Alaska vs Texas: Culture Clash
A bit of a spin-off from my “Joys of Juneau-related posts”, I (Ethan Stranger) will be talking more about my background, as a Peruvian-American who was born in Juneau and raised in the suburb area of Austin, TX, who has struggled with a culture clash, for I was born in 1 state, then moved to another while also having a bit of Peruvian background from my mom’s side of the family (even though my Spanish is minimal), thus I often question myself on “who am I really and also which state best suits me”.
Plus, I was also inspired by the PBS Kids series, Molly of Denali (Picture: Bottom center), to write on this post, for 1 of the characters really caught my eye, and also I was impressed with how the series succeeds in shedding up light on the more Native-American side of Alaska, while also exploring on the more modern side of things, so allow me to explain more on my “Culture Clash situation” and see if the cast of Molly of Denali will be impressed on what I have to say.
To kick things off, I’ll never forget back when I heard the news of Molly of Denali premiering on PBS kids and I had somewhat mixed feelings about this, for (as I mentioned), I’m a Peruvian-American who was born in Juneau and raised in the suburb area of Austin, TX, while also (at times) facing off against racism remarks made about me due to where I was born, as many would think that because I was born in Alaska, I must think that I’m an eskimo and might’ve lived in an igloo, but that wasn’t the case with me nor many non-native Alaskan people who (perhaps) have dealt with a similar situation like me, or maybe not, Plus, in my recent travels throughout the world, I’ve dealt with locals in foreign countries who would point out to tourists (as if the entire world was a “Human Zoo” to them), they would want to snap a picture with us, I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, but as an autistic perosn, I feel unsettled by these kinds of situations, for I ain't no Shamu.
What really attracted my attention to the show eventually was the character, Trini (Picture: Bottom Left Corner), as I read that she was originally from Austin, TX, and then moved to Qyah, Alaska (FYI, Qyah is a fictional Alaskan town, made-up specifically for the show). It surprised me how (despite being fictional), somebody from TX moved to Alaska, I felt like it was the polar opposite of my origin story, as I was born in Alaska, but raised in TX, I wouldn’t be surprised if the creator of Molly of Denali and I (Ethan Stranger) are reenacting that Will Ferrell film (Stranger than Fiction, Picture: Bottom Right Corner), where I’ve been secretly hearing a disembodied voice narrating my life as it happens and what happened before, thus pulled inspiration for the creation of Trini (in a way), as again, I was born in Juneau, but moved to the suburb area of Texas, while Trini and her family moved from Texas to Alaska (weird).
Plus I’ll never forget watching the Molly of Denali episode, Culture Clash (where Trini 1st encounters Molly and her friend, Tooey), the 2 Qyah native attempted to act very Texan with her, only to learn that not all Texans are cowboys that live out in the old west, riding horses and eat beans and how Trini learned that not every part of Alaska has Polar Bears and not eve, I myself should know this, for in Juneau, I’ve never seen Polar Bears, it’s Black Bears (even Black Bears with Brown fur, called cinnamon bears) that I’ve usually seen in my birth home, Plus, Polar Bears live up further up north of Alaska, where nowadays Polar Bears forced to adapt to an ever-changing arctic, click here to watch:
(they should’ve had Molly and Tooey reenact this one scene from SpongeBob Squarepants, to make them act more Texan)
(if the cast and crew of Molly of Denali are fans of SpongeBob, then they should check out my I’m A Goofy Goober: The SpongeBob (Birthday) Post💛)
Speaking of Culture Clash, I’d like to continue pointing on how impressive I was on this series even tackled racism, I’ll ever forget on how my Dad (who was also born in Juneau) told me on how racism was actually quite small and not so big like in the other states during the 1960s, however, most of the racism was mainly happened in Juneau and other parts of Alaska was more center around the Alaskan natives, in which Molly of Denali dives very deep in, I’ll never forget watching the episode, Grandpa’s Drum, in which we learn that Molly’s Grandpa refused to ever play his drums again after going through horrid racism he faced during his childhood (Picture: Bottom Center), But in the end, Molly was able to convince her grandpa to continute replaying his Drum, though for the record (in my opinion), it’s better to have play and sing the songs of your people in private,unless there’s a talent show or whenever it’s show & tell (did they not have that back in the day), then perform the ways of your people (just a suggestion).
Then the series continue tackling racism issues with another episode, where 2 tourists consider both Molly and Tooey “not native enough”, which is something that I’m sure all biracial people (including myself) face every time, like I said, I’m a Peruvian-American who was born in Alaska and raised in TX, thus I’m often caught in a bit of a culture-clash myself at times, as my Spanish is minimal (meaning I’m less-Peruvian) and I don’t even know if I’m more Alaskan (because I was born in Juneau) or Texan (because I was raised in Texas), plus whenever I do decide to settle down in my birth home of Juneau, I don’t wanna feel like I’m “out of place”, but then again, I’ve visited Juneau multiple times cause my grandparents live there and that the many changes happening in Juneau are to a minimal, compare to the out-of-control changes that have been happening within suburb area of Austin, TX (that’s why Trini moved).
I did some research on my own research based around on that episode and learned a lot about this “Elizabeth Peratrovich” (I don’t recall learning about her throughout my school years), she even predates MLK Jr’s. “I Have a Dream Speech” (not sure if he’d even heard about her). For those who don’t know, Elizabeth helped creates Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, the 1st state anti-discrimination law enacted in the US.
(Click here to learn more about Elizabeth Peratrovich)
Overall, nowadays in Juneau (or anywhere in Alaska), I feel like both Native and non-Native Alaskans have found ways to live together in peace and harmony, I should know for whenever I go and visit Juneau, I always recalled going to visit the museums of Juneau and seeing various Native American Artifacts and reading on their past history, plus there’s lots of Native American-related art all across Juneau, here's a good example (Picture: Bottom Center)
Wonder if in the future (before Molly of Denali ends on a high note), they do a special where she and (either her family or her friends) find themselves visiting my hometown of Juneau, besides there’s so much more to see beyond of Qyah for Molly and the gang, in my experience, there was a lot more world for me (Ethan Stranger) to explore that was beyond both Alaska and Texas Combine (read more about that within my Traveling-relates posts).
(Click here to learn a bit more about Romeo)
(Click here to learn a brief history of Patsy Ann)
Plus I wonder if they should do a special episode featuring Molly and Nina (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) meeting each other for the 1st time, I really like her character (apparently she shares the same Birthday month as me, which is September, more “Stranger Than Fiction-related situation in my part”, Plus she wears a beautiful Purple Scarf (Purples my favorite color), also I recall one episode with her and Molly flying to a part of Alaska where roam Wood Bison, I recall seeing Bison in Yellowstone, but I never thought Bison could roam within the wilderness of Alaska, it’s mostly Musk Ox I’ve heard that roam north of Alaska, Plus what would Nina say about Takins (or as I call them Wooly Wildebeest, Picture: Bottom Right Corner) and Snow Leopards roaming the mountain range areas of Alaska? Speaking of Molly coming to Juneau someday looks like she already has friends living in Juneau:
(Perfect song for Nina)
And the moment that we (including myself) have been waiting for, is that (if it were only possible), which High School would win in various sports activities, JDHS (my Dad and my Aunt’s HS, home of the Crimson Bears) or CPHS (my HS, home of the Timberwolves), though in the wild, bears have been known to face against wolf packs, though I can’t say the same for High Schools, plus something like this can never happen due to a massive time zone difference, I’m sure that neither side will win (depending on which team will have to travel), but then again, I can't really predicate that, though since neither of these teams played off before against each other, surely only 1 team could use that to their advantage, in order to achieve victory. Shame though, an event like this could have me return to playing the trumpet unless they wanted me to play Herb Alpert’s Rise (but as I mentioned, it'll never happen):
“Bear Down, The Crimson Bears” (sounds catchier, I don’t know if JDHS ever had their own Fight Song)”
Though the Timberwolves of CPHS had their own fight song, that we played for every football game.
So having typed this all up, the big question on this “big culture clash of the titans”, is who would win, and what’s something that TX can learn from Alaska or Alaska can learn from TX, in my opinion, both cities operate differently from each other, however when I was young, having moved to the suburb area of Austin, TX, it was a bit like Juneau, small community and all, but over the years, it has grown out-of-control while in Juneau (present-Day Still), change over there is moving a bit slower, a bit more my speed, plus imagine a small chunk of NYC dumped in a forest, That’s one way to describe Juneau, AK for Texans who haven’t been there yet…
Plus I highly doubt you can bring a piece of Texas to Alaska or a piece of Alaska to Texas, though Skagway’s a bit like Texas (more old western style, read about that brief part in my Joys of Juneau post), plus, Sitka is a bit like Juneau too, despite both cities are located in Alaska, though, I can’t say that all cities in Texas are the same as well (Read about more that in my Seeing Sitka Post)
(another SpongeBob Squarepants clip that Molly and Tooey should’ve used to make themselves more Texan for Trini)
Overall, I do hope the cast and crew of Molly of Denali enjoy this post, for I’ve provided a different view of Juneau, while also talking about my origin and maybe someday, I’ll return to my hometown of Juneau, for me every time I do go visit birth home, I feel like I’m at peace with myself than whenever I’m in Big noisy cities, after all, don’t some consider Alaska: A Fresh Start (remember from the Simspons Movie).
Plus, had I been both born “and raised” in Juneau (as I briefly mentioned in my “What if.. For REAL!!!! post”), I’m sure my life would’ve been similar to that animated sitcom, The Great North, but overall, despite what I’ve said about my home back in the suburb area of Austin, TX, I had my fair share of ups and downs throughout my time I was growing up while over there, but still had a good life in TX, but I feel like soon maybe it’ll be time to for me to go back where I originally came from (which is Juneau, AK), sometimes I feel it's best to move on, but also maybe come back to visit where you were formerly raised.
(Click to listen to “The Great North’s Opening Theme”)
Plus, have Molly’s Mom (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) re-wear her purple shirt, like I said, Purple’s my Favorite color), plus her design makes me feel like she’s a completely different person (Plus Green is my cousin's favorite color, so there’s nothing really wrong with that) and tell Nina I said Hi (do hope Molly and the gang can visit Juneau someday).
Ethan Stranger signs off…with a bonus video, proof that Polar Bears can adapt despite Global Warming:
And for the record, there are (and I Repeat) no such things as Ice Worms or Alaskan Bull Worms or however you call them in Alaska, they only exist in the world of fiction (like within SpongeBob Squarepants and Captain America) (Pictures: Bottom Center), I decided to mention this after watching that Molly of Denali episode, The Worm Turns).
However, for Molly and the gang, to learn more about giant worms, they should google
“Australia's Giant Worms”, for yeah, giant worms exist, but they ain’t man-eaters,
Plus, I hardly doubt Texas has any giant earthworms, I read Oregon does (but that's another story):
(Click here to read more on Australia's Giant Worms)
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