Inner Beauty

A friend once said college is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer you get to the end the faster it goes. Apparently, life didn’t get the memo that I’m not in college anymore and Bethel, Alaska is nowhere near Omaha, Nebraska. It’s hard to believe it’s been nine months since my arrival in Bethel. It seems like just yesterday I was staring out the airplane window at this delta I would call home for the next year. Nine months later I find myself a bit wiser (most days), a few pounds heavier, definitely a few shades whiter, and a great deal more empathetic than the kid who arrived in Bethel sporting his orange Spurbury boat shoes.

I have always understood empathy as the ability to relate to others circumstances and surrounding. Empathy is the type of ideal than can be taught, as I was fortunate enough to have had throughout my many years in Jesuit schools, but cannot be fully understood until one has fully immersed themselves in another’s way of life. While I don’t pretend to be an expert in empathy after immersing myself in another’s culture for one year, I will admit that my time and experiences in Bethel will be a foundational building block as I take the next steps in life. Once I was able to begin and understand empathy, it seems as though everything else became easier. I became better at my job, I started to see the beauty in Bethel, and best of all I stopped talking about myself and started to listen more. Bethel is a perfect example of inner beauty. We all know what it is, we all see it daily, but more often than not we pass it over and continue with our daily lives. So…what does inner beauty in Bethel look like…? Everything!!!

As I’m writing this blog it’s about 60 degrees outside, ducks and geese are flying everywhere, a Robin has made a nest right outside our office, there’s about 20 hours of daylight, and the river is flowing freely now. I know right…seems hard to believe that less than a month ago everything was still lifeless and frozen throughout the tundra. Never have I lived in a place that can seem so desolate and lifeless in the middle of winter, only to transform into the continents largest wildlife refuge several months later. It’s spectacular to say the least. In the past month, I have seen large flocks of ducks, geese, swans and cranes flying overhead. My once 40 minute walk to work has turned from a Man vs. Wild episode into a birding nature tour.

Upon arrival, I was amazed at all the junk lying around town. I thought to myself…how can Bethel citizens put up with all this junk. What I didn’t realize is that it’s like having a hardware store outside your font door. Anything and everything you might need to fix something can be found within a four house radius. Think of all the times when your car’s engine has exploded on the way to work and you thought to yourself…gosh darnit…I wish I would have saved my old cars engine. In all seriousness though…it’s not as big of a deal as we all make it. There is a definite amount of pride that comes with having a tidy house and yard, but does it really make your life that much worse if your neighbor has a little junk in there yard? What’s more important is that there’s a functional family living inside that house.

Speaking of people, I constantly come across the argument that there’s nothing to do in Bethel. I hear this statement at least daily while subbing at the high school. Ok…you got me there. Finding healthy outlets can be challenging at time, but they are available…I promise. One of my biggest highlights living in Bethel has been the ability to participate in various intramural sports. Who thought that after my college glory days I would still be tearing up broomball rink or ultimate Frisbee field? I love competition (for those of you who couldn’t tell) and being able to stay active and compete is absolutely awesome. Alaska sports are much like the job market; there’s always an opportunity to try something new. Being a kid is a challenge regardless of geographical location, but it seems even harder sometimes being a kid in Bethel. Kids are constantly reminded of the hardships life has in store, but I also think that being a kid in Bethel can be a gift in disguise. If there is one aspect of Bethel that has made me appreciate this place though, it’s that kids are allowed to be kids. Watching Bethel kids play around in mud puddles or rolling around on snow banks (sometimes at the same time) is a refreshing site.

So…what next? Every time I start getting settled into a routine it seems like life speeds up and it’s time to make the next big decision. This time it’s the CAREER decision. I was fortunate enough to be approached with an enticing opportunity here in Bethel working within the hospital. The organization is called YKHC (Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation) and they are the overseeing body for health care throughout the YK Delta. I have until July 1^st to give them my final decision which gives me some time to pursue other interesting opportunities back home. Mommy and the girlfriend were not quite as excited as I was when I told them the news about possibly remaining in Bethel for a bit longer, but I think the thought is growing on them a bit (very very slowly).

Regardless of what decisions and opportunities come about in the next few months I can without question look back upon my time in Bethel and know the experience was an excellent investment in myself. I hope I was able to make one tenth as much of a difference in the community as the community made in me.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day as I embark on my first real Alaskan adventure. Six of us are heading up river about 4-5 hours in several boats in hopes of conquering dead trees left behind by this past winters wrath. The technical term for what we are doing is “logging” but more than anything, it signifies the start of summer. The basic just of logging consist of gathering dead trees that were killed or uprooted by the past winters ice. Once 40-50 trees are gathered over several days, a raft will be build in order to float the trees back to Bethel. The total float time back will be somewhere in the ball bark of 20-24 hours upon which the trees will then be cut up and turned into firewood for next winter. Luckily for me I am going with several extremely skilled outdoor individuals who have done this many times before. I was trying to tell them that “logging” was not covered in my high school or college curriculum and have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, but there taking me anyway…so jokes on them. Tom Sawyers aint got nothing on me!