So, 4 days in Kapkugiak have passed, and it's time to head to the workplace. We wake up early, wash up, pack everything we managed to scatter around the room, and drag our suitcases downstairs. Taxi, heading to the designated spot. We arrive and see four American girls at the entrance - as it turned out later, they were also heading to Denali. Sam, Kemri, Ashley, and Ariel. Sam is a typical country-girl - curly blonde hair, heavy boots, a suede embroidered vest, a slightly raspy voice, and a banjo on her back. Ashley is a smiling blonde in a baseball cap, with two huge suitcases and a ringing laugh. Kemri is a dark-skinned brunette with light eyes and cowboy boots on her feet. Ariel seemed cold back then, sitting aside with a book, this blue-eyed blonde.

Sam was the first person from Denali to talk to us. She asked where we were from. We said: "Russia!" Sam: "Wow, really?" We: "Yup, it happens." Sam burst into laughter. It was nice.

We stood and waited for quite a long time, we already started to worry. And then, a bus with the Denali cabins logo crawls around the corner. Let's go!

On the way, we picked up the rest of the workers. We got to know everyone - everyone. Lots of smiles, lots of questions and answers.

The road went by unnoticed for me; I fell asleep at the very beginning and slept through the whole long, long (5 hours is no joke!) road to Denali.

We arrived in Denali and I was just stunned - such beauty! Slender fir trees, winding roads, and squirrels. So many squirrels! The air is fresh, immediately awakening an appetite and a desire to nap under the open sky. Checking in, meeting the rest of the staff, and that was our first day in Denali.

My wildest fear was not remembering the names of the few people I was going to live and work side-by-side with for 4 months. So I carried a notebook with me and slowly wrote down the names, and peeked at it often. (I have a sin, I don't remember names well)

One of the first days, I was convinced that despite the fact that we had all barely met, in Denali we were all like a family. Anyway, we went to a small town for dinner, to get to know each other, chat, and so on. We sat down at the establishment, I ordered a huge burger with a mountain of fries. And here you need to take into account my height - 150 cm, or 4' 11'', whichever you prefer. And my build is appropriate. I sat and sat, and devoured this burger in one sitting. Jake, one of the assistant managers, got worried: "Mash, didn't they bring you food yet?". "Uh... Well, I've already eaten everything," I replied. "YOU'RE A F**KING CHAMPION!" - Will, our bus driver, exclaimed, impressed. Everyone laughed together.

After finishing our food, we moved to a small coffee shop nearby. Veronika took a banana smoothie and everything was going well. Having already returned home, I hear: "Ma-ash, try it, is there any strawberry in it by any chance?". My heart sinks - Veronika has a wild allergy to strawberries. I snatch the glass from her and try it. Sure enough, strawberry. Apparently, the blender wasn't washed at the coffee shop, or the smoothie was layered and Veronika just didn't notice the presence of strawberries at first, I don't know. I start to worry wildly, drag Veronika to the room, start turning all her things upside down in search of something antihistamine. Veronika is already starting to wheeze at this time. It turned out that Veronika didn't take anything with her. I'm in a panic, I put the whole (WHOLE) staff on their ears. While I was running around looking for something that could help, our manager is sitting with Veronika, giving her water almost from a bottle cap. Finally, I found a girl who gave us allergy pills. Veronika is released, and I start shaking even harder, after all, in a really difficult moment I tried to pull myself together. And then, I just burst into sobs. And here Veronika is already sitting and calming me down. At that moment, we realized once and for all how much we had grown attached to each other over the last summer in Pittsburgh. Alaska brings people together, seriously, guys. When in principle you have no one to talk to except ~30 staff members, you get attached to them so strongly that it is simply impossible to forget such a summer.

SUPER IMPORTANT TIP!

Always check what you eat, especially if you have an allergy, ALWAYS take the necessary minimum of medicines with you - for allergies, colds, digestive disorders, painkillers, antispasmodics. The set, of course, can vary :)