Roughin' it Alaskan style

McKinley Chalet Employee Village:

Living conditions:

Okay, so this is the part I was dreading the most about this experience.....room and board. I feel like I'm back in college around here......with the closet size rooms, roommates, twin beds, etc. Oh, and get this.....the bathroom is OUTSIDE! It's about 50 feet from the room and sure is a long and cold walk in the middle of the night when you gotta go.

We are also living off yummy cafeteria food here. Which, personally I am thankful for because the food prices here are completely outrageous! I thought that it would be horrific and only filled with local Alaskan food like moose, caribou, and such (food that didn't have to be shipped in). But, I was pleasantly surprised on my first day when I was presented with the welcoming southern food like fried chicken and mashed potatoes and just a little bit of fish on the side and ever since then we've had a pretty good selection of the food we eat every day. It was a very pleasant surprise.

My Home for the summer:

When I got here I was escorted to my room and

sort of knew what to expect by what Hannah had told me about the living situation, so I was somewhat prepared....so I opened the door and immediately my stomach dropped. My roommates stuff was all over the room, there was no space, no sheets, and a mysterious stench in the room I couldn't explain. Then, while I was unpacking, my roommate opened the unlocked door and looked just as shocked as me. The moment was priceless! She didn't even know I was coming.....I can only imagine what she was thinking.

I was worried that we wouldn't get along because she did not seem too happy to see me at all; but after a couple of days, we started to get along. She's actually pretty cool.....she's from Colorado and working here as a river rafting guide. So, we both had our separate stories to tell and everyday we get closer and closer.

Work:

I was scheduled to work as a sales associate at the Lynx Creek store, which is the local park mart and the only fill in station in town. I wasn't too sure about this either because I've never worked in retail before and I wasn't really looking forward to standing on my feet and being behind a cash register for 8 hours straight. But, after the first couple of days, I began to love it. I get to meet and greet all the people that are coming and going through Denali. I get to hear all there intriguing stories and see where they are coming from and where they've been in the park. I even met a couple from Canton, GA (about 30 min. away from Rome). That was pretty neat. Being what it is I have a pretty cool job. And lets just face it......I'll work anywhere as long as they let me explore Alaska

Thanks for stopping in for a quick read

Take care,

Paige

p.s.

These blogs will probably be coming out at a slow pace....the internet is horrendous here.