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Estelle Sandvik writes......about her experiences while volunteering in Alaska.
Hi guys, I have been recording my whereabouts on another webpage and I am at last moving all of it here:
20 July 2005 - Arrival Hi everyone. I made it. I am standing on alaskan ground, safe and sound. I had my first day of work today in the field, counting boats from 13 o'clock til 19:00 to measure the impacts of wake on bank erosion of the river. I have witnessed huge red and king salmons jumping out of the water and they are YUmmingly impressive. I can't wait to catch one mysself. We will be doing the same for the rest of the week and are getting up tomorrow at 6 :) We, means, me and Stephanie. I am staying with her and her boyfriend Tom for the next 10 days and they have an awesome house right on a lake with a pier and a breathtaking view. Just amazing. I'll take a few pics. Then, in 10 days I am moving in with my boss, Robert, and his wife,tara,and little daughter, Jordan. Odd concept then living in the house with your boss but everyone here is very relaxed, that is what i have seen so far. I am still in awe at being here and can't beleive that I am at last doing what I have dreamt of doing for so long... YEAH... I guess I'll tell you all more about it. I might write you personal e-mail but don't be too disappointed if I don't, husband is first on the list. 29 July 2005 - Inner Peace I had a day of in between, moments where I lost myself because there truly was not much to do but yesterday I had inner peace at last. I went for a kayak ride on the lake down the house, the bean shaped lake where I left my body to reach the sky in a liquid world of reflections about myself, the world and beauty surrounding me. For the first time in a long time I reached this state of happiness that doesn't come from shopping, achieving something, being recognized by the one we love or being complimented... Hope We drove there, the 3 interns and me, to assess if any anadromous culverts where there. We had a map from the borough and had to checked those specific point that they considered possible .Well, have no idea where their map came from but one of the stream was completely off track and not there, instead we found a new stream and stagnant ponds. It was nice to hang out with the interns as they are all leaving withing the next 2 weeks.I saw my first black bear. It was just unbelievable though he stood on the other bank and it was only a pupp, at the same time fisherman chatted with us and I learned how to filet a fish. We surveyed, crawled in bushes,tramped in mud and at last had a nice meal at the bar: The seaview caf�. The flat landscape gives place to surrounding mountains and the sun arose at the end of our day around 16. I am eager to go hiking there soon though I''ll require 4 hours drive from soldotna. Gloups...Hope is small but giving a wonderful sight on mudflats and anchorage. At high tide, belugas and seald are supposedly hanging out on the other side of the bay. White water rafting is common in the area and I might try it soon. The return trip was quite and most of us slept. Luckily not krista who was driving.... 1 August 2005 - Fireweed In Alaska, the south part, it seems autumn is already there. For the past 2 weeks it has been raining and temperature have dropped. This is, I have been told, the usual summer weather. Mushrooms are growing all over the forest and smells remind me of Norway in the fall... The surrounding fields are covered in purply/pink flowers, fire weeds, and it is said that as soon as the tip of the flower blooms we have 6 weeks left before the first frost appears. Mmm I am observing them everyday...Hope they don't open up too fast... 3 August 2005 - Homer As I, at last, got a car; in this forsaken country without one you're simply stranded. I drove down towards the southern point of Kenai peninsula: Homer. Homer is a cosy, 4000 inhabitant town, that is closed down in the winter and a world craze in the summer. Homer spit extends for a few hundred meters and is a stretch of sand surrounded by the pacific ocean and a fjord. It used to be 7 kilometers square larger but sunk down during the earthquake in 1964. As you reach Homer which is on a hill, you get an overview of the spit; if the weather is clear; and of the extent of it's beauty. Pebbles and sand stretches for miles,shades of beige and grey intertwinned in a fight for life and death, and dead logs are stranded like sirens longing for deep waters at the tip. It is a reminder of Normandy's coastline, when you drive in the bay of Mt-St-Michel. However, you do not reach a medieval castle but a shack of old wooden houses, sitting in a line and surrounded by campervans. Summer is not the right time to appreciate the quiet beauty of this place. I shall come back here in september when all touristus vulgarus are gone. This is the place where Halibut fishing takes place and I saw some pretty amasing sized specimen, really Size matters!!!!The Spit was a breath of fresh air for me,sea, salt and algae. I miss the sea and I guess I will try to hang out around this little spot in the next 2 months. 5 August 2005 - Lonesom' Cowgirl am slowly, after 3 weeks here, getting accustomed to the place, the people but dread still fills my heart....I am not as outgoing as I thought myself capable of...This journey is just starting and at times I can see myself already giving up because it's too hard, I'm tired, I don't feel like making the effort. I wonder how I would be if I could spin around in an euphoria wave most days., I precise most days as it is not realistic. It is a weird feeling to have to make your own plans and arrangements by yourself, catter only for yourself yet share a house with a family. I realise then how lucky I am to have a partner to share things with and how I miss him. However, I am as some of you would say easily influenced by others so it is a good thing to be on my own for a while. Yet, I am faced with an inertia which I have had the desire to shake for years and haven't by lack of goodwill and possibly lazyness. As I was standing in my Boss office I saw a pile of books, very readable, very knowledgable and I considered the option of borrowing them...simply reflected on it...mulled over it... I am standing at a crossroad in my life... many of us are...I need to nudge myself forward not stagnate...moving places doesn't take away the knots, spiderwebs and inner inertia that lies within oneself...Finding a fixed idea,a project, a goal is the key... 11 August 2005 - Cooper Landing Forest Festival Silence is bliss sometimes. I have been silent for over a week, carried away by the stunning weather and the flow of my life. I don't know where to start:) I guess firsty and foremost I will thamk some of you guys for the support. Just had a "coup de blues" but it passed. Well, I'll move on to all the fun places I have been and people I encountered.I left for Cooper landing, further inland where I was going to meet with Mandy, she runs an organisation called Volunteer for Alaska. All the different volunteer and governmental organisations of the area were organising a Forest Festival on saturday and their campground for the week-end was beautiful right on the bank of Kenai Lake. The festival was small but lively with bands playing and different stalls selling organic products/bead necklaces, proposing talks on bear safety etc.., and most of them explaining what their organisations did. Kids were runnign around with their face all painted in bright colours and adults were simply enjoying the day dancing and relaxing ...However, in the midst of this cacophonia aound mid-day I needed quiet, the smell of the woods and the shade of the undergrowth. I am a woose, do not dare go for a hike on my own because of bears, so I found a nice guy (I can hear some of you from here!!! quit it) who had just ran the thriathlon race organised by the festival, running, biking and kayaking and we headed down towards Russian Falls and Cabin...6 miles ( 9.6 kilometers) and 4 hours later we were back...We came back to Cooper landing, rested, ate and went back to our campground where the party, the fun was going to blew us away. A myriad of cars were already parked on the sidewalks. I would say that easily 100 people were down the "Beach"....but this story of all night up, no sleep, great talks with amazing people, dancing, singing (smily to Seelie) and sunrise is for tomorrow. Time to head down to bed...Natta to all... 12 August 2005 - Paradise As I am sitting alone in the office, waiting for Tara's mum to come pick me up, I thought I could finish telling you my little week-end down by Kenai lake. Tents were sprawled all over the beach and bonfires started lighting up in the summer night. I paced up and down the shore, observing people and sat facing the water, listening to bits of conversation and human noises that contrasted strangely with the peaceful setting of mountains reflected in water. It was like being in a beehive, hundreds of noises, people, buzzing. A stage was set next to the bonfire and music expanded, waves of beats and guitar, enticing,a crowd builded and I happily rested on a log a few inches from the bonfire to warm up my chilly bones. As people sat, we talked and drank, I met some canadians, wrote down phone numbers and e-mails...and time passed fast...At 3 o'clock we searched the sky for possible scraps of aurora borealis and I saw one, my first stripe of white in the sky...by then half of the crowd had left to rest or snuggle on the beach and back in their tents... ...I stayedf up all night...The little group of 10 to 20 individuals who wouldn't give up, sang, played the guitar, drums, filmed, took pictures and just watched the sun rise, the sky lit up, the water fog build up on the lake like a morning veil...magical moments when tiredness evades you and you're left feeling reborn, alive and new.... ...The rest of the sunday was a blurr as I had to pack my life to move to Robert and tiredness suddenly kicked in mid-day. I hope this week-end in Denal national Park will be as rewarding...Alaska is a place where you can lose yourself in the vastness of nature, like Norway or some parts of France but it is just easier to get away from City life. That's, I guess, what made me want to come here... 16 September 2005 - Fall Fall is here. Cold and damp grass, mushrooms and all fire-weeds are definitely gone. I like it...strangely I got accustomed to the rain with the right gear it is not a problem anymore. This morning there was a moose and her calf standing right outside our window a few inches away from our face, grazing. I was so impressed. They were simply beautiful and I stood there with Robert for 10 minutes observing them. Magic moments. A new volunteer has joined me since last week, Michael, and we have already been visiting the realm of Soldotna at night, clubbing (if you can call it that), it was fun. This wee-end we are heading up to Mandy's going away party, she is leaving for Ghana for 3 months, and a small drop in Girdwood. 23 September 2005 - Office Workwise I have been stuck on a computer for the past month, more less...creating maps and digitising data, it can be mind-numbing at times but overall I am learning different things nearly everyday and I have difficulties imagining I knew nothing of this computer program when I came here!!!!!!! GIS is fun but going out in the field is definitely a bonus, summer is when things happen outdoor, so if you are interested in that come in the summer not the fall!!!! Anyway, we will be heading up soon and we have to pack and get ready..have a nice week-end all of U. Been up sitting in front of a computer for the past 2 weeks. My brain is feeling like mashed peas as I keep reading html coding and at last I have been given a way out of my "website" nightmare. Will start using the free trial version of dreamweaver. Thank goodness.... I am in the process of creating photo albums for every single culvert we have listed on our GIS map, and they will all be available online. So you click on a point in the Arcview software and you get access to a webpage with the pics related to that specific point... Really neat, seems simple enough but it hasn't been!!!! The good side of this past 2 weeks has been the possibility of doing something new. Not making maps, or entering data or generally playing around with GIS but getting online and reading lots about webpages design...and la creme de la creme is that I am back in the field tomorrow, under rain and wind for a day fish sampling around Cooper Landing and I am SOOO excited about it. Will bring waterproof camera, cross streams in waders, observe fry... YIPII... When it comes down to my week-end there is a documentary festival in Homer from friday til thursday and this is where I am heading. Some of you might remember the film: "la marche de l'empereur", well it is showing here and as no one (am not bitter:) when I was back in Paris was willing to come with me, I'll go here on my own enjoy the gorgeous sceneries of arctic life and generally sit all day inside a dark room where I can daydream about nature. 4 October 2005 - One Week Left Time has flown way too quickly. My 3 months here are nearly gone and I have seen the seasonal change from summer to winter, frost on my car window, the death of fireweed, and trees becoming bare and skinny in a gold shower of leaves. Yesterday a moose crossed right in front of my car and it proves that winter has arrived. KWF is a fun place to work, relaxed, yet professional. I have met so many people, from all over the world and true alaskans too, and I hope I can keep in touch and come back here oneday to visit them again. The last week ahead appears to be filled with projects to finish in haste and I cannot realise I am leaving yet. I have already packed (I am an early packer) and have 4 nights left before my flight to Anchorage. Then I will most likely go down to Girdwood, the hippie town and ski resort for a few days before heading back home. I know one thing I will truly miss, the sky, the fresh air and the beautiful nature...and some of the people I met, like Mandy. Hi girl, hope you're doing great in Ghana!!!!!! |
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