Anchorage and Wasilla

JVC Fall Retreat- good times. Set in a winter wonderland, the 5 Sitka JV's got to enjoy a relaxed time of reflection with the 22 other Alaska Jesuit Volunteers, focused on building right relationships within ourself, with our house communities, and with the world around us.

It all started Friday at an ungodly hour (4:30am!), heading to the airport for our flight through Juneau to Anchorage. We had such bad turbulence during our landing in Juneau that the pilot actually pulled us back up, circled around, and went for it again. "Unacceptable winds." We discovered that Alaskan airports are interesting. They only have one terminal, all alaska air, and they all have stuffed bears behind glass. Oh, and security takes special care to point out that you can't take your ulu in your carry on bag.



Our flights came into Anchorage early Friday and left late Monday, so we spent the time before and after the retreat at the Anchorage JV house. Thanks for your hospitality, Anchorage JV's! They drove us places, fed us banana bread, and homemade tea (lemon leaves, dried orange peels, dried rosehips).
The mountain ranges surrounding Anchorage shocked me with their immensity. Some of us went on a walk around the lake near their house. Its a water plane park, I don't know if you can see them in the photo... I was sooooo cold when I took this picture. We went on the walk with the Bethel JV's who flew in from living on the tundra, where the temperature has already been as low as 5F. I tried to be tough and not wear a hat and gloves with my lined coat. Bad idea. By the time we were walking back my face was so numb it was hard to talk, it was like being novacained. Also, PS, if you are wondering if life on the tundra changes people, when we passed by a tree with bright red berries, Erin pulled a cluster off, smelled it, musing "I wonder if these are edible." I'm pretty sure the answer in this case would be no, but when meat, fish, and berries are the only natural foods and a block of cheese is 15 dollars, it seems to change a person. Am I right Erin?

The Anchorage JV house so different than our snug little Sitka apartment. A large, rambling suburban house covered in psychodelic shag carpeting and as if the floor is not enough, one room even has a shag accent wall :) Not to mention their neighborhood was covered in Ted Stevens and McCain Palin signs (I've never seen one before...even in Sitka), and there was a moose running (actually, it was more of an awkward shallop, shallop) down the street as we drove out toward our retreat house.


Friday afternoon we drove through Wasilla to the Meier (Gorgeous) Lake Retreat center. Our cabins reminded me of the bunk bedrooms in the Amoco Norway hyttes. Maybe that was just the dry air, and the heater warmth, but it sent me back. The biggest surprise to me was that everyday we saw moose hanging out near the cabins, and once right outside the bathrooms!







The picture above is of Meggers, enjoying the four straight days of sparking sunshine, as the sun sets on the mountains surrounding Meier lake.

The retreat center was such a relaxed, good time. We spent a lot of time just hanging out, playing in the snow, star gazing, doing yoga, hearing about the amazing work that our peers are doing, learning about other parts of Alaska.
The best part was that I felt the depth of our Sitka JV community, as one member found out about a death in her family and had to leave early and go home for a week. We've really felt her absence since she left, but it was good to see everyone come together around prioritizing what's important, and trying to care for her needs.
We also had a good time simply enjoying eachother's company, appreciating all we've experienced together in just 3 months. Since we've come back, I've felt closer to each member of my community.










Monday we had some city exploration time in Anchorage. It was weird being back in a city-- seeing so much concrete again was almost like the feeling when your favorite TV show ands and it returns to commercials for the next show coming on, or for hair dye, or Olive Gardens. Highlights of the city trip were that Meggers got her nose pierced, and Fran and Mike (Bethel JVs) and I hit up REI. It was awesome realizing that so much more of the equipment there had real meaning for me now. I could picture myself using the snow shoes, and mooned over the headlamps for a long time...
Signing off with Fran demonstrating an Alaskan peace sign.