I have arrived in Nome and there is much rejoicing. Not because of my arrival (nobody knowns me), but because a plane has finally landed here for the first time in a week. A lot of people have been delayed in Anchorage and Kotzebue due to weather conditions and runway closures but now here we are. Nome sweet Nome.
I heard my share of interesting stories while stuck at the airport. There was a passenger on my flight who needed to get to Nome to board a cruise ship called “The World”, and another in the process of filming a documentary about women in the gold rush.
When I got off the plane, I was warmly welcomed by the KNOM staff and taken to the volunteer house.
It’s hard to believe that it has been almost a year since I heard about the KNOM Volunteer program. I graduated college in December of 2011 and applied soon after. Like many former volunteers, I don’t have a background in broadcasting. I still ask myself, how did I end up here again?
Being here is surreal.
I have only been in Nome for a little over a week but my life in the “lower 48” is already starting to feel distant. Warnings I received to wear layers, to stay away from bears – because I’m tasty and do not stand a chance – and to Never Trust a Moose, make less sense by each passing day. (Did it ever make sense?) What on earth did my friends mean when they told me not to kiss any polar bears? I have no idea.
What I do know is that I am lucky to be here. I am grateful to be working with such an outstanding group of people, especially the very patient ones tasked with training such a technologically disadvantaged person such as myself. It’s kind of funny. I hear that the volunteer who had my job before me was also not so keen on technology, or “sorcery,” as I like to call it.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get this” has become a catch phrase at the studio, and I’m starting to think that I AM getting this. Whether it’s learning to DJ or to produce educational spots (which is a large chunk of what I will be doing at KNOM), I am absorbing everything that I can as fast as I can.
Yeah. This is going to be an exciting year.
