My Frozen Life In Alaska

Since I moved here, I can proudly admit that I have only sang "Let It Go" out loud, once.

It was when I was walking down a beautiful snowy path in the forest in the dark (probably at around 4:00 PM), and I thought I'd distract myself from the fear of being attacked by a random moose.

Yes. That's what it looks like at 4:00 PM.

Why the song choice, you might ask? Well... apart from the obvious --- that everything around me was, in fact, Frozen, it was also all very fairy tale - like sparkly! I had never been around snow very much in my life to even notice how it sparkles. It's a Disney-esque moment! It was also *very* cold that afternoon, but the fear of being attacked by a random animal in the dark made the cold not bother me too much anyway. 

(See what I did there?)

No surprises, folks. It's cold in Alaska. The *surprise* is that it's actually not as cold as I expected it to be! The weather here is steady. Not windy nor painful. The temperature could be -9 like it is right now, but the air is crisp and it doesn't hurt. All in all, not too bad - considering the fact that I used to "live" in Hawaii.

THE RESORT ALYESKA

I have taken up a seasonal employment at the Alyeska Resort. A beautiful year-round getaway place, which is a haven for skiers and snowboarders in the winter, and a playground for the outdoorsy in the summer. It's a very popular hotel among the locals of Anchorage, with it being a 45 minute drive from the city.

Everyone says that Alyeska's premiere season for tourists is the summer. There's so much to do here then... from hiking, to bike tours, to glacier tours, whale watching, etc. There's about 18 hours of sunlight here then (as opposed to the 5.5 hours I have now), so these tours sell out like hotcakes.

In the winter though, it seems as if the only thing that you could ever do out here is ski or snowboard... which is a big bummer for me because I was really hoping to do a lot of the Alaskan tours I've read about so much... but they all close down during the winter.

It's a good thing I *do* like to snowboard! So all my weekends here will be spent sashaying down the slopes! Not too bad, especially since it's free!

I won't be here to see Alyeska in the Summer... but from what I have seen so far - Winter here is BEAUTIFUL!

View of the Alyeska Resort from the Aerial Tram!

THE PERKS

Did I mention I had weekends off? Wild, right? Going from working 70 hours a week, 7 days a week, to barely 40 hours a week with two full days off? I have no idea what to do with myself.

Oh that's right - I snowboard! Ha!

As employees of Alyeska, we get a free season pass, which - I checked - costs about $1400 USD! It's a really great benefit... that even if I'm really not that much of a snowboarder, I'm most likely going to end up being a pro by the time I leave because - who wouldn't take advantage of being able to ski/snowboard for free anytime?

I remember having to shell out almost $200 for every trip up to Mount High in California anytime I wanted to snowboard with my friends or family... Lift tickets plus equipment rentals plus food and gas - they all add up.

Here, I basically roll out of bed in my snow gear and walk 5 minutes to the hotel, they hand me my board and boots and vavavoom!

Once a year, every year, anyone who dresses up as Santa, Ski's for free! (Photo taken from Alyeska website)

That's another thing I'm pretty grateful for - the noncommute! I got so used to living and working at the ship that I was worried about ever having to drive or commute to work again! Thankfully, the Employee Housing is just a 5 minute walk from work. I essentially live right by the hotel parking lot, which is awesome! The walk isn't too bad, either!

My Daily Commute!

Also. It's beautiful here. Just look.

THE DOWNSIDE

Ugh. Everything in Alaska is expensive. YES - more expensive than Hawaii!
I moved here on December 11. I haven't even been here a month, and have already spent more than $700 on groceries! I really have no idea why we spend so much on food here. Am I just adjusting to the fact that I now have to buy and cook my own food? (As opposed to having everything given to me on the ship)

Employee Housing is pretty expensive, too. I'm staying in a 2 bedroom unit, sharing a house with my forever roomie, Velma, and my Filipino Mafia housemate, Ate Naida. Our house lacks one more person because it's meant to be for 4 people... but each of us still shell out $477 a month.

So this small 2 bedroom apartment costs $1908 for 4 people. I think that's pretty steep... because we don't earn very much out here, and as I've said - it's pretty expensive to live in Alaska.
But I have to say, it's a really nice and refreshing change to have somewhere to come "home" to after work again. It's been a while for me to have a place to hang my hat, having lived a vagabond existence for the past few years.

I also have nothing but praises for our housemate! She is amazing, so kind, and she's basically given us everything we didn't have just to be more comfortable here. Oh, and she has a huge freezer full of SALMON that she willingly shares! We basically have Salmon for life. Free Salmon... For Life... For Free. That's a LOT of Omega's!

That's not really a downside, is it?

Well, I'm not me if not a tad optimistic!

ALASKA LIFE

I was off to a rocky start when the shock of the expenses came crashing down on me. It's a big adjustment coming from the Ship environment where you didn't have to worry about anything because everything was provided to you - to now having to buy everything from food to kitchenware to bedding! My savings took a big dip, and I haven't received my first paycheck yet, so it's been a little bit of a struggle. But my spirits are high, nonetheless. The beauty of this place hasn't worn off on me yet... and there's still the Northern Lights to look forward to!

I've downloaded this app that notifies me when the Northern Lights are "strong" in my area. It even sends me a text message when there is "more than a 27% chance of viewing! So go outside, now!"
These messages come in the stupidest hours in the morning though - like 2:00 AM or so. I haven't had enough motivation to get out of the house at that time just yet - because in Alaska, during the winter, when there are only 5 hours of daylight, sleep is ADDICTING!

I'll get there! I've only just arrived anyway. I'll get those beautiful and elusive photos eventually! Watch this space!

In the meantime - these purple morning skies will have to do!

Another thing I've been looking forward to is the Iditarod Dog Sled Race. If any of you have ever seen the movie, Balto, this annual race was inspired by those dogs who saved the tiny town of Nome by delivering the dyptheria serum all the way from Anchorage. The race, just like how it was in the 1920's, kicks off in Anchorage! I'm really looking forward to seeing that in March.

Until then, I plan to snowboard my way through the winter months, armed with my boost of Omega 3's!

We haven't reached the peak of the cold in Alaska yet... But I came prepared! Besides... The cold never bothered me anyway.


Just kidding.

It does... sometimes. :)

Snow In The Desert: Ski Dubai

I can't tell you how surreal it felt, sitting all wrapped up in a snowboarding outfit in the heat of the Middle East... But that's Dubai for you. Always looking to make the impossible possible!

Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East. It's a huge snow facility that provides slopes for skiers and snowboarders, a huge snow park for tobogganing and family fun, plus an extra special Penguin Encounter attraction where one could actually hug and kiss a real live penguin!

Some of you might already know that I am an avid snowboarder myself, so when my friend Cristina the Desert Fox and I visited, I got suited up straightaway for the snowboarding gear. Cristina is a beginner. Luckily, Ski Dubai offers introductory lessons for new learners like her!

I watched her for a little bit before heading out to the lifts. The instructors were really good, and I could tell they enjoyed their jobs teaching both kids and adults how to ride. I actually picked up a few tips from them myself!

After a few minutes of cheering Cristina on, off to the lifts I went.

Honestly, since all the snow in there was fake, I had minimal expectations... Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to find the snow really nice and soft! It felt like I was back snowboarding in the mountains of California! The powder was fresh, not gooey or wet, and I snowboarded smoothly across the slopes!

Another thing I enjoyed about it was that right after my runs, I could easily go back into the lifts without having to worry about any queue's... Unlike snowboarding in peak season in a real ski resort where it takes you at least 15 minutes before you could get a lift... at Ski Dubai, everything was quick and efficient!

At one point during one of my runs, they dimmed the lights of the resort and started an amazing light show! All of a sudden, loud, soundtrack-like music blared from the speakers, and colorful lights started flashing to the beat of the song! Since this was all happening while I was boarding, I felt like a rock star! It was fascinating!

After spending a couple hours or so in the snowboarding area, Cristina and I took a quick lunch break before heading off to the Penguin Encounter. It was probably one of the cutest things we have ever experienced! We met over a dozen penguins, learned about them from the trainers, and actually got to hug and kiss one of them! Ski Dubai is the only facility in the world that would ever let you do that, so I consider myself very lucky to have been able to lock lips with a happy feet!

Photo From HerenorThere.com

Unfortunately, you are not allowed cameras inside the Penguin Encounter as they have photographers of their own. I could only afford to buy one of the photos they took of me... and here is a snapshot of me and my new friend, Mumble (that's not really his name, I think it was Squeaky actually).

It really was a treat experiencing a fun snow day in the middle of the desert. I could only imagine how fun this must be for the families in Dubai who haven't had the chance to experience snow yet! Or how exciting this must be for the locals who would love to try snow sports like skiing or snowboarding, but never had the opportunity because of their location! Ski Dubai is a genius attraction and I had an AMAZING time!

**For more information on what Ski Dubai offers, visit their website here.

White Christmas: A Dream Realized

"Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you if you're young at heart".

In my last post, I mentioned that having a white Christmas was on the top of my grown up Christmas list. Well, I must have been on the top of the nice list this year because I got my wish! This year, for the first time ever, I celebrated a white Christmas, snowboarding in Mt. High with my sister!

It's not exactly how I imagined my white Christmas though... I've had this fantasy of going to bed on Christmas eve and waking up to find snow outside. Then I'd run out and throw snowballs at random strangers, make snow angels, make little snowmen, and open my mouth to taste fresh snowfall! You know? Something along the lines of this commercial:



It's hard to make this a reality when you live in LA which is practically a tropical country. That's why when I found out that my sister (who always works odd hours) had Christmas day off, we jumped on the opportunity to go snowboarding together! It wouldn't be as dramatic as the Emirates commercial, but there was going to be snow - and that's all that mattered!

And so, after a very gastronomically satisfying Christmas Eve with the family, my sister, Kat and I headed out to the mountains bright and early, got there ready to rumble at 8am.

We practically opened the resort. Look at that!

Early birds!

Beautiful... :)

Snowboarding Lesson! My sister needed a little help from a pro. :)

Eventually, she got exhausted from too much of her teacher's awesomeness!!!

There's always time to play with snow...

and play with snow some more...

I wanted to make a snowman, but the snow wasn't fresh... and it doesn't stick when you try to make a ball out of it, so I couldn't make a head or anything circular. So I ended up making this!

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. And when life doesn't give you enough snow for a snowman, you make a snow ghost. I'm pretty happy with that! :)

I had a great Christmas day spent rolling around in white fairy dust with my sister. I love snowboarding and I love snow! I'm still hoping to be able to experience my White Christmas fantasy eventually... Who knows? Maybe next year when I spend Christmas in the UK, I get to finally wake up to snow falling outside my window!

All I know that in 2013... Possibilities are endless.

Have a great New Year, everyone!!!

Love,
Eartha