-you think extra tuffs; grundens and carhart are top of the line name brands.
-if you walk into the channel club (a super swank restaurant in Sitka) and the only clean cut guys are “Coasties.”
-if you can see the whole town in fifteen minutes.
-when your cousins with everybody.
-when everybody says, “you know, “ and “word.”
-you can identify people by the sound of their car.
-if you know everybody by there last name.
-if you live ”out the road.”
-if your dad is a fisherman.
-if kids brag about there dads boats instead of cars.
-if you use duct tape to fix your boat.

Highlights from our team's expectations for their exchange

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Highlights from our team's thoughts about being a Cultural Ambassador

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What are some of the important things that you have learned about your Sister Schools culture from this visit?: -Sports are important in the school and community.
-Working and education is very important here.
-The teenagers in the community are good influences on eachother and peer pressure is positive here.
-Everyone has a lot of pride in their community.
-Fishing is very popular here.
-You can't hunt in Unalaska.
-The squirrels are huge here.
-The people and community here are very welcoming.
-The families are happy and active in everyday life and in their children's lives.
-Everyone has homework and most complete it after school.

How do you think that this visit has changed how you think about yourself and your own culture?: -It made us want to concentrate more on our education because we saw how students are here and it inspired us to be better at our school.
-The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the bridge... the grass is very brown here and there aren't trees. We definitely appreciate the trees more in Sitka.
-School is the main thing in the students' lives here and it's made us think about working harder on our school work.
-It helped us go outside of our "box" and meet new people.

1) What was the greatest thing about this exchange?: Building bridges between communities, making new friends and friendships, and meeting interesting, nice people.
2) If you could have changed one thing about your trip to your Sister School community, what would it be?: We would have wanted to stay longer! We loved it here. : )
3) As you looked at your Sister School’s Destination Log, what did you notice about how your Sister School Cultural Ambassadors see your community?: We think that they had a good time and enjoyed our school. They found that our school is laid-back and there are good relationships between students and teachers.
4) How does their perspective influence your view of your community?: It makes us have more pride in our school seeing that other people can it enjoy it as much as we do.
5) What are two things that you learned about your Sister School community’s culture as a result of your trip?: -They are more strict here with regards to school and using land for hiking or camping.
-Education and good work ethic are highly important.

6) How are the people in your Sister School community different than the people in your home community?: The kids here seem to have their "heads on straighter" than the kids in Sitka. There are no trees here, and the grass is browner. The winds here are harsher than in Sitka. The people here seem to be more friendly, happy, nicer, and respectful of one another than in Sitka.
7) What do you think the people of your Sister School community have most in common with the people in your community?: We fish a lot, our economy revolves around the ocean, the only way out of the town is flying or boating, people are friendly in both places, and the people are really chill in both places.
8) During the exchange, when were the moments you felt most like you were being a Cultural Ambassador (i.e., sharing culture, learning culture, or building bridges)?: When we were introducing ourselves to new people, and when we were telling other students or adults about our lives, town, and school.
9) Why do you think it’s important for students to be Cultural Ambassadors in Alaska?: Because we get to see how our community works and how things function in other communities. It's also important so students can express themselves more and learn more about themselves.
10) What are two things you learned about yourself by participating in this program?: -To be more active and respectful of new people.
-To not be disrespectful towards others and to treat others with respect. People treat you better when you're nicer to them.
-To get along with people better when we don't know them.
-To not be judgemental of others.
11) What are two things you learned about your community?: -We have trees and it's a larger community, and it seems like people are more concerned about themselves.
-Sitka feels more crammed together than Unalaska.
12) What are some things you think that all Alaskans have in common?: People wear Xtra-Tufs all over Alaska, people are used to cold weather, Alaskan girls seem tougher than most, and the Alaskan people seem to be friendly and welcoming toward others.