just to clarify...

So I think there are lots of misconceptions out there about what Brin and I are actually doing this summer. So I am just going to try and clarify what it is we are actually doing up here.

Misconception #1

We are not in Siberia up here. I have very good cell phone and internet reception. Before I left people asked me if I could write letters or call them on a land line phone. My response was "Guys I'm not going to prison." Another comment I got was at church two weeks ago. Some older man (I will not mention his name to save him some embarrassment) asked me if this would be the first time I would be leaving the country...Um, dude, Alaska is part of the United States. Maybe Alaska wasn't a state when he was a kid, but it is now.

Misconception #2

Yes we work in a fish cannery, but we do not directly touch, see, smell, or taste any fish. We work in the case up division of Peter Pan Seafood (PPSF). The fish we work with are already in cans and we just get them ready to be shipped. Our supervisor, Tammy, told us that if we ever see, touch, or smell fish then something is wrong with the way the fish was canned.

Misconception #3

Never would I thought this would be an issue, but Brin told me a lady in our ward warned her about it at church today. Its kind of funny really, but she warned Brin about sexual harassment and being raped. Just because we signed up to work here does not mean we are automatically going to be raped. It is not part of the job. This is not an unsafe place to be. Of course if Brin or I were to walk alone at night in town then yes we might be raped, but isn't that true anywhere in the world? Yes, hardly any of the people here are LDS, but that does not make them bad, raping people. I've noticed I get lots of stares from the people from the Philippines, but I learned that people with fair skin are seen as beautiful in their culture. I'm going to take those stares as a compliment; not as a threatening stare from a rapist. It could also be that I'm one of the tallest girls they have ever seen. I tower over both the men and the women. 

So I hope that clarifies what it is that we do up here in the very technologically up to date state of Alaska; which, if you didn't know is in the United States of America. Anyone please feel free to send me a text or give me a call on the phone. And I'll try to protect myself and Brin from all the rapists here.

And then here are just some more pictures of the beautiful sights of Alaska...

I found this gorgeous waterfall when I went running one night after work

This is the only fish I've seen since arriving here in Alaska, and this was on the same run that I saw the waterfall. This was taken in the harbor where all the fisherman bring in their fish. The fisherman said it weighed over 35 lbs!