Living in Bethel

We originally had planned to do a blog every week. We haven’t kept up with that pace so far. There are probably several reasons for this, we are busy, we are still adjusting to the move but I know, at least for me, the main reason it is hard to write about Bethel is because I have no context for it. There isn’t an easy way to describe this place because there is so little in my experience to relate it too. Being so new to this place I just find I am in not in a good position to make any blanket observations of it. However, we have been here about a month and the purpose of this blog is to relate to friends and family how it is to live here so I am going to try and do that.

One of the things I find most striking is the difference of scale here. We have explored most of the town on foot, it isn’t hard to do, and can easily be done in one day. I have seen every store, every church, and every park there is to see unless I want to hop on a plane and fly away. The only other alternative would be to find someone with a boat and go to a village where there probably isn’t a store or a park. Personally, this boggles my mind. I feared I would find it claustrophobic, and at times I do get that sense, but I also get the sense of something else. Most humans for most of time never saw more than the few surrounding miles from where they live. As my head wraps itself around the fact that unless my plans change drastically, I am not going to leave these six square miles for about a year I find myself wondering how that is going to change my perspective. Will I look at things more in depth? Will I be more careful about my relationships since these people are all I’ve got? Will wanderlust be replaced with something else? Will I end up watching cable t.v. all day? I don’t know, but I think it will be interesting.

Some fun facts about Bethel, there are only four places in town to get a fountain soda, everywhere else it is only in cans or bottles. You can buy a snowmobile at the grocery store. The only chain restaurant is Subway. The kids go outside for recess unless it is colder than 20 below (windchill). Wrestling is very popular with the kids at school, and both boys and girls participate (about equally). People joke a lot about the terrible weather. If it rains our roads turns into a muddy, horrible mess. The kids like to walk on the above ground sewer pipes (we don’t let Jamie do this, though). A lot of the people who are from here love it, and don’t want to live anywhere else.

Jamie continues to like school, Terrence likes his job. I am having a good time getting to know the kids who frequent the time out room. We miss everyone a lot. - Megan

Just Pictures

One Morning in Bethel

(Since Ted is in the thick of public defending I decided to blog. This was the first time I did it and I didn't get the pictures the way I wanted, but I figure something is better than nothing. The top picture is of James and his friend and the bottom picture is of the sunrise. I will try and blog again soon.)

James and I took these pictures of the sunrise about a week ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful Bethel looked in the morning light. When Ted and I were researching Bethel we did not come across many accounts praising its beauty. I think there are several reasons for this. The first reason being that there are parts of Alaska that are truly some of the most beautiful places on Earth and it is hard to compete with towering mountains and glaciers. Another reason is I think it is hard to notice the beauty is because it is hard to look beyond the buildings here. There are parts of town that are dirty, dusty and run down. Buildings don’t have to be beautiful to be functional, just ask Ted about the P.D.’s office. It may not be beautiful but a lot of good work goes on there. Considering how hard it was (and still is for some) for people to exist in the harsh tundra environment it is not surprising that functionality is highly valued. The tundra is beautiful though. I thought it would feel like the corn fields in Northern Indiana, or worse the clear cuts in the Upper Peninsula, but it doesn’t feel like either of those. When we walk out of town I can’t take my eyes off it. The gentle rolling of the land, the many different colors, the vastness of it are extremely pleasing.

Overall, we had a good week. Ted got into the thick of it at work, I got a job and James tried out for a musical. The people, to our delight, continue to be extremely friendly. This is a picture of James and his new friend who lives down the street from us. He likes to come over after school and he and James have a great time playing together.

Mikelnguut Elitnaurviat

That is the name of my school. I call it M.E., and so does everybody else. It means “little kids school” in Yup’ik. I am a first grader there. We are the “Mushers.” I am a “buser.”


It looks like the comic book room at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, which is the biggest Children’s Museum in the whole world. My teacher is named Mrs. O’Brien. She’s nice.

It was rainy on the first day of school, so we all went under the building for recess! They even have seesaws under there. They have a wooden floor down there too. I looks like a stage. There were all kinds of animals on springs that you could ride.

At Yup’ik class it wasn’t what I expected. We mostly do art, but we do learn some Yup’ik. I can’t remember any words right now. I can’t remember my teacher’s name right now, but I’ll tell you later when I remember.

So far my favorite thing about Bethel has been the three puppies that live across the street. My favorite thing that happened at my school so far was Friday Morning Showcase. It was real fun because I got to sit with Mom and Dad. What I did was watch kids who live near me sing songs, do the pledge of allegiance, and sing the school song. All the kids and a bunch of the kids parents were there.

You can even hear the coyotes or foxes or wolves howl from way out on the tundra. I like Bethel.

I will have my dad type in the school song:

(Sung to the tune of ‘This Land is Your Land’)

Today we’re singing a song for our school
We call it M.E., a really fine school
We greet good friends here, we make good friends here
All kinds of people large and small


M.E. is your school, M.E. is my school
We’re proud to be here, we all love our school
And it’s the finest, it’s where you’ll find us living and learning all we can
We learn together, working and playing
Striving to become the best that we can!
We help each other, just like a brother
Our school is best for you and me

‘till next time
--James

Bethel

It is hard to describe the experience of arriving in Bethel. After a long day of flying, we boarded the last leg of the journey to Bethel on a plane that was half passenger plane and half cargo plane. The passenger section was full. It felt a little more like a bus than a plane. Most of the people seemed to know each other, and they speculated with great interest about whether so-and-so was going to make it in time or whether such-and-such a person's cargo made it on the plane. All of us were very tired. It was a short flight, and before we knew it we were descending into Bethel. The view out the window was beautiful. Thousands of lakes, like puddles, stretching out to the horizon in an expanse of golden tundra. Clouds were moving slowly across the sky dumping rain in long mare's tales. The descriptions of Bethel we had read before arriving did not do it justice.



Our first couple of days we took few pictures. It was enough just to be in town. The attorneys at the PD's office are all very friendly and helpful. They have been a great help in getting acclimated to Bethel. Mostly we have just been walking around town attending to a million little moving tasks. Sign up for a phone. Transfer electricity. Figure out James' school. Get a P.O. Box (no mail delivery here). Find out about cable and Internet. Generally figure out how to get from here to there. It is clear that we will be doing a lot of walking if we don't get a car. The basics are right here though. The public defender's office is right across the street. As you can see below, it is a pretty basic structure. It's the one with the blue roof. I will have my own office there. Below that is a picture of the courthouse.


Yesterday, for the first time, I took an hour or so to walk around taking pictures. My focus was the sky. The sky here is incredible. It was cloudy and rainy for a couple of days, but yesterday evening the weather broke.

These pictures are mostly around the pond that sits behind our apartment building.

This is along the river.

This little girl was working on some very complicated project in the mud. I asked what it was, she was not willing to divulge. She was happy, however, to pose for a photograph.


Things here are very run-down, and much of what we read before arriving was focused on the junk around town. In fact, a lot of visitors describe a grubby little town in the middle of nowhere. No alcohol is often a concern. If the primary entertainment you seek involves bowling allies and cold beers (I am partial to both by the way), then you won't find much in Bethel. But so far there has been no lack of interesting people and places.

Finally, this is the apartment complex we live in. It is called "Timberline." It didn't look very significant to our eyes, but everyone in town knows about it. Next time James will blog about his school. Trust me, he can't wait.


--Terrence