This week we’re hearing from Albert Scott in Anchorage. Scott is a registered nurse with the Air Force who moved to Alaska from Georgia two years ago.
SCOTT: Hard to adjust, because I arrived here in December and I was actually traveling from Tampa, FL. Temperature difference was probably about 70 degrees from just a few hours on the flight. And it was dark and I think at that time, it was around winter solstice so there was only about five and a half hours of daylight. And that was definitely a huge adjustment. So it took me several months to get used to here.
Even though Alaska is part of the United States, it almost seems like you live overseas or in a different country. I guess the people here are a lot more laid back. They’re not really as interested in fashion or a lot of material things. There’s a lot of outdoor activities. Slower pace. So that’s the biggest difference.
I was invited by a few coworkers when I first got here. What we did… we went out to a frozen lake, and for some reason we walked to what seemed like the middle of it — which I was curious as to why we couldn’t fish from the bank.
They used some type of a dredger, some type of tool, to cut a hole into the ice. I think it was a few feet thick. And then you kinda just fish like what you would normally. You put a line in the water and you sit there. Big difference is a lot colder. (laughs) So it was an experience.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
