25 September 2009

Up up and away to Alaska!

For the next six weeks I'll be in Dillingham, Alaska, a village on the southwest coast that is renown for its salmon fishing. Come summertime sleep deprived fishermen pull net after net of King, Sockeye, Coho, Chinook and Pink salmon out of percolating waters. The town grows into quite a cosmopolitan place actually, with the influx of seasonal workers from all over North America, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Having arrived on the 21st of September, I missed out on all of this year's fishing, but I did get to see some skiffs bobbing around in the harbor.

"Skiffs" are boats, and "snow machines" are what I call snowmobiles, but "lickin' chicken" is a phrase that only Rex employs to mean: "that sounds great!" He enthusiastically says this a lot, and not necessarily in sole reference to food. Dillingham jargon also includes a lot of Yupik - a language spoken by one of seven main indigenous groups in Alaska. Quyana (KWI-ana) is "thank you", and I might say this if somebody were to give me agutik (Eskimo ice cream), but perhaps not if I were to be gifted an oosik (OO-sik), a walrus penis. I think this is part of a joke often played on newcomers, and I'm grateful I've got an uncle for the inside story. Names of places are also influenced by Yupik. There is the Nushagak river running into the bay, and last night I went to Wood-Tikchik State Park; with 1.6 million acres, it is the largest state park in Alaska.

I never realized how incredibly huge Alaska really is until someone told me they once bought a t-shirt with an outline of the state holding four pictures of Texas inside. From the western tip of the Aleutians to the eastern Canadian border with BC, Alaska easily stretches across the lower 48. The average world map doesn't seem to reflect this proportion reality, although, the following website might do so: http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/index.html. World Mapper illustrates equal area cartograms, also known as density-equalizing maps, which re-sizes each country to reflect the variable being mapped. There are a plethora of categories: communication and language, disease and destruction, health, services and movement. It's definitely worthwhile to check out when you've got a free moment.

My first few days in Dillingham were full of free moments, with plenty of time to observe, reflect, ponder, draw insights and delve into lengthy discussions, but now days seem to be filling up. This morning I've already visited the elementary, junior and senior high schools, trooper station, DMV office, probation headquarters and the courthouse. I'm looking into substitute teaching possibilities while I'm here, so need a background check but first must get an Alaskan ID card from DMV. The last two stops were to Rex's office, and then to court to see him in action. Ah what a morning, oh yes, and I forgot to mention it's only 10:46. Please stay tuned in for Alaskan anecdotes.