Working for a living

Yes, we are both officially working! Marshall started a few weeks ago and it's going really well. Definitely a different experience but I'll let him talk all about all that. I was recently hired as the scheduler for the emergency department, so I will be communicating with local and traveling providers to keep the ER and in-patient wards fully staffed. It will be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it. The schedule is kind of like a big puzzle I have to conquer. :)

Yes, I'm disappointed I didn't end up finding a library position, but this will likely be a good fit. I plan on volunteering at the library and my new job will give me a lot of flexibility to travel and work on my own time. I love that.

Here is our new workplace, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region Hospital. I think it looks like a 1970s movie-set space station. Ha ha ha! Oh, and they have free coffee in the cafeteria, which is completely awesome. The ramp in front is where EMS brings in patients. All of the buildings here have metal ramps or stairs so that snow can fall through.

Someone asked that I write about the taxis here in Bethel (hi Pat!). As some of you have heard, Bethel has more taxi cabs per capita than any other city in the country. No kidding. There are probably about 90 cabs serving 6,000 people. It's really odd, until you think about how small the town is and how expensive it is to maintain a car (gas, insurance, etc). Frankly, you don't need a car here. Many people walk or take a cab in inclement weather. Other options include atvs in the summer and snowmachines in the winter. You know what we chose to do! Here I am picking Marshall up from work.

The cabs are really efficient and impressive. We have quickly become accustomed to calling them when the weather is really rainy. There are a few companies in town, but Quyana is our favorite. (Quyana means "thank you" in Yup'ik. In an earlier blog post, there is a picture of the Bethel welcome sign. The sign says Quyana Tailuci, which means "welcome.")

Anyway, when we call, we just say our address, not hello, I need a cab, this is where I'm going… just our address. The radio dispatcher is one of the drivers, and we tend to see him on our morning commute. All of the drivers hear the radio so the nearest cab just shows up, usually in less than a minute; they are so fast! The dispatcher keeps track of everyone on a magnetic board attached to his dashboard. So in the cab, we hear everyone around town calling in their addresses. We also might make stops on the way to pick-up or drop-off passengers. I seem to pick odd times to call, so I haven't shared my cab yet. Marshall has made stops on most of his rides. Oh, and cab rides are $5 per person per ride. They'll even make stops for you. So if I need to run in for milk on the way home, they'll wait while I run in.

But we still prefer adding more layers and taking our atv! In the winter, we can still ride as long as we block the wind and wear the right clothes.

We had a request to post more action photos, so we'll take some more videos of us around town. Particularly the sand pits we ride around in. :) We need set up a You Tube channel, but I'll make a priority as soon as we move. In the meantime, here are a few more of the beautiful Kuskokwim River and the tundra.