Sitka ABCs

Hello friends and family!
I have been seriously remiss about telling you all about Sitka as a city. 9 thousand people, and on Tuesday this week, as many as 45 hundred tourists. Fisherman, Coast Guard, and rugged individualism tempered by a healthy respect for the need for community during the cold, dark and rainy winters.
In honor of school having started for many young Sitkan children, but not for me, my housemates and I have created a Sitka Alphabet. It amused us on our rain forest in the clouds hike up and down from Mount Verstovia last Saturday with our wonderful new friend and life long Sitkan, Matt Hunter.

A is for Andrew: Hailing from Philadelphia, he's a snarky indie music lover, with impeccable taste and a tendency to do handstands in picturesque locations when traveling the world.
B is for Biking to work. My year was made when I found out that the gravel road I ride to work is going to get paved in September. I thought it was rough biking until I got a ride from a friend- the pot holes are harder to miss in a car.
C is for Community living. Cooking, cleaning, hiking together. Deciding how to spend our money together has been the most challenging, but for the community account I get a cool visa debit card that says Eileen C Sisk Jesuit Volunteer.
D is for Docks at Crescent Harbor: our safe haven for walks, and a home for fishing boats. An entry all of those neighbors is coming soon :)
E is for Eileen: happy to be in sunny sunny Sitka!
F is for Friendly Former Jesuit Volunteers (JVs) welcoming us from the get go. They introduced us into the 20-somethings clique. Its fun crowd: most have service jobs, serving the school system during the year and recreational tourism jobs in the summer, or work for parks and wildlife. Former JVs drop off goodies and have lots of advice and help for us starting our year here.
G is for Gavan's Hill, which we hiked after our first day of work :) I didn't take my camera, so I'll have to get some pictures from my housemates. Or go up there again.
H is for How well I'm eating even on a small budget. Fresh fruits and vegetables are especially prized, and especially expensive, but fish isn't, since it comes as gifts from friends, or bounty from our fishing trips. Our cheapest dinner so far was salmon and seasoned brown rice :) We found that funny since a similar dinner at a restaurant would have cost a total of 100$.
I is for Investing in good rain gear and in community. Both are gloom repellent.
J is for Joseph: Gonzaga University grad from north of Seattle, this former volunteer firefighter is also a chef extraordinaire and works with me at my agency, as a case manager.






K is for Kayaking: can't wait for my next chance to go! I am addicted. As Emily Bradford put it after reading my blog entry on kayaking adventure, it all plastic for me next time.
L is for Loving the Library: the local library has a window big enough for a full length view of the Sound. Computers with the internet, and up to 70 books at a time. 70. kinda excessive, but I'm not complaining.
M is for Meggers: This sassy housemate is from Buffalo New York, and proud of it. A hockey fanatic and avid dance partier, she is working at the domestic violence shelter with Whitney.






N is for Not having a car (thus, biking, walking and bumming rides) which is not too bad when there is only 13 miles of road from one end of the city to the other.
O is for Otters. They're cute, but more skittish than seals, I hear.
P is for Potlucks. Yum. I ate some great vegan cookies last week that blew me away.
Q is for Quirky locals. You should see some of the houses on the islands in Sitka sound. One woman is famous for boating in every week, then biking to play the accordion for the Pioneer home, and host a Polka radio show. We caught her biking over the bridge to Japonski Island.






R is for Russian Bishops House (a national park monument next door) Haven't been yet because it costs some money, which is silly, but it's free on Alaska Day, so I'll be getting be checking out the insides then. Thats the old school house next to it in the picture.
S is for Salmon jumping in Indian River. It started during the olympics, so we did some salmon jumping olympic judging.








T is for Tlingit totem poles: Story trees, beautiful and mysterious. Its like a permanent picture book in the forest.












U is for Ultimate Frisbee: played Sunday and Thursday evenings, I keep trying to make it to play. Wish me luck! I'm pretty terrible... but it seems like it would be a fun way to get to hang out with people. We also have Hames Athletic Center to work out at. I enjoy working the eliptical there: the work out room is a loft of the basketball court, so you can work out while watching the karate kids or a pick up basketball game, all under an American and Alaskan flag.

V is for Verstovia: The mountain we climbed, hence the V sign we're flashing in the picture :) My first rain forest hike, and look! I'm still smiling at the end. The trick is layering, and not wearing cotton, i'm told.








W is for Whitney. This fun and sweet member of our clan is from Indiana, went to college at Butler University, is applying for law school, and has a tendency to squeal and call things she loves "so cute and little!" She didn't think this dead crab was cute and little. She swore she saw the legs moving.







X is for Xtra Tufs: these photogenic boots have already been a subject of an entire blog entry... I like them a lot :)










Y is for Yoga. Everywhere and anywhere.






Z is for Zoos- if by zoos I mean a Raptor Center rehabilitating Bald Eagles, and a bear habitat for two baby grizzly bears.