AZ Personal Reflection #1: Culture Shock

To be honest, I did not expect this phenomenon to hit me at all. I thought growing up an “outsider” in western Alaska had given me great insight into being immersed in a unique and sometimes vastly different culture than what I would consider my own.

Yet, this past week, I got a healthy dose of culture shock. At first, I was upset. Didn’t I spend countless hours talking through possible scenarios and problems with my friends and family? Didn’t I spend days in self introspection? Didn’t I already live through this several times over?

Well, as it has been said, “Oh, how the mighty will fall.” Well, I definitely fell. I got my reminder that no matter how much prep you do, you can’t prep for this.

On a related note, being here as definitely highlighted that the culture I grew up in is very much intertwined with my self image. Although my family is not original from Alaska, I am. I am a part of the beautiful Alaskan community I have lived in, enjoyed, and am committed to serving as soon as I return home.

Soccer Sundays

I love Sundays. I wake up late. I linger over a second cup of çay (pronounced chai, but don’t make the same mistake I did, it’s english breakfast tea). I hit up the internet cafe for a couple Skype phone calls and a slow perusal of news.

I also love Sundays because Saturday night, I am sending out mass texts that say:

Soccer. 1230. Dove.

For many of us, it’s hard getting that daily requirement of exercise. A few of us wake up early enough to run, but lazy people (like me), struggle to get out of bed in time for language class. I do make time to do a ballet conditioning dvd and doink around with my power band, but that’s nothing compared to swimming 1500 yards several times a week.

Luckily, a couple fantastic trainees came up with the idea of Soccer Sundays. Now, the point isn’t to win (well, for some of us it isn’t). It’s to have fun, be goofy, and spend countless minutes running up and down a full size soccer field.

After a Soccer Sunday, I don’t feel so bad about my new Twix-A-Day habit.

Maşukalar (in English: Marshukas)

As many of you know, my insides are definitely green in nature and boy, was I excited when I learned about AZ’s awesome mass transit system, marşukas. A marşuka is a autobus (similar to the van operated by the family on Jon & Kate Plus 8) that carts people to and from locations. Neat things about marşukas include:

• They stop anywhere. Just walk out to a street and flag one down.
• They numbered so you know which ride goes where.
• They are cheap. For as little as 20 gepik you can hitch a ride.
• They are usually pretty full, meaning that many people are not using cars that contribute to greenhouse gas emission!

Now, of course there are some bad things:

• On rainy days, an available space in a marşuka is hard to come by.
• It takes awhile to get used to the driving style.
• If you start looking for a specific number/ route, you will never find it. 

Just get a gander at the Youth Development groups’ marşuka pictures!