I recently moved from Fairbanks, Alaska in June and many students and some teachers have asked multiple questions but the common question asked was, “How was living in an igloo?!”. I don’t know what to do but laugh because the assumption is funny.

There are many assumptions about Alaska like that it is nothing but a winter wonderland and it’s ugly or that people live in igloos and raise moose. None of those assumptions are true at all. People fail to see the true beauty of Alaska. Yes, it gets REALLY cold but no matter what the weather is, the scenery is always beautiful even down south in the small islands. Alaska isn’t what people make it out to be. If you don’t like getting out and exploring nature, then Alaska probably isn’t the place for you. The reason I say that is because there isn’t much to do but go ice skating or the movies. Let’s be honest that is really boring, so that’s why you probably need to be the exploring type of person.

The daylight and darkness is something everyone has to adapt to, either visiting or living there. During the winter it is ALWAYS dark. The sun rises for like 20 minutes then goes back down and is dark the rest of the day/night. But also during the winter the Northern Lights are out and they are AMAZING especially when they are dancing! To the Alaska Natives they believe when the lights are dancing it is their ancestors talking to them. It is different during the summer time. In the summer time it’s always bright outside and the sun literally never goes down. These adaptations are not really hard to get used to.

Getting to experience Alaska is amazing. It is beautiful and has so many beautiful islands to visit. Yes, it gets really cold, and no, people don’t live in igloos or raise moose. If you ever get the chance to visit or live in Alaska, take advantage of that and get out and travel and explore! Trust me you WILL love it.