...And I say that because now it is totally, absolutely, completely winter in Juneau. Seriously. I'm wearing a wool sweater. And last night/today was also the third snowfall of the year, and it was a big one - about a foot of snow I'd say, although I struggle with depth perception so it might be like 2 centimeters of snow, I honestly can't tell. It is also getting dark at about 4 pm, so that's been a struggle too. My self-diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder has also been confirmed by housemates and coworkers, so I'm going to go ahead and say it's legitimate. I've been snuggling up to the house happy lamp (it simulates the sun, increases your vitamin D production,makes you happy, it's amazing) almost daily, so that helps. What an interesting change this climate has been for me - an adventure in itself. Did you know rain pants are a thing that people actually own?! They're like snow pants, but lighter. Very versatile - can be worn over pants, dresses, skirts, Halloween costumes. I didn't even know that rain pants actually existed! Although I don't think you have to live in Alaska to own a happy lamp; I personally feel that every home in Pennsylvania should come equipped with one, since Villanova gets roughly the same amount of sunshine that Juneau, a RAINFOREST, does.
Anyway. So I've been writing a lot, just not on here - mostly to people directly, or to myself when my thoughts get kind of sad or whiny. I don't want this to be a whiny blog. What a downer. It's been a tough month and a half or so, and I can officially say that the honeymoon period is over. Events of note include an area visit from our JVC Alaska area director, Danielle. Pretty much Danielle spends a week living with each JV community in Alaska, has a one on one with us, holds a meeting with our supervisors and us, runs a spirituality night, and just checks in to see how our community is doing. A few weeks later, over Halloween weekend, we had a much-needed five day weekend in Anchorage for our first of three retreats with the rest of the Alaska JV communities (We're hosting the next one! So excited!!). That was a hell of a weekend, oh.my.gosh. I say that because it was not exactly restful, but it was a very important weekend, especially for my community. With JVC come a lot more commitments than just your volunteer placement - namely, community is the biggest one, and it defines everything. Our Juneau community has literally become a family, and that's been amazing - we know each other, we love each other, and we make fun of each other (the trifecta of criteria for a family, I'd say!). But, on the other hand, how often do issues and conflicts come up within a family? QUITE often, and our community is no exception. This retreat was an incredible opportunity because, for once, we couldn't come home at the end of a long workday and push conflict under the rug because we didn't have it in us to deal with it. Instead, we had an entire weekend where we could intentionally communicate and grow together, without the distractions that work placements - a huge stressor for every single person, obviously - create. It was a tough weekend for us, to be sure. We hurt, we healed, we talked, we talked more. We were fortunate to have decided to take an extra day in Anchorage before flying back home, so we had an extra day to enjoy Halloween and the city together before going our separate ways back to work.
As for work, it's honestly something that is very challenging for me right now, in a lot of ways. But I told myself before I came here that I could do anything for a year, and I believe that I can. So I'm keeping at it. It has many low points, but it has high points too that are really there as long as I look for them. So I'm just going to keep looking. I understand this is all vague. Most days it would have been hard for me to even write this much about work, because of how completely it has been challenging me, but today is actually a very relaxed day, for once, and I felt up to saying a little something about it.
I feel that this is an incomplete update, but I'm going to try to get out of here before the snow gets worse and I get stuck at work FOREVER.
Pictures of snow soon :)
Ok. bye,
Liz
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