Introductions

Hi I’m Robert and I’m moving to Alaska. Easy enough. I decided 15 years ago to go back to school part-time to work towards becoming a teacher. I always told anyone who said I was crazy to go back to school at 40, that I would be teaching students in Alaska someday. When I brought the subject of moving to Alaska up with my partner Loana, a couple of years ago, I imagined that she would laugh it off as everyone else had. She didn’t. Instead she smiled and said “let’s go”!! That left me to with a problem. I had no reason not to go. My 3 sons were out on their own or in college, I love the outdoors and winter camping and fishing, and had always dreamed and talked about moving to Alaska.

So, what do two teachers who want to teach in Alaska do to make that a reality? Hours of research, reading articles about life in Alaska, reading up about the challenges of teaching in an area with extreme climate. We spent hours watching videos of residents in Barrow(now Utqiagvik), driving around in snow in May, or residents of Fairbanks describing Ice Fog(a type of fog that consists of tiny ice crystals suspended in the air. It only occurs in the coldest areas of the world). We watched videos of teachers who worked in remote villages, hundreds of miles from the road system. We talked about what creature comforts we would be willing to “give up”. I narrowed it down to my 3 “must haves”. I required:

1) A flush or composting toilet

2) A shower

3) Reasonably high speed internet

LoAna here- I’ve been a teacher since 1992, and I’m beyond excited about my latest adventure to Alaska.

Since Robert and I announced our plans to move to Alaska, the most often asked question is “Why?”

Sometimes that means “Why move?”

Sometimes that means, “I know you love adventure, but why Alaska?”

Sometimes that means, “Why the bush?  Why not stay on the road system?”

For me, it all started when I learned to read.  Reading was a magic portal for me that took me anywhere I wanted to go.  During my elementary years, I traveled all over the world and through space and time, all from the safety of the St. George Public Library.  I knew from a young age that I wanted to see & experience as much of the world as possible. I especially loved the Little House on the Prairie books.  I also read books set in Alaska, and had a good bit of curiosity toward Alaska.  My senior year of college, I had an opportunity to go teach in Alaska, but my life wasn’t moving that direction at the time.  Mostly, I didn’t think I could handle such a different place by myself, and I didn’t have anyone in my life who wanted to go with me.  

Life moved on, and I had some wonderful adventures, including spending a summer in Australia, and living in Japan for 4 years. I lived in many different places, and intentionally sought out friends whose experiences and culture were different from mine. Of course, some people I knew went to Alaska.  A childhood friend moved there soon after college and is still there.  Several others were in Alaska for a few months to a few years, and all of them shared wonderful experiences and pictures.  I added a trip to Alaska to my bucket list.  

Meanwhile, over the years, I had mentally latched on to the concept of creating a life that we don’t need a vacation from, and Robert and I were trying to figure out how to do that.  That could be a whole separate post, but the idea is building a life that we enjoy every day, so that our vacations away from home are wonderful adventures just because we choose, rather than a necessary escape from a life that is unbalanced due to excess stress.  We started considering relocating to somewhere with nicer weather in the summers when we have time off.  In one of these conversations, Robert jokingly mentioned Alaska. 

Robert had always wanted to teach in Alaska, or if not always, for many years.  I think he was surprised when I said,  “OK.  Let’s go!” That was a couple of years ago, and we took some time to plan and prepare, but that is a different story.

For me, moving to Bush Alaska feels like it’s as close as I can get to Little House on the Prairie in my lifetime.  This choice is bringing some simplicity of lifestyle, and adventure.  The idea of teaching in a small, multi-age setting brings visions of creativity and flexibility in the classroom that I find very appealing.  I’m going on a grand unknown adventure with my best friend-  How could it be any better?  

So what was our next logical step? It is not easy to apply for jobs that are 5,000 miles away. We found out that Alaska had a teacher job fair every year in 3 different cities in the Contiguous U.S. and in Anchorage Alaska. We picked the job fair in Houston, Texas because it was the closest to us and was held when we were out of school. We knew that we wanted to teach in Alaska, but would Alaska want us?? We weren’t just looking for one job, we were looking for the best fit for both of us. Many of the smaller communities might not have openings that fit our certifications. It could be a year that did not have many openings for teachers. Only one way to find out. Off to Houston we went….