Larsen Bay has begun to feel less like a vacation and more like my current temporary home. Last week I went up into the village to participate in their annual clean up with the school. It was a really easy way for me to get to know some of the villagers better and I think it put them a bit more at ease with me. We all walked around the village picking up trash and afterwards, the Tribal Village Council had a little barbeque. Yesterday I went up to the school and taught the kids how to make origami. I brought my camera and, of course, didn't take one single photo. Oops! Imagine if you will, a school of about 20 kids, of all ages, and their beautiful colorful origami boxes, cranes and coin purses. :) It was tons of fun. Their last day of school is Thursday, so I am glad to have been able to do that with them. The closeness of this community is obvious and I am still, to be sure, an outsider. However, they seem to be warming up to me and I am enjoying getting to know them.
It is starting to green up around the island and the nights are getting warmer. (Read: not 30 degrees anymore.) I am anxiously awaiting the time when my cannery friends get their skiffs in the water so I can get out and go fishing each night after work. There has also been a slow trickle of new cannery workers arriving and, I believe, we now number close to 50. Woohoo!
I am falling deeply in love with these mountains and am awaiting the melting of the snow so that I can begin hiking and exploring them.
Ahhhhhh, Alaska.
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