It is a big day! Today is our Alaska-versary! We have officially been living in Alaska for 3 years and it is surely something to celebrate. We've been having a blast since day 1 and we're not about to slow down any but it did get me thinking...Once our time here in Alaska is over, it will be the longest in our 12 years of military life we've ever called a place "home". But we never forget the places we have lived and the people we have met that have made us who we are and we are so grateful to have found happiness every place we've lived. This isn't without effort though. In our first year of military life (and marriage!) we met some people where we were stationed who hated it. They couldn't wait to leave and made sure everyone they talked to knew it. You can imagine, this attitude is a little down-putting. Especially for a new military spouse who is trying to navigate this new world. We decided right then and there that we were going to make a conscious effort to just enjoy the things our location had to offer. I remember talking to my sister-in-law right before we were married. She was a seasoned military spouse and I had no idea what I was getting into so she was often a source of advice. She told me that moving around a lot can be hard, especially when moving to a place that might not exactly be "on your list" but that I should give every place a good 6 months before deciding how I felt about it. I think back to that advice a lot and think, man, 6 months is a lot of time to waste when you're only at a base for a few years. We've made a few moves now and every change of station has come with it's own set of new anxieties and stresses but we have always embraced it as our new home right off the bat and we believe that the faster you can do that, the easier it is to start loving where you live! So if you're wondering what you can do to quickly feel "at home" after a major move, this list is for you. Hang things on the Walls
After a few months, they realized that even though a year doesn't seem very long, if you're not putting in the effort to making yourself a home, a year can *feel* like a verrrry long time! Sunday DrivesThis might sound minor and silly too but an aimless drive around town can be relaxing and a welcome break, especially if a move is particularly overwhelming. Sunday drives - or any day drives for that matter - are a great way to orient yourself in your new town and take in your surroundings. Even after living here for a few years, we'll still take a little Sunday drive every now and then, as a family. We may end up at the nearby lake skipping rocks or maybe in a random wild raspberry patch like we did on our very first "Sunday drive" in Alaska...a place we have gone back to every summer now ;) Play TouristOn that note, even though you are technically considered "a local", don't be afraid to play tourist in your new hometown! Exploring town with a curious, excited, and open mind will definitely help you find the charm that only your new location can offer. We love to figure out where the locals are hanging out, what places are busy on a friday night, where scenic or historic areas are nearby, and what are the other places of interest. When we got orders to New Mexico, my normally upbeat and positive husband was feeling a little let-down since this particular base didn't have a great reputation for whatever reason. I immediately set to work to find out what was in the area that he could get excited about. I researched the area on pinterest and google - trip advisor is another great resource to see what there is to do in a particular area - and I created a list of incredible things we had to look forward to. (Pictured above is us at our favorite place in the world, White Sands National Monument; a place we were extremely excited to visit once we learned about it during our research.)This prompted us to create a bucket list of everything we wanted to do and experience while we were living there and it definitely fueled our adventures and helped us to fall in love with a base that most people thought of as boring. On that note, while Alaska is anything but boring for us, we have met a LOT of people who don't like it here and when we ask where they have been or what they have done the answer is always "nothing". I've heard it said that "only boring people get bored". If you're not actively looking for things to do and ways to enjoy your location then you will find it very hard to like where you live and feel "at home". Get involvedAnother way to quickly settle into a new home is to get involved. We are active church members and have an active congregation that we attend every place we've lived. This has helped us enjoy a community and make friends easily and quickly. I have many friends that look up the local MOPS group (Mother of Preschoolers) and have great success with that as well. There are many ways to volunteer in the community to help you form a connection with where you live and the people around you. Other ways to get involved are to attend community events. Whether it's parades, festivals, supporting small businesses - especially mom-and-pop restaurants because we all know they're the best - these are all simple ways to quickly get acquainted, form relationships, and feel at home in a new place. One thing we are frequently doing is checking the "local events" tab on facebook. This is a great place to see what's going on around town. When we first got to Alaska, before we even moved into our new house, I checked that tab and found a free paddle board event at a local lake. It was happening in a few weeks and you can bet I put it on my calendar and we took a break from unpacking to partake in this fun activity put on by the local parks and rec department.
This list may seem short and simple, but we did say "quickly settle in" *wink, wink*. These are all things that we set to work doing as soon as we set foot in our new "hometown" and I can tell you, it doesn't take 6 months to feel at home or to even decide if that's how we feel. Military life is unrelatable in a lot of ways but we sure know how it feels when starting over in a new town. It's not always easy but we can tell you that when we implement these things as soon as possible, we settle in a lot faster. We can also attest that treating somewhere like it's our hometown and not a temporary station makes us feel more connected to our community and helps us enjoy it a lot more than those who live with one foot out the door. What do you think? Do you have anything that helps you feel at home when you move to a new place? We'd love to hear your suggestions, comments or even questions! Hit us up in the comments! Make sure to pin so you can come back to this post and don't forget to follow us on Instagram for some of our day-to-day adventures. Until next time, get out and explore where you live!
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We all know that Alaska isn't alone in having it's own way of pronouncing names of places but Alaska is unique in it's culture and history. With that comes great pride in being Alaskan and pride in how things are done here. Even though we've lived here a relatively short time, we find ourselves cringing-on the inside, of course ;) -when a newbie or a visitor botches the name of something well known to us! Now, this post is a little in jest, because we know that some of these places are really hard to pronounce at first glance! Heck, we had to be corrected on one or two of them when we first arrived as a "Cheechako", or a newcomer to Alaska ;) I am a full believer that the best way to travel is to absorb the culture and enter the way of life of the locals, especially when traveling to places that are largely different than where we live. So if you're planning to spend some time in the great state of Alaska, we recommend starting your trip with learning how to speak like a local. So let's get started with some of the most misprounced places in Alaska. Kenai/KatmaiWe thought it best to start out with these to places in Southeast Alaska. The Kenai (KEE-nigh) Peninsula is actually a borough in Alaska and is home to some of the most scenic areas in the state. You'll drive down the Kenai Peninsula to get to some incredible places that bring a lot of tourists. Katmai (kat-my) National Park being one of those tourist attractions, is an island at the end of the peninsula famous for volcanos and bear viewing. KasilofKasilof (kuh-SEE-loff) is a town about an hour outside of Homer, which is the "end of the road" on the Kenai Peninsula. Kasilof is derived from Reka Kasilova - the name Russian settlers gave the river. SoldotnaAbout 15 minutes from Kasilof, further up the peninsula, you'll get to Soldotna (sole-DOT-nuh). The origin of the name is debated but most residents believe it comes from the native Dena'ina word ts'eldat'nu meaning "trickling down creek". Cooper Landing45 miles up the Sterling Highway, you'll find Cooper Landing. I'll own up and say that I've mispronounced this one! This one seems like an easy one, but you can spot a Cheechako as soon as they call it "Cooper's Landing". There are a few places where newcomers struggle with this, including Hatcher Pass and Cook Inlet. Don't add the s, unless you want to look like a tourist! SewardInstead of continuing up the peninsula, we're hitting the Seward Highway and heading south. Seward (SOO-urd) is an incredible city that we've visited a few times. It's a great jumping off place for glacier and wildlife cruises into the Kenai Fjords (please don't pronounce the j in Fjords! ;) Seward was actually named after William H. Seward who was the U.S. Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Chugach Mountain RangeAs you drive back up to Anchorage, you'll pass the beautiful Chugach (Chew-gatch) Mountain Range. The Chugach National Forest is almost double the size of New Hampshire, coming in at over 17,300 square miles. We highly recommend a visit to Girdwood and taking a ride up the Alyeska (a-lee-es-kuh) Aerial Tramway to take in the view. ValdezSpeaking of the Chugach, on the other side of the range, you'll find another popular destination for tourists and locals alike, Valdez (val-deez). This is another spot that we've thoroughly enjoyed, and defend when it's incorrectly pronounce ;) You can read about our visit to this beautiful place here. Knik GlacierOn the Northern end of the Chugach Mountains, you'll find the 25 mile long Knik (kuh-nick) Glacier, one of the largest glaciers in Southeast Alaska. In this one, the K is definitely not silent and we highly recommend a tour by helicopter to this must-see location. Denali National ParkDenali National Park, home to Denali - the tallest peak in North America, is a pronunciation up for debate. Though you may hear it as "de-NA-lee" (rhymes with Sally) from some locals, others will defend that it's pronounced "de-NAH-lee" (rhymes with Molly). Given that the name derives from the native Athabascan word "deenaalee" meaning "the high one" we would argue that Molly of Denali has it right. NenanaNorth of Denali, as you drive to Fairbanks, you'll pass through a little town called Nenana (nee-NAN-uh), home to the Nenana ice classic. We've touched a little bit on that here, This pronunciation caught us up when we first arrived because of the Tanana (TA-nuh-nuh) River. So close yet so different KetchikanThe "Salmon Capital of the World" Ketchikan (keh-chuh-kan) is a popular cruise port for Alaskan cruises. It is the southern most entrance at Alaska's inside passage, where we first stepped foot in our new home state and the first city of which we botched the pronunciation. UnalaskaOn the other side of Southern Alaska, you'll find a small island called Unalaska (oon-alaska). "Ounalashka" is a native word meaning "near the peninsula" and there is nothing un-Alaskan about it ;) KotzebueKotzebue (cot-suh-byoo), "the gateway to the arctic", is a city just above the arctic circle in the northwest part of Alaska. Might not be as visited by tourists but we did need to add it to our list only because it's super fun to say :D TokTok (long o - rhymes with joke) is about 190 miles east of Fairbanks. It is "the sled dog capital of Alaska". We passed through Tok when we took the ALCAN highway to get to Fairbanks. It was probably the biggest town we passed through on our trip once we left the lower 48, which made it a great refueling and bathroom break point, but that's about all our experience with this town. ChickenOkay, Chicken is definitely not a hard one to pronounce, but we thought we'd add it here as a fun fact. Chicken, Alaska is located about 5 hours east of Fairbanks. It was settled by gold miners in the early 1900s and when they couldn't agree on the correct spelling of "ptarmigan" (tar-muh-gn) - a local grouse - they decided to call the town Chicken, which is basically the same as ptarmigan, right? Needless to say, the name stuck. It's a very quirky town, only home to about 10 year round residents, though it does host a music festival dubbed "Chickenstock" every summer.
Now that you know how to say some of the places in Alaska, here's a few more tips on how to not sound like a tourist. The easiest way to spot a Cheechako is if they call it a "snowmobile" instead of a "snow machine". True Alaskans will look at you like you're crazy, haha - it's a pit I've fallen into before. Also, for the love of all that is holy, the "l" in "salmon" is SILENT!! So how did you do? Did some of these pronunciations surprise you? Please let us know if we missed any or if you have questions on some we didn't cover! We're certain with this beginners list, you may just be able to pass off as a true "Sourdough" - Alaska slang for a long time Alaskan, or the opposite of a Cheechako ;) If you're interested in a one-on-one chat to help plan a custom trip to Alaska, check out our options here! Comments or questions? We'd love to hear them! Make sure to pin so you can come back to this post! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram for some of our day-to-day adventures and until next time, get out and explore where you live! |
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