I miss my new friends . . . (Barrow, Seward: hotel, school, taxi)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So i made a bunch of new friends at work since i came to Barrow. Hung out together watching UFC, played Madden, just did stuff like friends do. Now they have been lost to the bottle.
I knew before coming to Alaska that there was a serious alcohol problem with the native population, but i am honestly astounded, and saddened by how bad it really is. I have dealt with addiction with my friends in the past, even in personal situations, but i have never seen it get so life absorbing like it affects those natives here in Barrow (i assume its the same throughout the villages also but i am not certain).
I was so excited learning the Inupiaq culture first hand. Taking the brunt of the "white guy" jokes was fun. But now those friends have disappeared. Those who know them in those drinking circles have told me they are lost to the bottle right now.
I dunno, not sure why i am posting this, other then maybe someone else who has experienced this can shed some more insight into it.
Here is hoping that maybe my friends will escape this web we all know as alcoholism, and hopefully unscathed.
Anyhow, Edgarr, Edward, and Janice, i will leave the Proverbial "light on" for you, heres hoping you find your way back.
That is sad your friends are lost at the moment, hoping it will get better in the spring. I am glad that my stomach cannot handle alcohol very well as many people I know in my hometown are alcoholics. They say what else is there to do in a small town....and I am glad that I can find other more healthy things to do.
So i made a bunch of new friends at work since i came to Barrow. Hung out together watching UFC, played Madden, just did stuff like friends do. Now they have been lost to the bottle.
I knew before coming to Alaska that there was a serious alcohol problem with the native population, but i am honestly astounded, and saddened by how bad it really is. I have dealt with addiction with my friends in the past, even in personal situations, but i have never seen it get so life absorbing like it affects those natives here in Barrow (i assume its the same throughout the villages also but i am not certain).
I was so excited learning the Inupiaq culture first hand. Taking the brunt of the "white guy" jokes was fun. But now those friends have disappeared. Those who know them in those drinking circles have told me they are lost to the bottle right now.
I dunno, not sure why i am posting this, other then maybe someone else who has experienced this can shed some more insight into it.
Here is hoping that maybe my friends will escape this web we all know as alcoholism, and hopefully unscathed.
Anyhow, Edgarr, Edward, and Janice, i will leave the Proverbial "light on" for you, heres hoping you find your way back.
Sorry, but from this and your other post on Eaber's thread...I worry about you. The wife wanted Phoenix, but she is happy, kids seem to be happy...you have a job (good thing). You have only been up there a few months, not enough time to have true friends, especially if they have all taken off for the bottle. You need to get out of the house, away from the fantasy computer games, and find something to do. There must be volunteer positions available at the school or the hospital maybe, to find some new friends that are maybe older? No offense, but you need to get a grip, or what it sounds like from these last couple of posts, so your wife and your family don't not sink. You are on the edge of the world...You just talked about all you gave up...and you are spiraling into another move wherever it is, because you are in Barrow it is going to cost you. With your diabetes, watch your sugars and intake like a hawk, do some health searches, recipe searches, exercises and cut sodium, as I am guessing you also have hypertension? Challenge yourself and take care of yourself and you may put the diabetes to bed with exercise, weight loss, and food choices....Keep busy! Way too early in the season for this, best of luck to you!
Last edited by Grannysroost; 12-02-2010 at 06:37 PM..
Reason: Re-read your other post....
Sorry, but from this and your other post on Eaber's thread...I worry about you. The wife wanted Phoenix, but she is happy, kids seem to be happy...you have a job (good thing). You have only been up there a few months, not enough time to have true friends, especially if they have all taken off for the bottle. You need to get out of the house, away from the fantasy computer games, and find something to do. There must be volunteer positions available at the school or the hospital maybe, to find some new friends that are maybe older? No offense, but you need to get a grip, or what it sounds like from these last couple of posts, so your wife and your family don't not sink. You are on the edge of the world...You just talked about all you gave up...and you are spiraling into another move wherever it is, because you are in Barrow it is going to cost you. With your diabetes, watch your sugars and intake like a hawk, do some health searches, recipe searches, exercises and cut sodium, as I am guessing you also have hypertension? Challenge yourself and take care of yourself and you may put the diabetes to bed with exercise, weight loss, and food choices....Keep busy! Way too early in the season for this, best of luck to you!
While i sincerely appreciate the sentiment, i am not sure you read my post throughly. Anyhow, thanks for the, ummm thought ?
Location: Big Island- Hawaii, AK, WA where the whales are!
1,490 posts, read 4,190,348 times
Reputation: 796
I watched a guy from firemans confrence in Seward come out of village and have opportunity to drink. Not good. Sumary... he got too drunk.. taxi took to wrong motel...I met him beating up fire hydrant trying to feed it cookies.. past out on horn after puking in bartenders truck. Next am after drunk tank apoligized to hotel, fire comanders, bartender paid for a detail, saying sorry we don't get out much. Felt bad didn't tell him he beat up fire hydrant. He went to hotel finally hook up with girlfriend, she too pisse from waiting.. called cop again. They had to fire him. Sad story..got a apprecaition like SD Rez and beyond. Good luck my liver never wants to experance winter in AK. There has to be elders someone someplace u can help volunteer. But u can no fix it....it is winter...and what it is. Its not u and a whole new thing unforuntatly to experience.
That is too bad you lost some friends to the bottle. It was my understanding that there wasn't a substance abuse issue in Floydville and it was just a "perspective".
While i sincerely appreciate the sentiment, i am not sure you read my post throughly. Anyhow, thanks for the, ummm thought ?
Her post may not have been sweetness with sugar coating... but she's perceptive.
Quote:
I was so excited learning the Inupiaq culture first hand. Taking the brunt of the "white guy" jokes was fun. But now those friends have disappeared. Those who know them in those drinking circles have told me they are lost to the bottle right now.
This sounds like you are willing to believe that, but a closer approximation is probably that your new friends are tired of being around too many tuniks, and since their value system and world view are vastly different than yours, it will be a long time before you can see that coming or understand the mechanism. (They might be off hunting caribou...)
Learning Inupiat culture is a fascinating persuit but you can't learn to spell or pronounce it in three months, much less understand it! In roughly twenty years you'll probably have learned enough to begin understanding. Between now and then, worry about your value system (i.e., pay attention to what Grannysroost had to say).
That is too bad you lost some friends to the bottle. It was my understanding that there wasn't a substance abuse issue in Floydville and it was just a "perspective".
I see no point in you fabricating fantasy land issues like that.
Quote:
Maybe the mayor will jump in here to clarify.
There are two mayors in Barrow, the Borough and the City. One is Inupiaq, one is Caucasian. They both have personal drug/alcohol problems. Oddly the mix of former mayors here is about 50/50 for those who have a problem and those who don't. That's true regardless of ethnic background.
The mix of people that I know in Barrow who have such problems fits a specific percentage of the population here very closely. Each type with drug/alcohol problems matches very closely with the percentage of that type of person in the general population here.
Perhaps it needs to be pointed out that Dradiin did not indicate any personal knowledge of these friend's activities. Others are telling him the people are "lost to the bottle", and he is willing to believe that. Who are the others? And how do they know? And why should we accept that as a fact?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
