HI ALL! After a week here I can speak only a little about what I have learned. Nome of course is very different from what I am used to back home in Northern Virginia. For the first week the weather was wonderful, of which you will see in the first many web videos I begin to post from here on out every Thursday. I have also started posting pictures on my Facebook to share with friends and family back home. I plan to keep those back home in Northern Virginia connected with my life, and perhaps others who stumble along this blog will follow as well.
Nome is a town at the very edge of the map, and being here sometimes feels exactly like that. The scenery here, to me, is majestic and comforting. Even though it has been very rainy and windy for the last couple of days or so, I am still taken aback by how everything looks here. I have always wanted to spend time in a small town that is rather remote, or next to water, or is nestled in a large area of fields and mountains. I was blessed to receive all these at once. When I look out my bedroom window I have a wonderful view of the shoreline and the ocean, and when I walk out my front door and look off into the distance I can see the rolling hills of the Alaskan tundra.
Personally, I feel comfortable here, even though I have only been here a week and know that I am not fully engulfed in the culture all the way. But I have been blessed so far in the walk in that direction. I work at a center called the XYZ Center (or Elders/Seniors Center) in the mornings making breakfast and then eating lunch with the Elders. This gives me a wonderful opportunity to speak with the Elders of the village and hear their stories, some of which I have already heard. I was even given a hug from an Elder the other day, AND they like my cooking might I add. These are all good signs to see as I am starting in this new community.
In the afternoons I work at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club near the Nome Community Center/Community Methodist Church. My job there is to keep an eye on the Youth, making sure they behave, communicating with them, listening to them, playing games, and making sure they do not hurt each other. I have also helped a couple with their homework. I have found similarities between the Youth I worked with in Northern Virginia and the Youth here in Nome. Though, even with this, I have seen the challenge I will be facing with the differences.
Of course the culture here is very different from the culture in Northern Virginia. I feel there is a sense of proving yourself in this culture, showing that you can be self-sufficient. Since this is the first time I’ve ever lived on my own, I’m getting more involved in the parts of life I have to take care of that I normally wouldn’t. For one, groceries; items here in Nome are about three to four dollars more then what I pay for back home. This is because everything is pretty much imported into Nome by air. This is because during the winter the ocean water freezes over for miles off of the coast. Because of the expensive prices of everything here, people learn how to be self-sufficient by being involved in hunting, fishing, crabbing, berry picking and any other means they can to survive.
I see a social justice issue with this, but sadly, is this one that can truly be solved and helped? The town of Nome used to have livestock from what I have gathered by being engaged in conversation with the townspeople here. The problem was it was too expensive to afford the correct feed for the livestock, so the town did away with them. As I said air is the best way to get resources here because of the ocean freezing. The issue with this is that Nome has a 29% poverty rate, and the town consists of a population of about thirty-two hundred people; doing the math that’s about a third of the people living here, a third of the people who can’t afford groceries, who can’t feed themselves or their families.
In a place like this, should companies raise the prices on groceries in more economically wealthy areas and lower the prices in those areas that are not?
1 John 3:17-19
“But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him ? Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God's side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord.” ~Living Bible Translation~
+PeAcE+
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