Ukuleles and Places.

I love ukuleles. Because lets be honest, I am not really at all proficient on the guitar. And ukes are much more portable than pianos. I love playing them, that they have 4 strings, you can bar chords, and that when you play even a wrong chord it still sounds, you know, not like a cat is dying.

I could spend hours talking about the brilliance of playing ukuleles. But today I'm going to talk about the (somewhat hipstery, sorry) theme of photos, and how ukuleles greatly enhance photos.

First, lets think about why we take photos. There are three main reasons:

1) To show the world where you've been (facebook profiles, sign photos, tourists, etc)

2) To be creative, and capture the beauty of the photography subject.

3) To hear the shutter sound of the super beautiful Nikon cameras that I dream about. (Yes, I understand this could be just me. But its seriously the MOST AMAZING SOUND IN THE WORLD.)

Usually, these three goals are supposed to be simultaneously met. Because I don't know anyone who wants to hide the location of the beautiful photo they took, or to be really ugly and uncreative in a photo showing where they went on summer vacation. And shutter sounds are inevitable.

This is where ukes come in. Take pensive photos: looking into the distance, communicating your deep thoughts to the great unknown. But in reality (unless you are Angelina Jolie or Brett Dennen) you just look something like this (Exhibit A):

Awkward pensive photo

Which nobody really wants on their facebook profile anyways.

Add a uke, though, and the whole pensive idea is achieved so much more. Exhibit B:

much less awkward!

And don't think that its just because of the cool background! Because even in gorgeous areas, with good photography, your hands are always hanging limply at your sides, silently longing to hold a small stringed instrument. (Exhibit C):

The arms are saying "We want ukes! We want ukes!"

Ukes jazz up any old photo. For instance, the overtaken photo of "Tourist, next to large pumpkin at county fair" receives a whole new light in the warm glow of the uke (Exhibit D):

Tourists, awed by the combined glory of ukuleles and large gourds

Here are some other uke photos. I'm sure you'll agree that, without the uke, they'd be way less awesome. (Exhibits E-I)

Thank you to Ley, Katherine, and Zayn  for their photography. And whoever took that photo of me and Elika in my English class...

Collegiate Lists

Hi all. Sorry about the (yet another) absence of blogs. And I understand if you stop following me forever and ever, if my silence makes that kind of a rift between us. Most of my writing energy has gone to writing lists: things to take to college, things to make sure don't get thrown out, things I miss about Ecuador (that's a long one), things I should see if there are podcasts for, and things to do.

Its lucky I like making lists, and lucky that lists are such a good organizational tool, because I have a lot of things to do that warrant the making of many lists. I am enjoying college a lot. Probably 6 times as much as I thought I would enjoy it. Because I thought that going to college would be fun in the same way that going to high school would be fun: you are moving forward with your life, and accept the bad parts because its the general next step and you get a little more freedom. But its really not like that. Its like, fun. Even if it wasn't the expected next step, I would want to be doing this here, now.

Anyways, here's some lists:

Ways College Is Different Than High School

10. My earliest class is at 9:45 in the morning. Which is a whole two hours later than high school started, and almost three hours later than my school in Ecuador started. Which means I go through this whole thing well rested. Most of the time.

9. You can leave. Not that I walk out of class. But high school is this closed campus institution that you can't leave without notes and regulations. College is like wanna go to Barnes and Noble? Here's a free bus pass. Wanna eat not during lunch time and instead take a nap? There are no bells. This is probably more of a perceived than actual freedom, but I feel freer, and that's what matters.

8. Wearing hats is appropriate. Again, more of a percieved liberty, because I haven't actually worn hats. But still, I could rock a sombrero and there would be no policy to prevent me.

7. People are nicer. I'm not sure if this is actually true. But if you are walking next to someone you don't know, its not unusual to say hi. And have a semi-not-awkward conversation with them. Which leads me to...

6. The whole social standing and grouping of high school is turned upside down at college. I didn't suffer terribly from cliques in high school, but being in an environment where acting weird in public is way more socially acceptable, is awesome. And sitting down at a table where you slightly know someone, kind of, and everyone else is wearing spikes, and not getting that "what are you doing here?" vibe is pretty cool too.

5. Going to events is something that people do. School dances are not lame, and random events like scavenger hunts and casino nights are attended by people who are not pretending to have a bad time because "this is so lame."

4. Classes are honestly interesting, and I don't dread going to them. Part of this is just more in-depth stuff to learn (I do not have stupid "Get to know you" essays to write. Because they get less factual, although more interesting, with every passing year) and some of it is maybe just the classes themselves. My English class is detective literature. Detective. Literature. Yes, that means Sherlock Holmes.

3. Vegetarian cooking.

2. I am surrounded by people who are more technologically gifted then me. So if I'm thinking about buying a new computer (which I'm not, I love mine) I could get the 411 on all the operating systems. And if I have a problem with the CD, I just say "anyone in the room know how to fix _____?". Yes, they know.

1. I'm ME, and I'm happy being me.


Reasons I'm Glad To Be A Nanook

10. I am surrounded by beautiful, beautiful mountains, and they are beautiful, beautiful colors.


9. There are a lot of engineering major and sciencey people here. Which are really interesting personality types to be around. Also, it helps with technological difficulties (see number 2 on the list above).

8. I went to Feast and there were fresh strawberries, and I'm going to a devotional this Sunday!

7. I keep finding out I went to elementary school with random people who are now at UAF.

6. People randomly invite me to go hiking in the Alaska Range, and then I spend my day hiking up a creek and scree slope, eating blueberries, and trekking back.

5. Carhartts are worn ubiquitously (yes, I just used an SAT word. Look it up.) and people will sign up for "the carhartt club" without knowing anything about it.

4. I can show where I live on my hand, and people get that.

3. Rhubarb grows everywhere, and the boulevard garden things contain zucchini.

2. SNOW IS COMING!!! (for those of you that are confused, keep in mind that I haven't seen snow in a year and a half)

1. IT MEANS I CAN VISIT TURKEY AND ISRAEL OVER WINTER BREAK!!!!!!!!!!! (more on this later, because it deserves a post of its own.)

Hopefully, this'll get me back into blogging mood. I'm procrastinating a lot (that didn't change from high school) so I feel like the blog will maybe experience a renaissance and you'll be able to see what I'm up to! (although I really do need a title, so please leave some suggestions).

Summer So Far

Here is kind of a calendar-recount of what I've been up to all summer:

June: After 25 hours of travel, I finally arrived back to my Homeland. It was raining (go figure) and light (Oh, how I've missed Alaskan summers!) and my mom and sister and friends were waiting for me at the airport! I was in a happy delirium: happy to be with my family and delirious from lack of sleep.

My first few days were spent absorbing culture shock. I unpacked, and did laundry, and used the dryer! I drank the delicious fresh-brewed coffee I'd come to appreciate. I shared stories with my mom (my Dad was in China, so I hadn't seen him yet!) and reconnected with my friends. It was very twilight-zoney...to be in such a familiar place as such a different person. And to be such a different person while really not changing at all.

Also, my mom and I both joined a Ruhi Book 8 Study Circle, and that's been very fun. I continue to learn so much through the Ruhi sequence!

About a week after I got home, my dad did. We picked him up at the airport, with his 'chopsticks' and swollen knee (he had surgery a few weeks before taking an international trip to China). It was fun to hear about his adventures and yes, see the thousands of photos of his journey. It was best, though, just to have him back home.

July: My July started out with a trip to Girdwood and then to Seward to work at the Forest Fair and then the 4th of July. I got to see Kikkan Randall win Mt. Marathon!

Dennis with his grandson eating ice cream!

Kikkan on the final stretch!

 My next trip was North. Elika works in what can charitably be described as a town (and not so charitably, a gas station/truck stop) on mile 175 of the Dalton Highway. Because of the amazing benefits that she gets by being an employee, her brother Zayn and I were able to visit her, live with her in a tent, and go to Deadhorse, Alaska (think oil fields and giant mosquitoes).

Zayn and I on the 9-seater plane to Coldfoot!

Wasilla to Deadhorse. Coldfoot is where the dark green turns to white.

This was truly an amazing experience. Not only to see Elika,  because I missed her to almost-death (and still do) and spend time doing things together, but also to see what life is like above the Arctic Circle. It turns out, its a lot more Deet, and a lot more hiking, and a lot more living in a tent. There was very nice food, and very nice people, and a lot of adventures. Including....

JUMPING IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN!

 

 

 

 

 

Post-jumping in the Arctic Ocean

Uke Jumping in the Arctic!

Coldfoot Emotional Twins!

Coming back from Deadhorse

My next summer adventure was more of a tradition: SALMON. (for those that are not aware of this fact: my family dips our nets in Kenai every summer and then spends a few days putting fish up in our house. For that week or so, our lives kind of revolve around fish. And for good reason: these fish keep us fed for the next year! Hurrah for Omega 3!

Dad, me, Kaden...and Fish!

Deep Sisterly conversations. Actually, I think we're singing songs to attract the fish, but it COULD be a deep conversation.

mmm...the two tides we fished yielded 50 delicious salmon! 

August brought more work and thinking about the future. It brought plans for this school year (UAF! COLLEGE!) and vacations (ITALY!?!?!?!?!?!? More on this later). It brought a lot of lists of things to take to college, things to buy, etc. It brought a roommate, and a room, and a PO Box, and a meal plan, and an Honors College, and geez, its only the 8th! I'm currently in Fairbanks, working at the Ice Cream Booth at the fair. I work here until the 14th, when I return home, pack frenetically, spend time with Elika, and then come back to Fairbanks for school!

The rest of my summer has been filled with friends, and family, and hiking, and enjoying all the beauties of Alaska.

Climbing the Butte

The Butte in the Rain

Yay!

 Thanks to Dad for a lot of the photos! You can see more here or on Facebook!

Memorium

Hi again, blog followers.


My Blog is over a year old now. I know that because when I logged in today for the first time in (let's be honest) a very many weeks, it told me to update all my info. Which I need to, still. Because I don't live in Ecuador any more. I have a new phone number. I am now a student at University* and my new experiences are not from the equator.

Its a very bittersweet feeling.

In my next post, I'll talk about my summer. It's been great. Really. But just now I'm going to remember Ecuador in a way that only one person can really relate to, and then update my information.


And then get back to blogging.

*although I don't have my ID card yet, which sucks because I want to ride the busses for free and use the pool.

North

Alaska is in North America. In the Northern part of North America.

I live in Wasilla, which is North of some places, like Anchorage. But Fairbanks, where I'll be going to college, is more north than where I live.

North of Fairbanks there is...a lot of nothing. Nothing in this case being mountains, mosquitos, and occasional larger wildlife. And Coldfoot.

My Emotional Twin is working in Coldfoot this summer. And her fabulous brother and I are going north--a lot north--to visit her!!

And after we go north, we're going even more north to the Arctic Ocean. Hello, frigid swimming!

Goodbye, Southern everything. At least for 4 days.