Dear Editor: I have lived in Sitka for almost five months now, and I like to joke to my family back home in Chicago that my favorite thing about this island is that there is no Target. Not so far under the surface of my search for a small laugh lies a fundamental truth: I am realizing that people in Sitka are more interested in what they can do for and with others than they are concerned with material possessions.
Upon my arrival here, I was gifted a guitar from Sarah, the AmeriCorps program director, simply because I asked where I might find one, and she had it lying around; I was offered a pickleball paddle from Norm, a member of the group I play with every week; Matt, the Pacific High principal, has shared his homemade bread and salmon chowder with me, because he knows my monthly stipend is limited.
I am learning that abundance is understood through the framework of subsistence, which as I understand it means taking only what we need and sharing the rest. More than that, what we need is directly dictated by the environment outside, which in the wintertime has been near perpetual rain or snow and minimal daylight.
I grew up in a dark, cold, and some even say a windy city, and yet it took moving to Sitka to learn that you cannot get through the winter’s darkness without sharing with each other – offering an outlet for creativity, an entry point for communal sport, or sufficient nourishment. Editor, I have lived in Sitka for almost five months now, and I am simply grateful to be here.
Sam White, Sitka AmeriCorps,
Pacific High School
