Daily Blog

Can you still blog in the summer? I hope so.... even though school is out and my RURE kids have moved on to high school and other adventures, I find that I'm still affected by my Rose experience. I realized the other day that at the end of the school year my RURE ambassadors had made a very good point about their experience and I didn't really recognize it for what it was at the time. They were talking about how they wished the exchange groups could be bigger because once you come back you're different, and there aren't many people you can share that with. Nathan said it's like he'd learned a new language, and could only speak it with five other people. That comment popped into my head as I was making (you guessed it!) a fish pie the other night and I realized how wisely Nathan had expressed what we all feel.

I miss the kids, miss St. Paul folks, miss Matthew and Alyse and Greta. And I can't wait for the new adventure to begin next fall!

Art and Culture

Subsistence Food

Relocation of the village

Some stories and pictures

Daily Blog

AASG Trip

I am involved with the Alaska Association of Student Governments as the Executive Board’s Parliamentarian. We had our Spring Conference at Ben Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks while I was staying there I got the opportunity to meet up with some students from Ben Eielson and talk. While we were all talking and meeting each other one of the boys from Ben Eielson insisted that he must have meet me before because he recognized me. However, I had to recollection of ever meeting him. After a few minutes he suddenly realized that he knew me from the videos that were posted on the RURE Website. It was a great way to meet people and new friends that had shared in the amazing experiences that people had while participating in their exchange.

Thanks,

Arianna

Daily Posts

Reflections from Day 2 of our trip to Chefornak

Final Thoughts

Ever since I was selected to be an ambassador for this organization I have been very excited, waiting to see where this trip will take me. With this journey coming down to the final days I am looking back at all that I felt, learned and grown from. There were many aspects of this trip that pulls me in, working with new people, new languages, new places, new foods, new experiences and challenges. When we first meet the other half of our family (R.U.R.E ambassadors from Chefornak) it was awkward, like everything it took time, and slow the ball started to move and there was no stopping it. Listening to them tell us how much being down here changed the way they saw their future just made the affects of their stay more memorable. By the time we went to Chefornak we were as comfortable as if we had known each other forever. The people there were so welcoming I have never felt so at home, even in my own home. The hardest thing I had to encounter up there was when we had to leave and come home, all the friends I had made, the amount of fun we had, were all to good to let go. One day I hope to go back again and see all my friends and be at peace again with myself and the world that flowed through, around me and engrossed me.



Final thoughts…
Walking into this experience, I had no idea how much it would mean to me in the end. At first, this was something I was slightly afraid of. How could I be comfortable in a place with limited resources such as water and electricity? What if I didn’t like the people I would be traveling with? What if they didn’t like me? I was expecting to go through a change, but I didn’t expect it to be this extreme. I knew this experience would help pull me out of my comfort zone and become a more outgoing person. Traveling to Chefornak did so much more for me…I wasn’t uncomfortable at all; I learned that I am a chameleon; that I can morph and match any environment I step into.
I am more excited and prepared to leave for college. I am excited to learn more about other cultures and experience things that may not be the norm in my world, but could be an exciting learning adventure, and it’s something I can carry with me for the rest of my life.
I already miss the village with its kind people, and the great sense of peace I get when gazing out over the vast open fields of white tundra. I know I will always be grateful for being given this opportunity, and I will remember all the amazing things I learned in Chefornak. I’ve already dreamt about going back to visit. Who knows? Now that I’m more confident in my traveling skills as an ambassador, anything is possible.
Quyana, Rose Urban Rural Exchange.

-Kayla Wagner
Wasilla High Ambassador

Daily Posts

its very different here, in new Stu.
im not use to the weather and the way of life. i hope the next couple days gets better and we get to experiance there ways. its day one. 6 more days left.
also its very hard not having cell phones, i was use to be connected and now im not, very different.

Final Thoughts