Life at the Commune

Me and Karen, my partner in Peace

 It shouldn't come a surprise to anybody that I've found myself living in a commune. This wasn't exactly intentional but I don't know what else to call my current living situation. The whole wall tents and shared living space, combined by the fact that we divide up chores and share almost every meal together. There are only four of us but we're pretty tight. To my delight, two of the people working for Spirit Walker (this should have been a clue to the fact that I was going to work for a bunch of hippies), are musicians and they have promised me that Kirtan is in my near future. Excited!

Margerie Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park

 Yesterday I took a boat "up bay." This is basically a cruise up into Glacier Bay, I think it costs around $200 for a day trip, I wouldn't know because my boss arranged for Karen (work hommie) and me to go. This is one of the most "Alaskan" experiences I've had recently. In the course of several hours, I managed to see humpbacks, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, seals, countless (and unidentifiable) birds, two grizzlies, three glaciers, and icebergs. AND it was sunny so I saw the entire Fairweather Mountain range. I can't even find words to describe how moving this experience was.

Glaciers! What?

Perhaps the best part of the trip was doing yoga on the boat. Karen, like me, loves yoga. We found other people on the boat that wanted to practice yoga too, it was awesome.

Other super exciting happs include it being sunny and WARM in Gustavus for the last week. On Sunday, I went swimming in the ocean. I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times = You simply cannot beat Southeast Alaska when it's sunny. I have LOTS of photos to document this occurance but the Internet here is SLOW and it's super annoying so maybe later........?

Probably the best thing about being here right now is the fact that we are not in full swing and I've had time to sleep 8 hours a night (most nights anyways) and I've had time to read. Two things that I desperately missed last year.

So yeah, life is good on the hippie front. How are you!?!

Kayaking, Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Ketchikan

Gustavus

Summer Digs

I've been really busy since my arrival in Gustavus one week ago. Happs include lots of kayaking, camping, open water rescues in Icy Straits (OMFG) and generally working my ass off. I have to say that I almost forgot how much work guiding requires. I've never guided for such a respected company before. These people are true professionals. My days of making up shit on the spot, showing up to work hung-over and general recklessness are behind me....for now anyways.

I think I'm coming to terms with the fact I'm going to be wet and cold all summer. I didn't really think about the fact that I would be camping ALL summer. This is a pic of my housing while I'm NOT guiding. So far I've been sleeping with two sleeping bags and two Nalgene water bottles full of hot water. This keeps me warm at night. During the day I wear lots of layers, take aspirin, and practice breathing techniques to keep my Renaud's in check. I'm having a great time, but think that at some point I might have to face the reality that I have a circulation problem and Alaska might not be the best fit for me. If only there were glaciers, bears and whales in warmer climates!?!


Tomorrow I'm leaving for Point Adolphus. Look it up, it's one of the best places in North America to view humpback whales. It's pretty awesome. I feel very fortunate that I have gotten the chance to visit, as to get there, first you have to get to Gustavus, and then it's a $200 water taxi ride EACH way, I've already been there three times. 


I'm pretty jazzed about the summer solstice in three days. There is supposedly a huge party on the beach. Pictures and stories to follow.........


"We're the ones we've been waiting for."
  

Gustavus, Alaska

Okay, it's been rainy, but it's been awesome. I've pretty much been on the water since I arrived. I've burnt my face and the top of my hands, so yeah, it's summer. So far I've seen countless humpback whales (in extremely close proximity), bald eagles, stellar sea lions, moose, and a couple of deer. 


I'm living in a wall tent, which is exactly what it sounds like: a platform with a frame and canvas walls. It's wet, everything is wet but it's all good. I'm pretty jazzed because I'm going to lead an all teacher trip for UAF next week, a great opportunity to network with other teachers in Alaska. Other good things about Gustavus include a good coffee shop, a natural food store, the library, AND a community thrift store. The place is adorable, I think I would like to teacher here someday. Oh, the school, the school is beautiful. 


Clearly, I've had way too much coffee (I'm at the coffee shop right now), which might explain why this post has no real order............. any who, I've managed to find a place to live that is even more expensive than Thorne Bay, so if you have anything that you want to get rid of, send it to me at this mailing address:


Emily Moody
C/O Spirit Walker
PO BOX 240
Gustavus, AK 99826


My phone number has temporally changed as well, you can catch me at this number now:
907-254-9026 ------ I don't know how long I will be at this number but the other def doesn't work, so it's your best bet.


Funny Quotes:


"I'm guessing that you're not going to want to sign a contract."
 
- an Alaska Communication Services representative helping me buy a cellphone and pick a service plan. --------- > What!?! Am I like wearing a sing or something? She read me like a book!

"Wow, Thorne Bay to Gustavus, you must really like the sticks."

- The guy checking my ID and taking my ticket as I was boarding the ferry.


Pics to follow shortly!

no words

  Peace

I can't even begin to describe what I've been up to for the last month. Let's just say that I finished my teaching portfolio, got a contract (.5/part-time in Thorne Bay, teaching social studies!!!), cleaned my classroom, submitted my grades, completed end-of-the year paperwork, AND AND finished my first year of teaching. I will never ever have to do that again!!


Other happs include three camping trips with the school, sunshine in Thorne Bay, 14+ hours of daylight and my long-awaited travels north. I'm currently sitting in Ketchikan for the evening. Tomorrow I'm getting my hair cut and hopefully purchasing a new cellphone, as the screen on mine has been broken for over a month. Tomorrow evening I'm flying to Juneau where I'm going to stay with my friend Kayl, only to get on the ferry at 6am to head to, you guessed it, GUSTAVUS, where I will be kicking it with moose, whales, and glaciers. In two words: hella jazzed.


I will try to blog more frequently this summer, but there is absolutely no guarantees as I have no idea what my Internet situation will be. 


I hope that everyone is as excited about summer as I am.


Peace in the Southeast!

Entrepreneurship Final Project

I swear, this wasn't even my idea. I cannot express how happy I was when we decided to do this. We shared it with the entire community this evening at the "Black and Gold" awards ceremony. I was really proud.

working it

You know, I've never tried to claim that my life is hard, because it isn't, in fact I live a pretty blessed life, but GD, sometimes, I just don't know. If you're wondering why you haven't seen a blog post in over a month, it's because I've been working my ass off. I cannot find words (believe me I've tried) to quantify exactly how much work I have to do between planning for 7 classes and working on my teaching portfolio, just trust, that's it more work than anyone person should be asked to do. I could quite literally spend all of my waking hours at school working on these two things and never finish. I'm getting sick of feeling like this, like there is never an end. The good news is that there is an end, my teaching portfolio is due May 31 and the last day of school is June 5. 

This is good news, but it's not all good news, I still don't have a contract, and I was just informed that if I don't have one by June 31, I will not be getting my teaching certificate renewed, which means that I cannot teach next year. This is devastating to me. Because I've been so overwhelmed just trying to keep my head above water, I've had no time to look for new employment. I have completely dicked myself. If I was smart, I would have quit lesson planning last month and made it my full time job to find a new job, but I didn't want to do that. First, it would be really unfair to the children here, second, I don't want to leave. I have been going a million miles an hour for over a year. I've lived at four different addresses in two states over the last 13 months. My life has been filled with uncertainty. Four days after school gets out I'm suppose to be in Gustavus starting my kayaking gig and I'm contracted to do that until August 18th. I don't think that I can emotionally, or physically for that matter start in a new district in the fall. There are limits to what I can do and I think that would be pushing it. For the first time in my entire life, I'm just too tired.

The good news is that I might have a part-time school librarian/teacher/counselor gig here in Thorne Bay which will fulfill the requirements of my program. The job has yet to be posted, and I will of course have to apply for it, but I'm confident that I will get it. 

It's really weird, I normally feed on uncertainty (point-in-case: moving to Anchorage last  year without a job prospect) but I'm sick of it. I don't know if I'm finally growing up (at the ripe age of 28) and experiencing something that normal be people feel all time that prevents them from living a nomadic lifestyle with no attachments and no possessions but something is changing or maybe I'm just exhausted. 

 Earth Day 2012

 Trash Art Competition

 Dance Party

Yoga

Please, if you're reading this, send me a positive employment thought. It would one less thing to worry about.

Channelling Marian Ladenburg-McGlone

Pack of hungry Stellar Sea Lions

This post was almost the third in my “This is NOT my Life” series, but I thought Marian deserved a post in her honor. So here’s the scene: Saturday morning, 6am, I get up, really tired, and admittedly a little spent from a park service party the night before. The weather outside is my absolute unfavorite: the snow-rain mix. I’m suppose to go whale watching or whaling* in Craig (an hour away). I don’t want to go, but as I was staring out the window I thought of my dear cousin Marian and how much she loves whales and said, f-it, I’m going. So I drank some coffee put on all of my rain gear and made the lonesome journey to Craig (I borrowed a car from the nice lady whose apartment I live in). By the time I got to Craig it was sunny! The water was still pretty choppy but the group (about five of us) decided we were going whale hunting, I mean watching, whatever, in kayaks. Within about two minutes of being on the water I saw a whale breaching, it was F-ING awesome. We paddled for another three hours or so and I managed to have one of the most amazing Southeast Alaskan experiences. At one point we were paddling, there were whales in the distance, eagles soaring overheard (a lot of them), and I was dangerously close to a pack of sea lions. The sea lions were absolutely following or chasing our boats and barking at us. And let me tell you, they had terrible breath. 
 

Dead Seal

Other exciting happs included finding a dead seal. We couldn’t identify the cause of death but it was really cool to see a seal that close, it was simultaneously sad.

The whole experience made me even more excited about kayak guiding in Gustavus this summer! Have you guys checked this place our yet or what!?! http://www.seakayakalaska.com/guides.htm#gpm1_4

Okay, it’s exactly 20 days until Earth Day, GET EXCITED!

* The people that I was with didn’t really appreciate me referring to what we were doing as “whaling” apparently that has some negative connotations. They didn’t appreciate “whale hunting” either. Hippies, they’re everywhere.