It was a strange feeling being in the shoes of the person who acts as a tour guide of Nome. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that former volunteer, Matt, was walking me down the streets of Nome showing me the Subway, post office, and Nome’s unofficial mascot, Velvet Eyes the pet reindeer. However, when some friends from my days in AmeriCorps NCCC came to visit last week, I found myself in the position of certified “Nomeite” over “small town newbie”.
Luckily however, I don’t think my friends Andrea and Nicole saw through the facade that I actually know where I’m going in this town. You’d think that I’d know where I was going seeing as how this is a small town and there’s plenty of time to explore. As my mother says however, “that boy couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag”. It’s true. I’ve been known to avoid carrying homemade lunches for this very reason.
We can talk about my lunchtime habits during some other blog post though. All in all I feel like I did a good job of showing my friends around. Not only was it great getting the chance to introduce my friends to the voyage I’ve embarked on here in Nome, visiting places like Anvil Mountain, the White Alice Site, and the icy shoreline was also a much needed reminded for myself of how much adventure awaits just outside of the Volunteer House.
The best part of having visitors in Nome is surprising them with facts about day-to-day life here in Town. Some of my favorites to name a few include:
“Here’s the post office. It’s also the Chiropractor’s.”
“What kind of restaurant is that? Well it serves sushi, pizza, Korean, Barbeque, Japanese, and burgers.”
“Here’s our only chain restaurant, Subway. It’s also the movie theater.”
I am looking forward to more Volunteer House guests as my time here progresses. Until then, I’m going to studying up on how to get from all the point A’s to point B’s in this town before more company arrives.
