Learning to Speak Like an Alaskan

Denali in the background

No one wants to feel like a newbie, so a common practice before traveling to a new city or country is to learn the language of that particular place.  Well, when my Aunt Joan picked me up from the airport last December when I first arrived in Alaska, one of the first things she told me was if I didn't want to sound like a tourist, I needed to refer to Mt. Mckinley (the tallest mountain in North America, located some 120 miles south of Fairbanks) as Denali.  Denali is the native Athabaskan name for the mountain, and means "The High One."  So, from day number one in Alaska, I refered to that majestic mountain as Denali instead of the name I had learned growing up. 

This is just about what it looked like yesterday morning!

Another thing I learned recently is how to say the temperature.  I was saying "Gosh it's cold outside because it's negative 30 degrees."  But luckily, a kind skating mom told me that Alaskans say "It's 30 below."  Then I realized that on the radio the weathermen always say "today the highs are going to be between 15 and 20 below," without using the word negative.  While I didn't think it was a big deal at the time, I am so glad I have friends who teach me how to speak correctly in Alaska!