You Really Can See Russia From Your Window

 

    Whether it be from my bedroom window in the school where I live or on the helicopter pad waving to cruise ships that stop to honk at us, you never really can deny that you really can see Russia from your window or as the case of those men in the picture, from your boat seat.  Diomede, Alaska is too small for a runway and as of 2021 it has been about 6-7 years since the last plane flew to Diomede during the winter months.  This is because global warming has weakened the ice and it no longer gets thick enough for planes to land on.  What does this mean?  This means that daily flights are no longer existent and passenger flights only come once a week on Monday, weather permitting, while mail comes Wednesday.  It is not uncommon for those of us in the village to go 2-3 weeks without mail or passenger flights and sometimes we go as long as 6 weeks although that hasn't happened for at least a few years.  While this cruise ship only honked at us from afar, another came a few days later where the passengers actually disembarked and visited our school where the villagers shared Eskimo dancing with them.  As a treat many of my students were taken aboard the cruise ship to go swimming and enjoy some nice Scandinavian meals.