This post highlights the first three rainy days in Alaska. I moved here for a Summer job working on a dock. 

Fastforward: I returned from Germany after an extended travel across the Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey, Greece).

My sister got married in February (Atlanta, GA).

I slept a lot (Atlanta, GA).

I moved to Ketchikan, Alaska (right now).

It’s my third day here, and the sun is buried deep under blankets in the corner of a junk closet.

It’s been raining without end since I arrived (except for a moment of sun when I first got off the plane).

The crew from the tour company I’m working with picked me up from the airport on a boat.

That’s correct, I walked out of the airport, down a ramp, and onto a boat. Apparently you have to take a ferry from the airport to get to the main island. I don’t ask questions, I just get on board and grab some coffee.

I remember from my old job how quickly I labeled new hires/candidates. I decided immediately if they were snobby, warm, kind, highfalutin, boring or fun. Here was my chance to greet my new coworkers with panache, confidence without being too eager or trying too hard.

If you’re wondering how you decide to move to Alaska, all you do is have dinner with a friend in Istanbul who recommends that you work in Alaska for the summer (‘It’s good money! And it’s beautiful!”).

So Here I am. I applied in December or January, had an extensive phone interview (1.5 hours) about working on a boat, not smoking pot, and buying Xtra Tuffs, and got hired as a Dock Rep. I would have liked to be a Naturalist because I would have been working on the boat, doing a presentation monologue of sorts as I introduced the tourists to Alaska in real time. Instead, I’m greeting folks as they exit their cruise ships and guiding them to our dock. I’m still a Tour Guide, right? So that’s what I’ll be doing. I won’t be making the money that got me interested in Alaska to begin with, but I’m here, it’s a job and I’ve got my rain boots.

I’ve been alone since I got dropped off at Amanda’s house (she and her husband are on their honeymoon in Europe for the next three weeks). This was Friday that I got dropped off. It’s Sunday at 6:22. I’ve been going on excursions (like, to Walmart to buy peanut butter AND to Safeway, twice yesterday and once today). If I sleep too much, there’s a good chance I won’t do anything else. I start work on the 27th. I suppose I’ll learn about the vessels and how to… rig things?

My coworkers seem really nice, cool and earnest. They’ve all worked with the company before, I am the only noob so far.

J- the person who hired me, is kind and warm and it brings me a lot of comfort that she’s originally from the South (we Southies just get that hospitality is in the details, I think). She will not be working most of the summer because she’s about to have a baby in a month or two?

I met the person covering for her, Danielle, and she greeted me at the airport.

Danielle and her boyfriend Matt spent the year since last summer season in Alaska driving and hiking from Arkansas to the Southwest US. These are my kind of people because they don’t look at me with bewilderment for having moved to Alaska before joining the Peace Corps. It’s only as weird as you make it, right? Plus peeing in holes in the ground is how we all started out if you dig down deep into your DNA.

I met Molly from Alabama. She said she couldn’t make any money there. I personally can’t make peace with Alabama, not so sure about the money. I went to school there, I’ve reached my quota. She seems like a fun one. She and Matt went to a bar called Fat Stan’s after work. I don’t know if it is because it was Friday or because it was 5 o’clock. I’ll find out soon enough.

E, who gave me the languid interview, is a shorter guy with a beard, a hat and an eased speech. He seems like he knows everything about these boats, the company, the town and probably everyone in it. Molly and Matt came to the cockpit of the boat and slid the door open. They said: “We smell like shit.” They explained that the boiler room?- honestly I don’t remember at all what it was called- had sitting water and smelled like refuse, so they did too. They thought it was hilarious. I thought it sounded awful.

J asked me if I liked hiking. I felt like I had to say yes, so I said “I could like it” which meant both yes and no. She pointed me towards Deer Mountain and said it was great for a day hike. In my mind I’m thinking: I’ll be working for 6 days a week. On the 7th day, like the Creator, I will be resting.