Into the Bush

This Wednesday I headed out on my monthly bush trip to the village. I should first define the bush as an area in Alaska that is only accessible by plane or boat. The school clinicians each have one or two villages on/near Kodiak Island that they must visit once a month during the school year. My village is called Ahkiok and is about an hour plane ride to the west. And not a jet plane either. A bush plane. And if you have never seen a bush plane, be glad. Once you ride in one, you will up your life insurance policy. First off, a story about the plane ride…

I arrive at the airport on time, with bags in tow, ready for my bush adventure. It’s not large by any means. There are no terminals. You walk into a building, give them your name (no ID, no ticket, no security) and they take your luggage and put it in the plane. I got on the plane and our pilot was Russian and spoke with a thick Russian accent. I must have looked scared out of my wits because he said “You first time flier? If we go down, I try to land near to shore. We have 20 minutes in water before freezing.” First thing he said! I got on the plane and sat in the last seat (it’s a 4 seater including the captains seat). The luggage is held down by something that looks like a tarp and I’m sitting right next to a door. I actually had to lock the door myself because the pilot said, “You lock door. Make sure you lock it good or we go down.” He actually said this! I must have looked white as a sheet by now because then my Russian friend said, “If you throw up, we have no sick bags for you. You throw up on lap.” He literally said this!! We took off and flew about level with the bottoms of the clouds. Throughout the hour long flight, the Russian proceeded to look in the “rearview mirror” and give me a thumbs up about every 5 minutes. I kept thinking “Shouldn’t you be watching the sky or something?” There were a few times I thought I was going to die because I think the Russian wasn’t paying attention and we did some dips and dives. It’s very loud on the plane too. Everyone had ear plugs but me so by the time we landed, my ears were ringing.

We landed in the village on a tiny runway next to the ocean. I mean really next to the ocean, if the pilot overshoots at all, you are going to take a swim. And it’s not really a runway but dirt/gravel road. No airport building or anything, just a gravel road. It’s a big deal when the plane lands so there were about 4 people with vehicles waiting to give us rides. I quickly found out that you don’t ask who they are, you just get in the car or you will be walking the 2 miles into town. The village consists of about 20 houses that look like 1950’s pre-fab military style housing. They all look the same, white house, blue roof. There was a little church there and a school. That was it. No grocery store, no nothing. The groceries have to be shipped by ferry or plane. I met all of the school staff, all very nice, and some of the kids. The first day I stayed there was graduation so I helped out with cooking (I learned how to make a mean salmon dip) and decorating. The townspeople don’t like outsiders at all so no one spoke to us during the ceremony or after. It was the other teachers/school staff who chatted with us.

Day 2

Today was the day we were going to head out so we packed up our suitcases and prepared for departure when we found out we were “weathered in”. I then found out that one could be weathered in for a week at a time if it’s bad enough. So we unpacked and I played with the kiddos. We played a lot of group games and they really liked the games I learned from my internship. They kept saying “Miss Jessica, please bring more games when you come back.” Today was the day that the boat comes in that brings their supplies, groceries, etc. We headed out with our new friends to help them unload the boat. The other counselor and I entertained the kids while the townspeople unloaded the crates. Anything you buy is not secret either. They were saying things like “Ooh look at that new washer, how did they manage that?” Nothing is secret in this town. After helping to unload, we drove back to the school. I was getting ready for bed when I heard a knocking at the school door which was locked. I was freaked out but found out it was the preist. (There is only one church in town and it’s a tiny Russian Orthodox Church). I let the Father in and chatted with him for a bit. He led a very interesting life and originally wanted to be a counselor so we “talked shop”. He came to the school to use the internet since he lives in a very tiny house (shack really) next to the church with no running water, heat, or electricity. He said that he uses the internet to shop on Ebay and check his bank balance. I wondered “What on earth does this guy order?” but didn’t get up the nerve to ask. Maybe the next trip.

Day 3

Today we packed again getting ready to head out. The weather actually looked worse today than yesterday so I was sure we would be weathered in again. We did some fun activities with the kids and they had a cookout since it was their last day of school. Then we were told that the plane was here. I’m actually not sure how anyone knows the plane is on it’s way without calling but they know! So we caught a ride with another stranger and got onboard. The Russian pilot’s plane was full (thank God!) so we had a different pilot. Apparently he was the best one the airline had and he was a good one! He didn’t turn around once and actually looked at the view in front! The flight was great and I didn’t get sick at all. We got back to Kodiak on time and I headed home to find that our furniture was here and ready to be unloaded! Now we have our couches, bed, everything! It’s so nice to not have to sleep on the floor! Our apartment has really started to come together and look really nice. Tomorrow we are headed out fishing so hopefully the weather is good. Hope you all are doing well!
Love,

Jessica, Jonathan & kitties

PS- Sorry I didn’t get any pictures. I wasn’t exactly blending in to begin with being a white redhead so I didn’t think the townspeople would like me taking pictures of the town just yet after just meeting me. Hopefully next time!

Here is a link of a picture of Ahkiok. Not very good clarity but helps you get the idea.
http://www.kodiak.org/explore-kodiak/kodiak-villages/akhiok.html