Despite my original skepticism from the first gloomy day, the rest of the week shaped out to be pretty pleasant. The "bunkhouse" I am living in is NOT a concrete bunker with 4 walls, but a fully-furnished, 4-bedroom house. I live in a room with two other girls, and the mattresses are far far superior to school mattresses. My housemates (all 10 of them), I was pleased to find out, all recycle willingly and clean their own dishes. We all also seemed to get along really well, which I guess happens when a bunch of like-minded people decide to come to Alaska. Sadly, there are four crews living within the bunkhouse, a few of which will be leaving for the majority of the summer. We've tried to pack a lot of activity into the few weeks that we have with them before work officially starts!
Monday, May 9: Today was all about meeting people. We went through icebreakers and met other staff and volunteers, and drove down to the visitor's center in town, our training headquarters. This is only a 15-minute drive from our house near Buskin beach, which is luckily surrounded by wooded trails, salmon streams, and ocean. I also had my first encounter with Kevin, the bunkhouse bird, who loves to fly into our windows at least 20 times a day. After lunch on the beach, we practiced driving the 15-person vans that us Salmon Camp instructors would be using for the rest of the summer. They are surprisingly easy to drive, but difficult to park and back up.
After training, a bunch of the housemates walked the trail down down to the beach, and saw white-tailed snow hare and bald eagles galore. No bears yet.
Tuesday, May 10: Our training today centered around fish and birds. Our fish biologist spoke to us about salmon and other fish species on the island, and we drove to Near Island to visit to Department of Fish & Game and an aquatic touch tank. Today really cemented my desire to work with marine life, although learning about birds was also interesting. Our avian biologist showed us some of the more common birds species on the island... identifying birds is definitely a skill I plan to work on while I'm here in Alaska, I'm jealous of my housemates' bird prowess!
Wednesday, May 11: I am official bear aware, after almost 6 hours of bear safety training. For the first few days, I've been almost afraid to leave the bunkhouse unaccompanied, but apparently bears are not vicious, savage killers: they rarely charge, and if they do, it's usually a false charge. Luckily, we are equipped with bear spray, which is a pretty successful deterrent of charging bears. I'm a little more eager to see bears (at a safe distance) now!
Thursday, May 12: Today was all about learning about the area, its native cultures, and its fish-centered lifestyle. We toured the Alutiiq museum and learned about hunting and ancient whalers, and the Baranov museum of more recent history. We also learned more about the history of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the brown bear. To end the day's training, we did a harbor walking tour with a business owner and fisherman who told some wonderful stories about the "fisherman" culture and the hazards of working on a seiner.
Friday, May 13: Field trip! Today, we made our way "out the road" and out of cell service, and headed to Fossil Beach. We first stopped for brunch at Java Flats, a wonderful coffee shop where the occasional dog would wander in. We ate at Women's Bay, and checked out a few beaches along the way. The views reminded me of Normandy, because the cliffs and woods just drop off into the sea. After frolicking around in the sea foam for a bit, we saw whales right off the shore! Our last stop on our outing was Fossil Beach. Here, slate cliffs jut out into the ocean, and abandoned bunkers and bald eagle nests dot the landscape. Later in the evening, we all attended Galley Tables, an event in the convention center where 7 people tell 7-minute stories. I expected a quaint event, consisting maybe of the bunkhouse and a few others. No. We arrived in a packed room full of hundreds of people, just listening to their friends and neighbors tell stories on the topic "How I Got Here." It was a perfectly applicable topic for my first week in Kodiak, and as I glanced around the hall at familiar and unfamiliar faces, I found myself tracing my steps to Kodiak as well.
This was definitely my favorite day as of yet: later that night, I went to my boss' boyfriend's beach birthday bonfire. I met a few new people, and a LOT of dogs. It seems as though every person here has a dog, and leashes don't exist. If is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Saturday, May 14: After a lazy morning, we attended the Visitor Center's special event for International Migratory Bird Day, and got to learn about and meet a snowy owl and bald eagle. It was a good segue to the afternoon's hike up Mt. Heitman, up to the lake, and up to one of the lower peaks. After sweating my way up the mountain, I was very tempted to jump in the lake, but settled for just putting my feet in.
Sunday, May 15: Catch up day, for uploading pictures, sleep, and letting friends and family know that I am alive and enjoying myself.
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Monday, May 16: Today was an early morning; training started at 8 AM at the US Coast Guard Fire Station for CPR and First Aid training and certification. Later on in the afternoon, we did some ice breakers with new staff, and started Environmental Education training.
Tuesday, May 17: More Environmental Education! Later on, we went to Fort Abercrombie and looked around, and practiced "being a professor" and telling our peers about the plants and scenery.
Wednesday, May 18: Today, we went over climate change and the salmon cycles and salmon on the island. Later, we learned about the edible and poisonous/harmful plants on the island and went on a plant walk with Stacy Studebaker at South End trail on Near Island. We got to sample some fruit leather and rose hip jam, and run around the woods identifying plants and birds! Today was my first time seeing puffins, as well. In the evening, two friends and I went to play pick up ultimate frisbee with some people in the town who had organized a Facebook page. It felt awesome to play again, and awesome to be playing at 9 PM while it was still light. Turf burn was not so awesome. Grocery shopping after, hungry and sweaty, was also an interesting choice.
Thursday, May 19: Today, we headed out on the Ursa Major II for a boat ride on the coast. We saw lots of birds and whales, and some of the islands we may be heading to with campers later in the summer. Also, we spotted a yellow-billed loon, which is fairly rare in Kodiak. Unfortunately, my camera couldn't handle the far distances to take good pictures, but I borrowed some binoculars and saw some awesome things! The afternoon was reserved for the in-class water ditching and survival training.
Friday, May 20: Oh my, water ditching. We drove to the Coast Guard Base's pool and I jumped into training, fully clothed in a pilot's suit. Swimming fully clothed is hard. Trying to escape a PVC pipe cage that simulates a drowning plane is harder, but I passed! After the four hours of class, we did some low key painting at the hanger and relaxed a bit. Suffice to say, I passed out pretty early Friday evening.
Saturday, May 21: I accidentally slept until 11, and spent the rest of the day playing cards and watching movies. A good end to a crazy week!
