For the longtime Juneauite, it’s an obvious, perpetual verity: It’s raining in Juneau. For the newly anointed Juneauite — or several newly anointed Juneauites, such as ourselves — this is a hard reality.
As the 2021 AmeriCorps cohort, we have come from eight different states, each of them sunnier than the last, to serve this very wet community. It’s taken over six weeks, but we have finally begun to come to grips with never being quite dry. As we settle into our sites at elementary schools, childcare centers and other local educational organizations, we’ve also come to realize why so many like us have never left.
Juneau certainly has its quirks: a total lack of WiFi over 20 Mbps, the Xtra Tuffs pseudo-deification, and a package delivery speed that barely rivals carrier pigeon — most of us are adjusting to life without two-day Amazon Prime shipping.
But there is beauty everywhere, and there is no smog to hide it. For a small town with a small town feel whose only transportation in and out is by boat or plane, it's certainly easy to wander "out the road" and get lost. A few of us did just that one morning while searching for tide pools near Lena Point, and we ended up seeing starfish and sea anemones.
We’re also beginning to sink into comfortable routines. Five Midwesterners, two New-Englanders, an Alaskan and a Texan walk into a bar for mini corn dogs and trivia. You'd think this was an introduction for a joke, but it's just a typical Wednesday night for us. Hiking has also become a weekly ritual. So far, we’ve discovered the Perseverance, Dupont, Flume, East Glacier Loop trails and the Mount Roberts tramway on our Saturday expeditions.
Lately, we’ve heard the locals say “The sun is done,” and it sure has been raining like a Ray Bradbury short story, but it doesn’t seem like Juneau will get dull anytime soon.
We can’t wait to get things done. Gunalchéesh!
9/11 Day of Service
Throughout the year, the 2021 AmeriCorps cohort will partake in three service projects to serve the Juneau area and surrounding communities. On September 10, we completed one such project for the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Collaborating with the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska's Tribal Emergency Operations Center, we put together emergency preparedness packages for tribal children. The nine of us packaged more than 1,000 kits that were shipped out to children across the state and the Pacific Northwest. The bags contained a COVID-19 coloring book, a water bottle, hand sanitizer, masks, a whistle, and a reflector.
What to Expect Next
In the coming months, we will spotlight each of our members, bringing you a more in-depth look into an AmeriCorps member’s day-to-day. First to grace these pages (or screens, for most of you) will be our longest-serving member, Trinity James. Trinity serves at Gruening Park and, sadly, will be finishing her service and leaving our cohort in early October. Look for her spotlight and farewell in the coming newsletter!