but I didn't realize what it was until I was talking to the school board members at lunch and they mentioned that a fox had been living under the school.
In Gambell I climbed a little bluff that overlooked the village. Then I climbed down, walked across the village, found the IRA and interviewed the general manager, then walked out the other side and down to the beach. I looked at my watch, and it was a little more than an hour.
Every few minutes someone would come by on a 4-wheeler and ask if I needed a ride, who I was, what brought me to Gambell. I told one man my name was Jacob and I worked for KNOM. He said, "Jacob Buckenmeyer! Yeah, I know all of you from the radio." Then he asked me why some people weren't on the radio any more. Mostly past volunteers I didn't know.
I met Edwin. He was one of about seven or eight men on 4-wheelers circling the village coast with their rifles looking for seals. The water isn't completely frozen over on the shore, and big chunks and floes are moving through the current. I saw birds, and Edwin tried to point out a seal, but he knows what to look for I guess. Said he was 33. Took his first polar bear when he was 22, with a 7mm. He was carying a .338 Ruger and let me take a shot at a bird on the water. No luck. He said if I waited long enough I might see a walrus. He said he's seen the weather change over the years -- "global warming," he says, "is for real." Good guy.
Later I took a ride back to the school with a man who said someone spotted a polar bear out on the ice. Said he hoped it would come in off the ice by tomorrow where someone could take it. As soon as we got back to the school I checked in with the flight agent to see what time my flight was coming in, then started walking out toward the beach again.
I spotted four or five men on snowmachines and 4-wheelers speaking Siberian Yup'ik (I think that's what it was). One was standing up and his hands were covered in blood. The others were looking out at the water, talking. I stood apart for a few minutes, then moved down for a better look. The man was cleaning a small seal, but he was just finishing up. I could see a small pile of bright red with what looked like a spine. On the side he had set apart two sides of meat. Later he came over and introduced himself: Nikolai. Said he came from "over there" and motioned toward the mountains of Russia across the water. Moved here 12 years ago and now had 5 kids, I think, he said. It was well below zero, but still a warm day for the island this time of year. Nikolai cleaned the seal with bare hands and rinsed the blood in the water.
So I never saw the bear. I told them I'd heard they saw one, and then laughed and said, "Now we've heard that from you!" I waited around, then headed back to the school and waited for my plane.
Another man took me out to the airport when the agent called the school to say my flight was getting close. As I was putting my bag in the back, one of the members of the school board -- a Native man named Aaron -- said good bye and joked that he would give me my "Eskimo name." He conferred with a woman standing by and then said, "Awkmalook" I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, but it sounds like "awk-MAW-luke." He said it means "One who wears a backpack," because I had my big pack on all day, back and forth across the village.
So then I got on the plane, fell asleep and woke up in Nome. Two days, two villages, and back to Nome.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Like clubbing baby seals
The temperature rose to 30 degrees, then fell to -20 in less than 30 hours earlier this week during a blizzard. The Nome police chief came in to the station a few times that day to give the public live updates. Then in order to repair the power lines, then had to shut off power to Icy View (a "suburb" of Nome) for a couple hours. Not very serious, unless you depend on electricity for heat, and to keep your water pipes from freezing...
I walked out on the Bering Sea (Norton Sound, to be more specific), and I took a video, but can't find the two hours or so it would take to upload it here.
The first big sled dog race of the season happened last weekend: the Kuskokwim 300 from Bethel up North of Aniak and back. That was when temperatures were up around 34, and the dogs were pretty much swimming.
Two big air carriers are merging in Alaska: Frontier Flying Service and Hageland Aviation. KNOM broke the story last week, and then we ran a followup story with audio this week. APRN picked it up, so I'm on statewide radio again!
Have a listen: http://aprn.org/2008/01/24/
Scroll down the page to "Merger to Create New Alaskan Aviation Service"
Another story on that page talks about how some hunters want to bring back the practice of killing wolf pups in their dens. Sounds pretty horrible, but it's supposed to sustain moose and caribou populations as well as keep the wolf population from getting so high that they run out of food. Pretty controversial, especially now with advertisements in DC subway stations aimed at ending the aerial wolf-kill program:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/291477.html
Some of the other traditional wolf control techniques include wiping blood on a knife and sticking it upside-down in the ground: the wolf comes along and starts licking the blood off the knife, cuts its tongue, keeps licking, and bleeds to death through its mouth.
That's the brief overview for now. I'll have more soon. It's a busy time of year at KNOM. Thanks for your prayers. I hope all is well.
Take care and God bless,
Jacob
I walked out on the Bering Sea (Norton Sound, to be more specific), and I took a video, but can't find the two hours or so it would take to upload it here.
The first big sled dog race of the season happened last weekend: the Kuskokwim 300 from Bethel up North of Aniak and back. That was when temperatures were up around 34, and the dogs were pretty much swimming.
Two big air carriers are merging in Alaska: Frontier Flying Service and Hageland Aviation. KNOM broke the story last week, and then we ran a followup story with audio this week. APRN picked it up, so I'm on statewide radio again!
Have a listen: http://aprn.org/2008/01/24/
Scroll down the page to "Merger to Create New Alaskan Aviation Service"
Another story on that page talks about how some hunters want to bring back the practice of killing wolf pups in their dens. Sounds pretty horrible, but it's supposed to sustain moose and caribou populations as well as keep the wolf population from getting so high that they run out of food. Pretty controversial, especially now with advertisements in DC subway stations aimed at ending the aerial wolf-kill program:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/291477.html
Some of the other traditional wolf control techniques include wiping blood on a knife and sticking it upside-down in the ground: the wolf comes along and starts licking the blood off the knife, cuts its tongue, keeps licking, and bleeds to death through its mouth.
That's the brief overview for now. I'll have more soon. It's a busy time of year at KNOM. Thanks for your prayers. I hope all is well.
Take care and God bless,
Jacob
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Nome in 2008
It's been a while since I posted; Happy New Year!
I'm kind of sitting down to write this without having anything to write about. What a way to start 2008...
Well, here's the update on my life for now: the holidays went well for me, I had at least a couple of days off each week, so tomorrow begins my first full week since mid-December. It seems like a long time ago, so I'll have to get used to 40 hours a week again. The winter solstice on Dec. 22nd marked the end of my third month in Nome -- one quarter of my year here.
Sled dog season is underway. That means we'll be busy here at KNOM. A lot of the races pass through or end in Nome. The season will peak in mid-March (I suppose) with the Iditarod. I've been out walking and shooting in the tundra on my days off, and I've seen mushers and their dog teams working out. I've also seen them out on the Bering Sea -- it's completely frozen now I think. At least frozen enough. I haven't worked up enough courage to actually step out onto the Bering Sea. But I'm working on it...
The temperature is below zero pretty regularly now. Every now and then it warms up to 15 or 20 above, but today it was minus 13 and I went for a jog (my first in almost a year). My snot was frozen, and so were my lungs, by the time I got back.
We're gaining about 3 minutes of daylight every day now, but it's getting colder, so I spend a lot of time inside, in front of the television. That's getting old fast, so I'm finally starting to read again. I'm remembering how much I like it. I bought "Mila 18" by Leon Uris at a used book sale. It's just as good as "Exodus" and "Trinity." Any book by him comes highly recommended from me. Good historical fiction, and he does his research.
One of the news stories I'm following now deals with the Bethel Police Department. They're down to three (3) officers now. Bethel is the tenth largest city in Alaska (pop. 6,000) and they budget for 12 officers. The ones who are left are working 12-hour days, six or seven days a week.
I may have omitted an event from one of my previous posts:
The City of Nome recently abated some structures in the area. For one house in particular they gave the owners until April to clean it up or have it condemned. It doesn't always have running water, and people are always moving in and out.
So I was walking at around 10:30 one night in early December, and swung by that house. I heard yelling, and a girl about my age came out screaming and ran down the street with a much larger woman calling after her. I gave her some space, until she calmed down, then I approached her and asked if she was OK. We ended up walking around town for an hour or so just talking. Said she was from Anchorage, it was her 21st birthday and she just found out that she was adopted, and her sister hit her.
I'm not sure how much of it was true, but just another of the interesting experiences I'm having in Nome. I should have written about it sooner; I've forgotten the details.
I'm afraid that's all I have. It's been fairly quiet here I suppose. I promise to walk out on the Bering Sea before I write next; wish me luck!
Jacob
I'm kind of sitting down to write this without having anything to write about. What a way to start 2008...
Well, here's the update on my life for now: the holidays went well for me, I had at least a couple of days off each week, so tomorrow begins my first full week since mid-December. It seems like a long time ago, so I'll have to get used to 40 hours a week again. The winter solstice on Dec. 22nd marked the end of my third month in Nome -- one quarter of my year here.
Sled dog season is underway. That means we'll be busy here at KNOM. A lot of the races pass through or end in Nome. The season will peak in mid-March (I suppose) with the Iditarod. I've been out walking and shooting in the tundra on my days off, and I've seen mushers and their dog teams working out. I've also seen them out on the Bering Sea -- it's completely frozen now I think. At least frozen enough. I haven't worked up enough courage to actually step out onto the Bering Sea. But I'm working on it...
The temperature is below zero pretty regularly now. Every now and then it warms up to 15 or 20 above, but today it was minus 13 and I went for a jog (my first in almost a year). My snot was frozen, and so were my lungs, by the time I got back.
We're gaining about 3 minutes of daylight every day now, but it's getting colder, so I spend a lot of time inside, in front of the television. That's getting old fast, so I'm finally starting to read again. I'm remembering how much I like it. I bought "Mila 18" by Leon Uris at a used book sale. It's just as good as "Exodus" and "Trinity." Any book by him comes highly recommended from me. Good historical fiction, and he does his research.
One of the news stories I'm following now deals with the Bethel Police Department. They're down to three (3) officers now. Bethel is the tenth largest city in Alaska (pop. 6,000) and they budget for 12 officers. The ones who are left are working 12-hour days, six or seven days a week.
I may have omitted an event from one of my previous posts:
The City of Nome recently abated some structures in the area. For one house in particular they gave the owners until April to clean it up or have it condemned. It doesn't always have running water, and people are always moving in and out.
So I was walking at around 10:30 one night in early December, and swung by that house. I heard yelling, and a girl about my age came out screaming and ran down the street with a much larger woman calling after her. I gave her some space, until she calmed down, then I approached her and asked if she was OK. We ended up walking around town for an hour or so just talking. Said she was from Anchorage, it was her 21st birthday and she just found out that she was adopted, and her sister hit her.
I'm not sure how much of it was true, but just another of the interesting experiences I'm having in Nome. I should have written about it sooner; I've forgotten the details.
I'm afraid that's all I have. It's been fairly quiet here I suppose. I promise to walk out on the Bering Sea before I write next; wish me luck!
Jacob
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