Living in Alaska
Hoshino Michio (1952-1996)/is a well-known nature photographer. He produced a great number of wonderful photos of wildlife in Alaska. Here,/he talks about Alaska,/its people,/and “distant nature.”
1
When I was a freshman in college,/I came across a photo/that changed my life. It was a beautiful photo of a small village called Shishmaref/on a small island in Alaska. At first,/I couldn’t believe/that people could live in such a remote place. However,/when I found the village on the map,/I got interested/and had an urge to go and visit this tiny village.
I decided to write a letter,/but I didn’t know anyone in the village. So I wrote/“Dear Mayor of Shishmaref,”/asking him to introduce me to some family/who might let me stay. Half a year later,/I received a reply/inviting me to visit.
In 1973,/I went to Shishmaref/and spent the summer with an Eskimo family. I ate the same food as they did,/and even went caribou hunting with them. The local people often called me/“Eskimo boy”! It seemed that every day brought me new experiences.
Living in Alaska,/I discovered that people lead their everyday lives/even in such an out-of-the-way place,/just as we do back in Japan.
Hoshino Michio (1952-1996)/is a well-known nature photographer. He produced a great number of wonderful photos of wildlife in Alaska. Here,/he talks about Alaska,/its people,/and “distant nature.”
1
When I was a freshman in college,/I came across a photo/that changed my life. It was a beautiful photo of a small village called Shishmaref/on a small island in Alaska. At first,/I couldn’t believe/that people could live in such a remote place. However,/when I found the village on the map,/I got interested/and had an urge to go and visit this tiny village.
I decided to write a letter,/but I didn’t know anyone in the village. So I wrote/“Dear Mayor of Shishmaref,”/asking him to introduce me to some family/who might let me stay. Half a year later,/I received a reply/inviting me to visit.
In 1973,/I went to Shishmaref/and spent the summer with an Eskimo family. I ate the same food as they did,/and even went caribou hunting with them. The local people often called me/“Eskimo boy”! It seemed that every day brought me new experiences.
Living in Alaska,/I discovered that people lead their everyday lives/even in such an out-of-the-way place,/just as we do back in Japan.