Alaska - the first few days.

It's about a 12 hour trip to get to Alaska. This includes 2 planes rides with a small 30 minute wait inbetween them. Once I got to Anchorage at 2pm (Alaska time) there was then another 3 hour drive to get to Kenai (pronouced Ken-eye). I guess that's a rough trip...couldn't image it being much worse...but it gets worse. Since I was the first one to land that afternoon, I waited around the airport for other guests to land. It wasn't until about 7pm that we were ready to venture out to the Kenai farms. 1 van, 8 teens (and adults), an 8 hour experience. About 30 minutes into the trip we stopped dead in a line of traffice. Turns out, there was a head on collision with a boat and a car? Never quite got the actually story, it didn't seem to matter after your told it will be another 4 hours before all is cleared up. That's 4 hours on the side of a road, staring the ocean with snow covered mountains in the back. Gas station was about a 15min walk down the road, and of course I needed to use the restroom, so we killed some time but going on a stroll. Didn't quite kill enough time as we sat in the van for a total of 5 hours. Mind you it's now about 1am Alaska time, I've been awake and traveling since 5am (New York time) and therefore have bee awake for almost 24 hours! We finally arrived to Kenai and the Ionia farms at 5:30am. Delirious, in pain from a messed up stomach, I was not a happy camper.

Day 2
I woke up around 7:30am (only 2 hours after falling asleep) to enjoy some breakfast and meet the members of Ionia. That didn't go over well so I went back to sleep till 12:30. Things were going alright here. My biggest issue is the outhouse experience. No matter how much I tried, it wasn't working for me. Ahhh! Even the 2 hours of dance feastival we had that night didn't help me go. Although that was plenty fun. Amazing how without TV or electronics (aside from this computer) families can still learn to create their own fun.

Day 3
Major liver energy running crazy!!

The fact I still haven't been able to use the outhouses have taken a major effect on me. This has never happened to me in all my life! Could be the fact that these Ionia's don't see privacy to be of major importance in living. Well, to each his own. My body seems to find privacy necessary for some actions. To top it off, today was the day of our 1st big hike! 1 mile up, 1 mile down. Stay tune for the photos of Marisa mudsliding in the rain, up and down cliffs. I must also thank the sponsors that made this trip possible. My Merrill waterproof hiking sneaker, Paragon Sports rain slicker, and Aldo's green army hat. Without these belonging, I could not have made it alive. To say the least, it was probably the most amazing thing I've ever since. I compare it to the Sound of Music Scene when they are climbing straight over tops of mountatins. I guess that was realistic. And I want to thank my new patient Ionian friend who stay with me ever step of the way, for if it wasn't for him I would have fallen on my a** much more. And after it was all say and done...I felt AMAZING! Greatest adrenline rush that could exist, which has given me the energy to still be awake to post these blogs.

Cheers to fun in the mud!

Alaska Experience

In deciding to create a new career, to establish a resinating dream, I have venuture across the continent to Alaska. It's the land of snow top mountains all year round and midnight sun. It's also the home of a small macrobiotic community called Ionia. Orginated by 4 families, sharing the same beliefs and way living, the community has grown into a 200 acer world of wonderous life. Imagine little house on the prairy back in the 1800's, building log cabins, having to heat their houses with burning wood, bathing outside and using outhouses. Then imagine the most sufisticated little house on the prairy, that's Ionia. They have some of the top of the line applicances for....outhouses, burning heaters, and outdoor barrels to bath in. No exageration, you will find no other place like this in the entire world. Among the families choices to live life as simply as possible, there is an unbelievable bond between each person and child here. Something so very special.

I hope to document my experiences here and share them with all. Funny, exciting, tramatizing...I'll do my best to share it all.

Here's to adventure!

Marisa is currently an Events Coordinator for a high-end design company, Sc3 Group, based out of Manhattan. She has also worked as an Events Coordinator for over two years with the New York City Ballet at the David H. Koch Theatre in Lincoln Center. Marisa has studied macrobiotics with Virginia Harper during a three-month stay at the Ki of Life Learning Center in Franklin, TN during the summer of 2008. Through her experience with the Ki of Life, she has also been the Director of the Annual Winter Gala and raised over $30,000 for this non-profit organization. Marisa has begun to offer introductory cooking classes focusing on improving basic diet through the teaching of macrobiotics. In May 2009, she also became a certified personal trainer and plans to incorporate this unique diet into her fitness training.

Marisa is a cum laude graduate of Wagner College were she earned a B.S. in Arts Administration with a concentration in theatre. Aside from academic achievements, Marisa believes her greatest accomplishment is being able to cure herself of two incurable diseases: Ulcerative Colitis and Pyoderma Gangrenosum. Ulcerative Colitis is a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affecting the large intestines. Pyoderma Gangrenosum is a serious condition causing painful ulceration of the skin and is visible in only 2% of all cases of IBD in the U.S. In 2004, after battling these diseases for two years, Marisa began to look for alternative treatments. She was recommended Viginia Harper's "Controlling Crohn’s Disease: The Natural Way," a story of a woman’s healing journey through the teachings of macrobiotics. Inspired, Marisa set out to do the same. It’s been five years and she is currently living a happy, symptom-free life.

Through her own experiences, she has been driven to help others to embrace their health and ability to heal. Marisa has held two local titles in the Miss America Organization: Miss Spirit of New York 2006 and Miss Jubilee 2007. She has also placed in the Top Ten for two years in the Miss New York State Pageant while advocating her platform: Understanding Crohn’s Disease Through Lifestyle and Diet.