Beer, Zip-lining, Dancing, Kayaking, and Class.

Wow, it has been a while. For y'all back home, that may be upsetting. But look at it in a positive way. Wouldn't you rather me continue to take advantage of everything (and I mean everything) rather than sitting on my computer constantly missing out on social engagements? I would. And that's exactly what I have been doing and probably what I'll continue to do! However, I will try to update at least once a week rather than once every two weeks or even less. So, I do sincerely apologize. Also, please know that in all I am doing, I wish that everyone I love and care about back home could be here experiencing all of these things with me. There have been too many times where I find myself thinking, "Wow, I wish that (insert name) was here with me!". YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.

Things have been going really well. Though, last week was a little challenging. I think I was at the end of the honeymoon phase of culture shock and going into crisis mode. I felt a little bit more homesick and down, and just wanted to hug the fam and Putter. But by keeping busy, I think that I pulled through because this week, I already feel so much better and am lovin' life off the grid (kind of off the grid, I guess).

Anyways, my last post talked about my ticket to Brewfest, and now I'll talk about the experience. Basically, there were TONS and TONS of different brewers from all over Alaska handing out samples of their beer. Yes, I probably did drink too much and maybe got sick, but it was definitely worth it. The Alaskan Brewing Company Pumpkin Porter? DELISH. The beer that tasted like moldy bananas? DISGUSTING. The IPA's? HEAVENLY. The champagne tasting beer? OH MY GOSH. The Apricot beer? TO DIE FOR. However, none of it compares to Leinenkugel's or New Glarus.

This past Friday a group of us went zip-lining through the rain forests of Juneau. It was absolutely beautiful and incredibly fun, despite my lack of grace. I don't know why I ever thought I'd be graceful zipping through the trees. Maybe because I was defying gravity? What a nightmare. Ziplining lasted for a few hours and then afterwards we got pizza downtown and hit up the sales at the tourist shops (I got a new wolf shirt, and am looking forward to this week's wolf shirt Wednesday. I also ended up getting a 3D wolf phone case. It's quite the gem...).

Saturday was spent in the rain at Auke Lake going over basic kayaking skills for my kayaking class. It really was fun but I was freezing the entire time, despite the fact that I was wearing 4 pairs of pants, three shirts, and a dry suit. Getting into that water was brutal. Later that night there was a Techno Contra dance where I danced the night away. It was kind of weird because you dance classic dances to techno music. Later later that night, there was a student discount night at Fred Meyer, so Brittni, Mitchell, and I all went and maybe spent more than we wanted to, but the groceries and watch were necessary. Then Sunday for my kayaking class we were out on the ocean all day paddling to our heart's desire. It was a little bit more dry due to the minimal rain and short amount of time spent in the water.

Today definitely destroyed me. Mostly because I have been staying up WAY to late and waking up pretty early. So classes have been pretty exhausting. Especially when you wake up 15 minutes before class starts and have no time to make coffee but instead rely on the coffee on campus. But the café wasn't taking meal plan dollars yet and the cafeteria was out. Today was a struggle. Hopefully I can get more sleep tonight and tomorrow so that this week can go smoothly. But let's face it, it probably won't. Oh, and I continue to eat waaaaay too much candy corn.

Things have been going so well and I couldn't be happier! Love and miss you all! XOXO.

-Al

Brewfest       

Brewfest (creepy selfie)

Zip-lining

Zip-lining

Zip-lining

Zip-lining

Zip-lining with Brittni! 

Zip-lining

Zip-lining: walking across this bridge was terrifying.

Zip-lining

Candy Corn Selfie.

Fred Meyer Night

Fred Meyer Night 

Candy Corn...Even in Alaska

When first getting here, my craving for candy corn kicked in to high gear. It was the weirdest thing ever. I normally don't really crave it until the end of September until about Thanksgiving. But, oh man. It was all I could think about. Every time I would go to a store-grocery store, gas station, etc.- I was unable to find it. I would walk out discouraged thinking that Alaska is missing out on so much. Until, one day I came back from orientation and there were TWO bags of candy corn waiting for me from a dear friend. And that mis amigos, is how my five bag streak started (and keep in mind, it's only been about a week and a half since the initial 2 bags). It's actually pretty disgusting. It's been a huge part of my diet these past few days. Breakfast the other morning? Candy corn and yogurt. Dinner last night? Candy corn and pretzels. Snack after class? Candy corn and chocolate frosting. Seriously. It's not healthy. I probably should join Candy Cornaholics Anonymous. And now that Halloween is drawing near, stores are slowly beginning to stock up on the oh so delicious candy that makes everyone's teeth ache (with no regrets, of course). Just the other day I was in Joann Fabrics shopping for supplies for an upcoming event we had and there was a whole section of candy corn items: hand-towels, candles, welcome mats, wreaths, lights, etc. It took all my will to not buy any of it. It's even pretty weird that I'm dedicating an entire blog post to it in the first week or so of September. It would make more sense to wait a few more weeks, but it's literally been consuming my mind. There's just something about it. I even wrote a poem about the candy for my English class last year (it's weird. I know. No judgement giraffe, please). It's called Candy Corn:

September slowly morphs into October

and stores begin stocking up

on Halloween candy.

I don’t go for the chocolate.

Or the gummies.

I go for those white tips

orange middles

and yellow bottoms.

The candy that when you eat it,

you can literally feel your teeth

rotting and screaming in agony.

The candy that when you taste it,

you can literally taste the crisp

sweet fall air.

A multi purpose candy.

Substitute for real corn.

Vampire teeth.

Nose plugs.

Traffic cones for your toy cars.

A candy that brings you back

to your childhood.

A candy where one bite is not enough.

But two bites is one too many.

There are probably better and cooler things I should be telling y'all about, but this is a huge part of my life at the moment. Is it a crisis? Maybe. Residents in the building will see other staff members walking around with a handful of it and ask where they got it. Then, they'll see me sitting and working at the desk and say, "Oh, that's where they got it. Makes sense." Seriously, I'm a candy corn freak.

Anyways, I guess I could update you on other aspects of my Alaskan life. Classes have officially started about a week ago and I really enjoy all of them. Granted, I've only had two classes (Biology and Children's Literature) but they are really great. Children's Lit starts off with everyone sitting on the floor and one of us reading one of our favorite childhood books. My textbook list for that class for this semester includes Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, Shiloh, Little House on the Prairie, A Wrinkle in Time, and so many more! And well, Biology is is biology. I also am enrolled in a Sea-Kayaking class but that doesn't start until next week and I have a few online classes as well, which don't really deserve praise. At least not yet.

What else?

ROLLERBLADING. It hasn't happened a lot, but the few times I've gone, have been well...interesting. The first time I thought I was taking a shortcut to the other part of campus, and well, it was...for a mountain biker or person traveling by foot. It was unpaved (which I had forgotten about). I was hiking up a hilly gravel road in my rollerblades, too stubborn to turn around, and then when I had to make the next turn of said short cut, I was hiking through the forest: tree branches, mud, leaves/brush, and rocks. Also, it was raining. So I just kept sliding backwards and falling... It was not good. I eventually made it to my destination but probably just looked like I came out of a cave. I at least got a good story out of it.

Other things: The sun has been shining for the past few days which truly is incredible. The mountains look as perfect as a mountain can look (even on those cloudy and foggy days) and Auke Lake has just enough sparkle and shimmer to it. The other night we jumped into the lake around midnight. Man oh man, was it freezing. Probably 40 degrees, if not, colder. And then standing in the cold air. It was a nightmare. But actually really wonderful. I'm still pretty sleep deprived, mostly because I'm out being social or (not) working on homework when I should be sleeping (but am staying up until 3 AM watching Les Mis). Or, I'm pounding on doors having people evacuate the building because of fire alarms that go off at 2 AM, 4 AM, or even 5:30 PM due to burnt popcorn. Seriously. We've had five go off within the past two weeks. The rest of this week entails classes, waffles, desk shifts, duty, Brew Fest, and probably other spontaneous things.

That should hold y'all over for a while. Much love being sent your way!

-A

Photos