...and so our story begins

Wow.
Alaska is amazing.

It's been 4 days since I arrived and it is still hard to believe that I'm actually here. The mountains outside my window and everywhere i look are the only proof i need, though. I can't even begin to describe how it feels to be up here. The atmosphere is incredible, my coworkers are great, and...well I'll try to start from the beginning because its been pretty eventful and I'm not even through my first week.

PS: if i get cut off, its because someone needs to use the internet...stupid employee yielding to the customer's needs.

So in a matter of 20 or so hours I made 3 flights: pittsburgh to chicago (stayed in a swanky 1 star motel for 7hrs), chicago to minneapolis, and then minneapolis to...canada??? Well not intentionally...but thats a funny story. I fell asleep for roughly an hour on the flight and I wake up to see the woman who was sitting next to me SLAPPING the woman in front of us yelling, "Barbara!!!! WAKE UP!!!" What the hell? Turns out she was having a heart attack. Terrific. Fortunately...the woman next to me is an RN (registered nurse) and then 3 doctors come running from the front of the plane asking to help. Then the lady 3 rows up and across runs back and says she is an EMT. Apparently we had an entire ER on our flight. But we had to emergency land in Edmonton, Canada for 2 hours to refuel, get her back safely off the plane, blah blah blah...and then i arrived in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska.

I was picked up by Jerry, one of the front desk employees and we had a great 2 hour drive with him making fun of me and pointing out inlets, mountains, birds, and eventually my final destination: cooper landing, alaska. That is where the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge is located, obviously. As soon as I got there, I immediately thought of one thing: summer camp. IT felt like I was going to be at a summer camp. Well, except for the fact that people who are pretty well off come up here to enjoy all Alaska has to offer...so more of a rich summer camp. But everything is so beautiful up here, I honestly just stop and stare at everything around me half of the time I'm not working.

Speaking of, I started my job as a busser/host/server on Monday. Not too bad, I'm learning and catching on pretty quick but theres still so much to learn. Plus I have seasoned coworkers like Andrea and Emily to kick my ass into shape...its just tough love (i keep telling myself). But honestly, I have not met a coworker in any department that I did not like immediately. They're all very welcoming (i'm the new guy, almost everyone else arrived about a month ago) and I can already tell this will be an interesting summer...

Plus I made $21 in tips from helping clear tables in the bar last night for 25min, booyah! Some other highlights include helping out with a sled dog show, basically playing with 3 huskies! One is pure white and really relaxed (Kishu), silver and crazy (Cabo), and the big dog himself (my favorite)...BUCKEYE! Yes, I'm not kidding...Lorraine is one of the bravest women i've ever met, she is a sled dog expert and has done quite a bit of her own adventuring. She wants me to help out with the shows now!! This was my first night, by the way...how sweet is that?

Plus I'm learning new languages from my coworkers. So far, i've met employees from the following areas
-French Canada
-Bulgaria
-Russia
-Czech Rep.

and there are more, but its escaping me now.

I better head out for now, but tomorrow is my first day off and I plan on spending it on one of various actvities I get to do or see for FREE...could be historic carriage ride? Could be fjord boat trip? Could be glacier sightseeing? Who knows, but wherever I end up...i'll tell you all about it.

taking it day by day,
-Yohe