I’ve been meaning to write this post for awhile now, but it keeps getting put on the back-burner as other posts seemed more prevalent. However, it’s about one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in Alaska:)
When I found out I was coming, I was told about the glass floats that wash up along the beaches in some of the villages (google “alaska glass floats”- it’s pretty cool to learn about them). The women in the villages add beads to them, or weave nets around them in a process called macrame.
I was fascinated by hearing about this, and was hoping that I would not only find some floats, but also be invited to a villager’s house to learn how to decorate them. Surprisingly, I didn’t even have to wait until I got to my village! While at inservice in King Salmon, I was invited along to learn how to net floats with some of the other women:)
A few of us came together as a kind woman, Jenny, taught us how to weave the floats together. She was an incredibly patient instructor who took me under her wing during this process (I couldn’t have done it without her!). To weave the floats, you need to cut a ton of strings and then braid them, gather “buddy strings”, and do some other things that I honestly forget (I would need her help to do it again!). If you mess up, it can be a pain because you have to un-tie a lot of strings (not that I would know this from personal experience or anything..). Trust me, it’s worth the mess ups when you see the final product!
The best part is that you can add as many floats as you want and it’s all up to you how it comes together. When we started, I was sure that it would take me days to finish mine. However, after a few hours of hard work, I left the room with my very own macrame hanging floats! I proudly showed off my work to any of the other teachers I saw on my way back to my room (they kindly humored my child-like happiness). It was the very first thing I hung in my apartment; now it’s the first thing I see when I wake up and the last before I head to dreamland.
I was just talking to one of the villagers the other night and she told me that there are floats on a little island in the bay. Each fall, a group of families go over and spend the day combing the island for floats and hunting geese. She promised to tell me when they are going over so I could join them! I’m so excited, and I’m just hoping that I’ll be able to find one float of my own (I love my three, but it would be awesome to know I found a float in my village!). I am patiently (okay maybe impatiently) waiting for the day they call me up to say they are heading over to the island.
My friend Annika just told me tonight “if you do one new thing every day you’ll do hundreds of new things”. I thought about it, and it’s so exciting to think about how many days of trying new things await me. I’ve already learned and tried many new things, but I have a feeling there are plenty more to come:)
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