HELLO ALL! I know it’s been awhile since I posted a blog. I suck at blogging….obviously. Things have been relatively quiet around Anchorage. I was realllly busy last week with diabetes clinic so I didn’t have much time for blogging/picture taking and such. However, do not think for two seconds I haven’t seen, heard and experienced some amazing things.

First, I love diabetes. Okay…not the disease itself per se, but I love the interaction I get in clinic. The stories and people make it worth while. I used to wonder aimlessly as to why I was in this profession but my eyes have been opened so fully to not only how much I love what I do but how much I love people. Mother, you are to blame for this ;) I also love working as part of a TEAM, physicians,PAs, nutritionists, pharmacists….It’s a thing of beauty when we come together and make a beautiful picture for our patients. I love this practice setting. I am sold my friends. I think I belong in the USPHS as an officer. I am a firm believer that when you find what you love you just know it. My place is with the Corp. NOW comes the fun part of figuring out what part of the country I want to live :)

Second, I am in LOVE with Alaska and it’s beautiful culture. The people of Alaska have such strong core values that I hold near and dear to my own heart. Each tribe (there are over 200 in the state) has their own special and unique values. However many are common threads that weave them together. They have such a respect for hard work, dedication, family, and LIFE. They are so thankful, humble, meek and proud all at the same time. At culture orientation I had an amazing opportunity to listen to a few people’s stories about their lives. What an amazing journey some people have! A woman lived in a small village called Shaktoolik, AK where she grew up with her father (native Alaksan) and mother (pale face from wisconsin). There she said that in winters, it would get so cold that she would sleep with a screwdriver. At night her blanket would frost/freeze to the side of the house so she had to pick at the ice in order to turn her blankets over in the middle of the night! INTENSE. I also heard about how the women in the small village of Savoonga, AK (near Russia on a small island) in the older days had tattoos on their arms and faces. The more tattoos the young girl had the more beautiful she was deemed. The young girls when they reached maturity and were ready to be married would go through a ritual to get their tattoos. Their mothers would pick fine hairs off the girls heads, thread them through a BONE needle, wet the hair and soak it in ash. The mother would then preceed to SEW the tattoo into the girl’s face. To top it all off, the girl was to show no pain. This was a great honor and right of passage for this child. Again…INTENSE. I whined about the tattoo on my foot burning when they reached the bony areas!

Traditional healing was GREAT! We didn’t get to see any healings because we aren’t Alaska Native :( buuuuttt….We had the unique experience of meeting the first male Alaska Native physician…EVER! Dr. Mala was one of the most sincere, loving, caring people I have ever met. Everyone around campus who saw him instantly lit up. He just has this air about him that is just so fantastic! He showed us all around campus and spoke to us about their healing garden. We even got to eat a mint leaf from the garden. Awesome! After showing us around the wellness center we stopped off at the massage center where Dr. Mala needed to buy a gift certificate for a friend. He asked us, “Have you ladies ever had a massage?” I responded, “No. I’ve never really had the opportunity.” He INSISTED he buy me a massage certificate. I refused but he wouldn’t let it go! He told me that “angels have a way of working themselves into our lives and watching over us. The hardest part about giving is learning to receive and just simply be thankful.” Needless to say I was incredibly thankful and now I have to find a time to get my first massage EVER in my 23 years in before I leave AK! He truly is an inspirational person with many stories to tell and I am thankful to have met him.

This trip has opened my eyes. Not only to new experiences and the beauty of this world, but to the beauty of people. I think it’s hard sometimes in day to day life to remember to stop and have a legitimate conversation/connection with another human being. I think it’s also difficult in “this day and age” (my god I sound like you daddy!) to remember that there are still good people out there. Sometimes you just have to be open and receptive to new ideas and ways of communicating to find them :)

On a final note…I am happy and for this I am grateful. Love to my family and friends, without you I would be nothing! You are the “angels in my life” (yes, I am chessy and yes, you LOVE IT!)