Live in the Philippines

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Working in Alaska

Travel / by

Boat here to offload fish
Boat here to offload fish to keep me working in Alaska

I am back!

Back to LiP and Back to Working in Alaska

Hello again everyone. Just wanted to update you guys on my stay here in Alaska. I am Working in Alaska. To be honest, there are so many Filipina in Alaska! As you guys might know, I’ve been working here in Alaska since the summer of last year. This year I came back again to work for the summer which is the salmon season time here.

My trip back to the USA

I arrived in the USA mid of May. My 2 sons, Aaron and Jared went with me too. All 3 of us are working in Alaska. We came to Alaska beginning of June. We will stay here from June to end of October. I am wanting to come here during summer because it’s not as cold. But next year I am thinking of coming here for the winter season for more working in Alaska.

What am I doing while working in Alaska?

Jared first ride on the train on our way to working in alaska
Jared first ride on the train

For the summer season, we are processing salmon and pollack fish. With salmon fish, we do that during the months of June to August. I am working in the cannery this year. The cannery was divided into different areas. I’m working at the fish house and the canning. Sometimes I watch for defects of the can. You have to be alert and assertive in watching just a small dent of the can, while the can in a conveyor and running at about 15/m/h. One of my partners, a machine operator, calls me an eagle eye because sometimes I saw the can with a dent and the dents it’s so small and I saw it. Lol. So every time he saw me now he calls me the eagle eye lady.

What I do when I am not working in Alaska

If ever we are not working my boys and I would usually go for a walk just around our areas. A lot of times we do invite my roommate last year, Lulu. We really are very close. The kids like her a lot too. She’s close to my family because last year after working here when she went to the Philippines she came to Davao and visited my family. So we keep in contact and are still very close. Around 80% of our workforce here is Filipino, and a lot of Mexican workers too. Imagine, when you go around this place it sounds like you are in the Philippines, everybody is speaking mostly Tagalog.

Some pictures of my Alaska Stay

I have some pictures of the town that we are staying here in Alaska. It’s a small town but very nice.

We are surrounded by water and mountains. One of these days we will go for hiking on the mountain. The only thing that’s keeping me was the presence of bear cubs with Mama Bears. Some of the local residents saw bear cubs at the mountain.

We have a warning here in our workplace to not go climb the mountain. Do people listen to the warning??? NO….. Some people do climb the mountain, I told my boys not to do it. If you get hurt in this part of the country, it will be hours on end before you get to a hospital. You have to wait to be airlifted to Anchorage. Ain’t going to be pretty for you waiting. If the pain is bearable it’s okay, however, if not you are in deep trouble then. Plus to be airlifted and be brought to Anchorage is not cheap.

I want Bob to come here!

I would like for Bob to visit here in the near future. Bob loved to go fishing. When we used to live in Vancouver, Washington. Bob went to the Oregon Coast or in Canada to go fishing with friends.

Hey, this it for now. I will try to write more here. I miss you all. Take care everyone!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Interesting article, Feyma! Just wondering how easy it is to get a job there if you aren’t a US citizen?

    • They hire only US Citizens or Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders). So, if the potential employee is not one of those, they won’t get the job. Feyma is a Dual Citizen.

  3. I hope this isn’t too personal of a question, but I’m curious about how much the average starting hourly wage is working in a fishing cannery. Thanks.

  4. Hi Feyma
    Lovely to see you back on LIP again. Enjoyed your story and photos. Look after yourself out there.
    Marjorie

    • Hi Marjorie, thank you for replying to Feyma. Unfortunately, her Internet connection there is very spotty. She may get to reply, for now, I will do it for her. 🙂

  5. I have been to more than 20 countries and almost every state in the US, Alaska has been my favorite place to visit. It is beautiful there, interesting places to visit and things to see. Hope you get to enjoy Alaska along with all the hard work and long hours.

    • Hi George. Feyma was in Alaska for work last year and this year. She really does love the beauty of the place, just doesn’t like the cold temperatures!

  6. Glad to hear from Mrs Feyma again. Is she busier now? I know you said work had been slow when she first arrived there.

  7. Hi Feyma – It’s so nice to read about round 2 of your working vacation in Alaska with your sons, Jared and Aaron. I rarely see a picture of Jared. He sure has grown into a fine-looking young man. I said, “vacation”, because, in a way, it is. Being in a picturesque place surrounded by calm water and snow-capped mountains is a change of pace, temperature and scenery from the tropical heat and honking jeepneys of Davao. Looking forward to more of your stories from out there, Feyma.

  8. Hi Feyma,

    Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading your article and looking at the pictures. Our family visited Bohol this summer for a month. My wife and I went for walks in the area surrounding her village almost every morning. We usually bought pandesal in the “Our Deli Bread” store at the Manga Market. I have never been to Alaska. Looks like a nice place.

    Peace

    Jay

    • I left a comment to your comment about 14 hours ago, Jay, but I don’t know what happened to it.

      • It was too much off topic. The article is about Feyma working in Alaska. Your reply was about Jay and had nothing to do with the content of the article. We are trying to keep comment threads on topic on LiP.

  9. My wife and I are living in Alaska and are planning to move to the Philippines in less than two years. I’m just curious as to why you are becoming OFW’s? Is it becoming too expensive to live in the Philippines or are you living a higher quality of life now and need the extra income? Not trying to get too personal, but I have been following LIP for a number of years and I thought Bob did pretty well at providing for his family.

    The last thing I want to do is pack up and come back to the States because I can’t afford to live in the Philippines! We have been planning this move for over 12 years now. Thanks!

    • Hi Martin,

      Sometimes life slaps you in the face. There are also times when a person takes a job for reasons other than money.

      Slapped in the face.
      If you have been following along on this site for a long time as you said, then you might remember in 2016 I nearly died. I had a heart attack and a quadruple coronary bypass. Something like that costs a LOT of money. Even if you plan 12 years to make a move, you don’t know what might happen that might alter your plans. Coming within days of death will do that. So, the first reason why Feyma decided to do what she is doing is to replenish our savings, which were wiped out in 2016.

      After goign to Alaska in 2017, Feyma found that she liked the work, liked the people she worked with, and found it rewarding to take that responsibility on. She has a kind of dream (which is a personal matter) that she is working toward now. It is a big dream, and she wants to achieve this dream.

      In addition to what I said above, and this more involves the working for reasons other than money (although it still is somewhat money related) is that during the 10 years Feyma lived in the States after we married she spent the vast majority of that time being a stay-at-home mom. Taking care of our kids. Now, since she enjoys what she is doing, she has in mind to work enough time to qualify on her own for Social Security benefits when she is old enough.

      So, think about it this way, Martin… You have been planning and wanting to move to the Philippines for 12 years, and you don’t want to have to return later. Instead of giving up that 12 years of our dream of living in the Philippines, we just moved when we wanted to move. You have given up the 12 years in advance. We are giving up some time (a lot less than 12 years) after having been living our dream for 18 years in the Philippines. Both you and I are paying, you chose to pay in advance. We chose to pay at a later time. But, we both gave up something. See what I mean.

      Hope that answers your question, Martin! Take care.

      • I do recall you having bypass surgery. I guess I wasn’t aware it set you back so far financially.

        The changes you have made in your life style are great – you look fantastic! Keep up the good fight. Thanks for answering my question…

    • Hi Martin, just one more thing I forgot.. Feyma and our sons who are in Alaska are really not OFWs. They are all American Citizens, which is not really what an OFW is. Not trying to get too picky, but the term OFW in itself implies things like permission from the Philippine Government, special OFW taxes, Agency contracts and that sort of thing, and that just is not the case with Feyma, Aaron or Jared.