Hi friends!
Once again, I reneged on my earlier promise to publish one blog post every week.
Sometimes life happens. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer for me to process a situation & deliver the scoop.
Here I am in Nome, Alaska– finally! I’ve been talking about Alaska for many months &, as I mentioned in previous posts, the process for getting here took a lot longer than I anticipated. However, once I arrived, I immediately felt at home. In fact, I’m extremely bemused by how 4 weeks have gone past in an instant. Why does that keep happening??
So, here’s what’s new in Nome– & what’s kept me from writing every week as I promised.
I have a full-time job now!
I’ve worked full-time hours, but I haven’t had a stable, 40 hour/week in a while! Don’t fret, it’s still only temporary until I have money to travel again– but I’m not quite ready for that yet. However, I don’t know how people work 40 or more hours/week for their entire lives, go to school, raise families, create & maintain houses & do all of the things that adults are “supposed” to do.
Nine-to-six is exhausting!
While I love going to work at the hospital, I am reminded of how blessed I am to live this life outside of the box. I don’t like to be confined.
I have friends, roommates, & lots of exploring to do– I don’t want to say “no!” to anything!
Having people around is great! However, I also spend most of my free time chatting with my roommates. I really enjoy their presence but I’m struggling to find alone time to do my things– like work on my blog!
The job also came with built in friends & people here love to go out to do stuff! Just the other evening, my friends Kelsey & Trish rolled up on their ATV & asked if I wanted to go fishing for Cigar Fish. We didn’t actually catch any Cigar Fish but I’ll write a little bit more about our mini-adventure next week.
The endless sun is really a thing– & it’s a struggle!
I heard about this magical place where the sun shines for 24 hours straight in the summers but I couldn’t actually imagine what that would feel like until I arrived. It took me over 1 week to adjust & I felt as if I was jet lagging. Lack of natural light in the pharmacy caused me to feel groggy all day long. However, as soon as the sunlight hit my bare arms at 6pm, I was ready to run outside & play. Plus, there was a small catastrophe with the curtains that I posted about on social media which took a few days to get sorted. I lost a lot of sleep over that.
Now, however, sleep is improving & I would like to think that I’m mentally fresh enough to begin my regular writing routine again.
It’s easier to be off the grid.
I don’t have access to the Internet at my house because it costs up to $300/month for not-unlimited-WiFi! To us “lower-48ers” that is insane!
There’s a coffee shop on the other side of town with free internet, however, the few times I’ve tried settling in there to write, I’ve ended up spending 2 hours chatting with everyone that comes through the door. Not to mention, their limited hours conflict with my work schedule.
Life is surprisingly easy here. There’s a small culture shock that happens when you step off the plane, fresh from the “big city” of Anchorage, & realize that people in your own country live an extremely different lifestyle.
It’s difficult to put down words– which is why, after 5 weeks here, I haven’t really tried to until today. The best way I can describe life in Nome is that it’s like living in a bubble– & I’m not exactly dying to escape.
Stay glamorous!
Stephanie
