The past few weeks also brought with it my first kayaking experience which was a lot of fun. While the actual motion of paddling in a kayak felt really, really awkward at first, being out on the water more than made up for those feelings of the awkward motion. The mountains seemed so much bigger, steeper and closer when I was out on the water than while walking around town or along the beach and watching the birds, otters and sea lions from the kayak was so different than seeing them on land. Being on the water gave me such a different perspective of my surroundings and the things that I see on a daily basis; it was a pretty exhilarating experience.
My cousin Matt and his friend Frank also paid myself and Sitka a visit and I have to say that they arrived at the perfect time to spot wildlife and had some of the best weather we have had over the past month or so during their time here. It was really fun for me to catch up with Matt and be able to show the two of them around and let them see what my life is actually like here, because unfortunately words truly can't do justice to this experience or the landscape of Sitka. We were able to go kayaking a bit, did a whole bunch of hiking and they were able to see a mama humpback and her calf (which I heard is one of the earliest sightings of a mother and calf in Sitka.) Matt and Frank were able to go out fishing and caught some rockfish and a king salmon! Aside from a little seasickness brought on by the rough waters, they did really well on their first Alaskan fishing excursion. It was a great week and I was really happy to have some visitors, so if anyone's interested in coming up, you'll have a place to stay and lots of fun outdoor things to do!
Aside from all of my outdoor fun, I still love my job and am doing my best to reflect on this experience, the JVC values, what comes next and life outside of Alaska. While my day to day activities in the children's program are kind of on the quiet side because of the small number of children we are working with right now, I have been fairly active in facilitating a men's focus group to bring men together who are interested in reducing and preventing violence in Sitka. The hope for this group is to bring the men together and see what kinds of actions or activities the men are interested in working on and leading in order to engage other men and young adults/children and promote a culture of non-violence and positive communication in Sitka. My biggest hope for this group is that it becomes entirely self sufficient so that it continues to meet and work towards a safer and less violent Sitka after August. Another project that I was working on, prepping and teaching a healthy relationships class for boys at the alternative high school, isn't going to work out because of some miscommunication between the school and our prevention coordinator that resulted in no boys signing up for the class. I'm a little disappointed that this class isn't going to happen because I think it's a class that the boys could benefit from and because I put a lot of time into preparing a curriculum but at the same time, the next person who tries to teach this class won't have to put a whole lot of time into preparing for the class.
This past Wednesday also marked a big step in Gov. Parnell's statewide campaign to eliminate domestic and sexual violence in Alaska, as Sitka joined 17 other towns across the state that held marches and speak out events. The shelter staff was joined by over 100 community members, including personnel from the Sitka Tribe, the mayor, and the Sitka Police Department and a number of people shared personal stories, thought and feelings on the subject of violence, abuse, the importance of working to prevent future violence, and the governor's plans. The event was encouraging in that there was such a large turnout from the community at large and it was inspiring to hear the words of others and add my own to the movement going on statewide.
Since this weekend was Easter, Meg and I put together a little party for the children and families that we work with that included an egg hunt, egg coloring, face painting and a carrot cake in the shape of a bunny! On Sunday, one of my least favorite days of the year, it was really nice to share a brunch with my roommates (even though I wasn't quite fully awake yet) and Greg and I went on a really good walk at Totem Park at low tide. While down there we saw a heron and what must have been 6 or 7 whales just hanging out (our theory is because the tide was out so they were stuck.) So we spent about an hour or so just sitting on the rocks watching the whales surface and dive and watching brave (or slightly nuts) kayakers and boaters approach. I was able to talk to most of my family and a couple friends which was really nice and I closed out the day by watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the opening game of the season and playing some cards with my housemates.
