Going With The Flow

We the People, are not feeble.
Alazsxaq, Alyeska, Alaska is our home, the seas comb.
Hear her heart pounding loud and proud, over and under every cloud.
Creatures of the Great Land, high and low, go with the flow.

---- excerpt, Alaska the Wild, Maricia Skinna

The past two days I've been attending mandatory orientation for every YKHC employee, regardless of the length of time they are there. There have been some interesting presentations on culture, as well as general information about YKHC, which has been useful. Other sections, such as those on privacy, safety, etc., are not unimportant, but a little redundant for someone who has had training in those areas previously. However, it was nice spending time with some of the other new employees and getting to know them.

They come from everywhere--there are two optometry students from Quebec, nurses from Florida and Texas, and locals from Bethel--all here for either a short stint or a long term commitment to YKHC. All of those attending have a strong desire to help others--that much is clearly evident in their personalities and manner of speaking.

Last night I decided it was finally time to break the ice, so to speak (although literally as well), and buy some milk to drink. Many natives are lactose-intolerant. Cattle do not flourish well here this far North (though musk-ox, caribou, and reindeer do quite well), and this leads to the relatively high price for milk. My 1/2 gallon of 1% was $6.43. I could have sprung for the gallon--$9.75, but for whatever reason I was unsure I'd drink that much before it expired. There must have been some kind of subliminal fear of kidney stones. Regardless, the trip down to Swanson's (the grocery store) was easy. The store offers a wide variety of food and the taxi trip was easy. Good to know things are available if I need them--and am willing to pay.