So...just got through my first "week" (it was really only 2 1/2 days) of school. "Got through" is definitely the right word choice. It was pretty stressful, and pretty tough. I'm hopeful, however, that things will be better. I came down w/ a nasty cold the night before the first day, and didn't sleep well (partly the cold, partly nerves). The cold was in full swing the first day. I could barely speak by the end of the day, and was generally worn out and exhausted. To make things even better, I WAY under planned for the week, and used up all of my lesson content in that first day. So, I was up until 3am that morning planning for all 7 of my classes. It's a lot of work. I'm teaching 6th Grade Reading, 6th Grade Writing, 6th Grade U.S. History, 7th/8th Grade Reading, 7th/8th Grade Writing, 7th/8th Grade Ancient History, and a High School Creative Writing class. Each class requires its own lesson plan. So, I keep myself pretty busy on a daily basis getting ready for school. I just have to find my groove, get myself a little bit ahead, and then I can probably ease up on all the extra planning time. That will be nice. To add even more, I'm thinking about coaching Cross Country. There is a decent sized group of High School kids that want to do it, but there's no coach. So we'll see.
I'm still trying to figure out the students. I don't know what motivates them, what their interests are, and haven't gained their trust yet. They don't really trust teachers that much, and I suppose I don't blame them. Every year or so there's pretty much a wholesale change of staff. It makes it hard on the kids - having no continuity, consistency, and probably thinking that nobody really cares. It makes things tough - both for them, and me. Thank God the staff here is so supportive. Every one is so nice, and willing help. It makes everything a lot easier. It also sounds like all the teachers are having the same struggles that I am, so it's nice to know that it's not just me, or my my teaching. It's only been 3 days, so I gotta believe it'll get better over time, it's just a little overwhelming sometimes.
One of the teachers, Cindy, has become, as Dorothy and I put it, our "Atmau Mom" (don't feel threatened, Mother Mary!). She provides a lot of support for us, and kind of takes care of us (gave us little goodie bags after our first day & gave me a bunch of Vitamin C when I got sick). Her actual family is coming up in November, and Dorothy and I joke that we're going to feel abandoned when she spends more of her time w/ her real kids.
We've had a string of nice weather recently (once school starts, of course...) so I've been trying to get out and walk around a little bit. I've been able to do some berry picking, and have picked a couple cups worth of blueberries (yum!). I also got my SMART Board installed this weekend! It's too far away from an outlet right now, so I need an extension cord of some kind to plug it in, but I'm super happy it finally came (it was supposed to get here this past Monday).
I also started receiving a bunch of my mail yesterday. I ordered a bunch of food and general supplies, and Dad & Lane both sent me some stuff and I got almost all of it. Being up here makes you appreciate mail SO MUCH. I was literally about the happiest I can remember when I went to the post office and saw all those boxes w/ my name on them. It's like Christmas - maybe even better...
So yeah, things have been challenging these past few days, but after talking w/ some of the other teachers and my principal I feel a lot better. I've got some ideas for how I'm going to assess my students' abilities, and some ideas on how to teach some of the material and how to structure my lessons. So we'll see how it goes. I've got my teaching coach coming out to the village on Monday, my State Mentor coming out by the end of the month, and we also have some training this coming week. I also have Parent-Teacher Conferences this Thursday. Hopefully, I'll be able to gain some insight on my students and address some issues as well. But it's keeping me busybusybusy.
I'm so glad, I'm not the only new teacher. Dorothy and I have spent a lot of time together talking about, lamenting, laughing about, etc. our experiences and it's been really good to have someone going through very similar things right now.
So...bottom line: this is definitely a challenge. But it's only the first week which means there's lots of time to figure things out, and I've got an awesome group of people around me for support. Better yet, I'm optimistic and I've got some things to try. So...we'll see what happens. Thanks for tuning in, hope you're enjoying this, and God Bless!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Some Pictures...
Fishing (successfully, this time!)
So, today I was actually able to do some "subsistence" fishing. Tim and I went down to the village he used to teach in and met up w/ one of his best friends to do a little fishing. The weather and water was considerably nicer this time around, which is why we were able to actually get a net in the water. And that's how we did. Tim's pal brought his net along, we boated a little way into a big open spot in the river, dropped the net (a gill net, I believe) in, and then waited to fish to get caught in it. Using a net isn't quite as thrilling as going w/ the ol' rod & reel, but it sure works a lot better. Drop the net in, count the strikes (I got better at this over the three drops we did), and then haul the net back in when you're ready. We ended up w/ 32 or 33 fish altogether. They were all "Silvers" as they call them up here, but from what I've read they're Coho, which I'm sure is a lot more recognizable/meaningful to most of you reading this. If I'm to be completely honest, I'll have to admit that Tim and his friend really did most of the work. I just kinda helped out where I could I tried to learn a few things. They did most of the net dropping, and getting the fish out of the net. They also did most of the gutting & filleting. I gutted a handful and tried my hand filleting one, but my fillet job was pretty sad. I'm hoping to get out again and try my hand at a few more and start to become competent at filleting a fish. It seems wrong that I can't do it well.
Of perhaps a more interesting note, however, is that I got to try what is known as a "Stinkhead." Those of you who don't like seafood, or fish in particular, should probably stop reading right about now. A Stinkhead, for thsoe of you unaware of the term, is a fish head prepared in a pretty special way. When gutting the fish up here, you cut off the head & then pull out all the innards. And then what some of the natives do is take the heads and the guts, put them in a hole in the gound, and then let them ferment for a couple weeks or so. Once they're good and fermented, they pull 'em out and you get Stinkheads. I helped Tim's friend clean his recently fermented fish heads, so I got to try a little bit, and he also gave a few pieces of some fish he's dried (very tasty!). I was given the eye of one of the Stinkheads, which I guess is considered the best part, so that was really really nice of him and his family. The way to eat a fermented fish eye, in case you were wondering, is put a dash of salt on it and then pop it in your mouth. I have to be honest, it wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten. It was very salty, very fishing, and a little "rot-y" tasting. The consistency was very much like a wad phlegm, if you then added a pinch of rubber to it. Swallowing it was the hardest part. My gag reflex was definitely ready when it came time to swallow. But I managed to keep myself composed. Although it isn't something I'm going to seek out in the future, it was surprisingly not bad. I half expected to not (or barely) be able to eat it. But it really gave me no problem. Like I said, the swallowing was a little tough, but that was mainly because of the texture.
I do have some not so good news as well though. I first noticed it last week, but I can see my breath sometimes up here. It's early August, and I have been able to see my breath on numerous occasions. Not cool. At all. I also learned the price of gas in my village. So, in an effort to make all of you guys "Down States," as they say up here, a little more happy about your gas prices here is the price I have to pay for gas when I want/need some: $7.06. Jeepers....it looks worse when written down. But anyways, to end on a more positive note, I have some nice salmon in my freezer, and it sounds like I might get to tag along on a moose hunt next weekend (very exciting!). So, until next time I hop on here, God Bless!
Of perhaps a more interesting note, however, is that I got to try what is known as a "Stinkhead." Those of you who don't like seafood, or fish in particular, should probably stop reading right about now. A Stinkhead, for thsoe of you unaware of the term, is a fish head prepared in a pretty special way. When gutting the fish up here, you cut off the head & then pull out all the innards. And then what some of the natives do is take the heads and the guts, put them in a hole in the gound, and then let them ferment for a couple weeks or so. Once they're good and fermented, they pull 'em out and you get Stinkheads. I helped Tim's friend clean his recently fermented fish heads, so I got to try a little bit, and he also gave a few pieces of some fish he's dried (very tasty!). I was given the eye of one of the Stinkheads, which I guess is considered the best part, so that was really really nice of him and his family. The way to eat a fermented fish eye, in case you were wondering, is put a dash of salt on it and then pop it in your mouth. I have to be honest, it wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten. It was very salty, very fishing, and a little "rot-y" tasting. The consistency was very much like a wad phlegm, if you then added a pinch of rubber to it. Swallowing it was the hardest part. My gag reflex was definitely ready when it came time to swallow. But I managed to keep myself composed. Although it isn't something I'm going to seek out in the future, it was surprisingly not bad. I half expected to not (or barely) be able to eat it. But it really gave me no problem. Like I said, the swallowing was a little tough, but that was mainly because of the texture.
I do have some not so good news as well though. I first noticed it last week, but I can see my breath sometimes up here. It's early August, and I have been able to see my breath on numerous occasions. Not cool. At all. I also learned the price of gas in my village. So, in an effort to make all of you guys "Down States," as they say up here, a little more happy about your gas prices here is the price I have to pay for gas when I want/need some: $7.06. Jeepers....it looks worse when written down. But anyways, to end on a more positive note, I have some nice salmon in my freezer, and it sounds like I might get to tag along on a moose hunt next weekend (very exciting!). So, until next time I hop on here, God Bless!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Inservice & Getting Ready for School
So...where was I? To help me organize my thoughts, I suppose I'll give you folks a list of significant events since last I posted. Then I'll expound on a few of the more interesting stuff. So, significant events:
Failed fishing trip w/ Tim; Fiddle Dance; District Wide Inservice; My classroom; More Plans affected by Weather; Moravian Church; Other teachers; Exploring the village; and I think that's about it.
I guess I'll start w/ what came first - the Fiddle Dance. There was a "Blueberry Festival" last Friday/Saturday, the primary reason for it, from what I've gathered was to raise money for Search & Rescue. There were some vendors selling food, and other stuff, some carnival type games, and then some other games. I just kind of checked this stuff out (walked by, watched for a while, etc.). However, I did go to the Fiddle Dance. I didn't do any dancing, although most of you probably assumed as much. I did, however, meet a lot of local kids and was the focus of a lot of their attention. They found it incredibly entertaining to poke me, and then pretend as though they hadn't. I must admit, their fascination w/ it lasted a lot longer than mine, but oh well. They had fun, and I suppose that's the important thing.
I don't really know why they call it a Fiddle Dance, however. There was no fiddle. It was really just a Dance. There was a live band (didn't catch the name of it) comprised of a handful of guys from the area. They played mostly country, and then some oldies. Not a whole lot of people did any dancing, really. There were a couple of songs that got some people on the dance floor, but in general, people were socializing on the edges of the dance floor (the following night, from what I hear, was a lot more "hopping," but I did not go that night). There was one cool part where they recognized a couple that has been married for 50 years, and then did the whole "dollar dance" thing w/ the two of them. So, that was neat.
There was also my failed fishing trip w/ Tim. We were gonna do some subsistence dip netting (I believe that's the correct term), w/ one of his buddies, but the weather decided it didn't want us to. We made it to the fishing spot, but the water was quite rough & Tim decided it wasn't worth trying to do any fishing in those kind of conditions. Unlike my previous boating experience, however, Tim has a canopy on his boat, so I stayed fairly dry and warm. That was nice. It was also nice to see a little more of the area, although, to be completely honest, it all looks pretty much the same.
I also went to a Moravian Church last Sunday. I went w/ Dorothy to the 10am service. It was nice. I haven't been to church in a while, so it was good. Most of it was in Yup'ik, so I didn't understand much of it, but the preacher (not sure what the correct term is) read all the scriptures in both English & Yup'ik, and spoke in English here and there besides. It was a little sad because there were only 5 people in the audience. Then there was the preacher and his "assistant" (rang the bell, carried the collection plate, etc.). I gathered, however, that more people attend in the winter because they spend a lot of time w/ their subsistence living activities in the summer. I certainly hope this is true. They, apparently, also get a "special" preacher-guy to come during the fall/winter. Sounds like someone a little more "official" in the Moravian church. So, I'm excited to see how things go this fall and winter.
A few days ago I also go to see a little more of the village. Dorothy, Cindy (another teacher), and I took a pretty decent stroll around the village. We tried going off-boardwalk, but the ground around here isn't the best for hiking (again, very muddy and lots of "sink" potential). So we stayed to the boardwalk mostly. We wandered around the village, saw the "Honey Bucket" hoppers (look it up if you don't know what a "Honey Bucket" is), picked a few blueberries when we saw some "high" ground that provided better footing, and walked all the way out to the villages Sewage Lagoon - I'm assuming you can figure out what this is. On the way back from the lagoon, I even found $10 on the ground. That was a pleasant surprise.
The District Wide Inservice was pretty good. A lot of information. But I got a water bottle & a USB drive, along w/ some mechanical pencils. I learned a lot about what I have to teach, so that was very nice. I would have liked to have had some more time to learn about my Social Studies Curriculum (I learned only about my 7th/8th grade reading classes), and my other Writing/Reading classes, but so it goes. I also learned a little bit about my SMART Board, so I hope to be putting that to use this school year. I got to meet some other teachers in the district, and re-connected with the new teachers I met at the New Teacher Orientation, so that was really nice. We stayed in a dorm again, and it was a lot of fun. We had a pool tournament (it was pretty pathetic), and stayed up later than we should have hanging out. The second night was a lot of fun because I started playing all of my 80s/90s music, which everyone seemed to get a kick out of. Some of the other new teachers probably would have liked us to go to bed a little sooner, because we did get a little loud from time to time, but I don't think there were any hard feelings after the fact. It'll be nice to see those guys/girls again at our various New Teacher events this school year. Some of them live in nearby villages as well, so I hope to get over and see some of them. If our schedules work out, there is a group of us that are hoping to get together at the airport in Anchorage and grab a beer when we head back to our hometowns around Christmas. That should be a lot of fun if it works out. I was able to meet most of the other teachers at my school (Bruce, Mary-Alice, Betsy, & Suzie; I think there are 1 or 2 more that I haven't yet met), and the teacher that I replaced (she moved to another village). She's been pretty helpful this summer giving me an idea of what I'm getting into. So it was nice to finally meet her face-to-face.
Another couple things about the inservice... I had another nice bit of standing around in the rain waiting for an airplane. I'm becoming pretty good at this. Our plane to Bethel was about an hour and a half late. I also picked up my Swan Stamp for hunting while in Bethel, so I now have permission to shoot three of those. Tim says they're fun to hunt, because they're tough to bring down & crash pretty hard when you're able to. And finally, I was able to find some semi-affordable ammo in Bethel. Back home (and even in Anchorage) I can get a box (25 rounds) of shotgun shells for about $12. In the village, the price is around $30. But, I found a place in Bethel that sells 'em for about $22 a box. So that's really nice.
I've also got a classroom now! My original classroom was re-allocated to one of the returning teachers. The funny thing is that she was in that classroom last year, but had to move all of her stuff out of it because it was supposed to be MY room. Today she had the opportunity to move all her junk back into it. Fun! Until last night, my room was the library. I've been waiting a week or so for it to get emptied, staring sadly at the other teachers who have been able to work on their rooms this whole time. But, the room was emptied, and I have all my desks and books, and it's just been a matter of sorting through things and getting everything all situated. I'm hoping that by the end of tonight (I plan on it being a late night) I'll have all my textbooks put away and my desks arranged. Then I should be able to really hit the lesson planning. I'm still waiting on my SMART Board & one of my 2 white-boards, but that's a not a huge deal right. When they're ready they'll just get hung up where I indicate.
Sorry I've been so slow getting photos up, but I've got a bunch of older pictures that I've been putting on facebook, so I'm working my way to the pictures from up here. I'm hoping to have them up by the end of the weekend. Then you'll be able to see my housing, classroom, the village, and some of the area in general. Anyways, time for me to take a little break, grab something to eat, and do a little reading (I've been cruising through Patrick McManus since I've been up here - very funny!) before I come back and get cranking on this classroom. Hope you've all enjoyed this entry and I'll be writing more in the near future. God Bless!
Failed fishing trip w/ Tim; Fiddle Dance; District Wide Inservice; My classroom; More Plans affected by Weather; Moravian Church; Other teachers; Exploring the village; and I think that's about it.
I guess I'll start w/ what came first - the Fiddle Dance. There was a "Blueberry Festival" last Friday/Saturday, the primary reason for it, from what I've gathered was to raise money for Search & Rescue. There were some vendors selling food, and other stuff, some carnival type games, and then some other games. I just kind of checked this stuff out (walked by, watched for a while, etc.). However, I did go to the Fiddle Dance. I didn't do any dancing, although most of you probably assumed as much. I did, however, meet a lot of local kids and was the focus of a lot of their attention. They found it incredibly entertaining to poke me, and then pretend as though they hadn't. I must admit, their fascination w/ it lasted a lot longer than mine, but oh well. They had fun, and I suppose that's the important thing.
I don't really know why they call it a Fiddle Dance, however. There was no fiddle. It was really just a Dance. There was a live band (didn't catch the name of it) comprised of a handful of guys from the area. They played mostly country, and then some oldies. Not a whole lot of people did any dancing, really. There were a couple of songs that got some people on the dance floor, but in general, people were socializing on the edges of the dance floor (the following night, from what I hear, was a lot more "hopping," but I did not go that night). There was one cool part where they recognized a couple that has been married for 50 years, and then did the whole "dollar dance" thing w/ the two of them. So, that was neat.
There was also my failed fishing trip w/ Tim. We were gonna do some subsistence dip netting (I believe that's the correct term), w/ one of his buddies, but the weather decided it didn't want us to. We made it to the fishing spot, but the water was quite rough & Tim decided it wasn't worth trying to do any fishing in those kind of conditions. Unlike my previous boating experience, however, Tim has a canopy on his boat, so I stayed fairly dry and warm. That was nice. It was also nice to see a little more of the area, although, to be completely honest, it all looks pretty much the same.
I also went to a Moravian Church last Sunday. I went w/ Dorothy to the 10am service. It was nice. I haven't been to church in a while, so it was good. Most of it was in Yup'ik, so I didn't understand much of it, but the preacher (not sure what the correct term is) read all the scriptures in both English & Yup'ik, and spoke in English here and there besides. It was a little sad because there were only 5 people in the audience. Then there was the preacher and his "assistant" (rang the bell, carried the collection plate, etc.). I gathered, however, that more people attend in the winter because they spend a lot of time w/ their subsistence living activities in the summer. I certainly hope this is true. They, apparently, also get a "special" preacher-guy to come during the fall/winter. Sounds like someone a little more "official" in the Moravian church. So, I'm excited to see how things go this fall and winter.
A few days ago I also go to see a little more of the village. Dorothy, Cindy (another teacher), and I took a pretty decent stroll around the village. We tried going off-boardwalk, but the ground around here isn't the best for hiking (again, very muddy and lots of "sink" potential). So we stayed to the boardwalk mostly. We wandered around the village, saw the "Honey Bucket" hoppers (look it up if you don't know what a "Honey Bucket" is), picked a few blueberries when we saw some "high" ground that provided better footing, and walked all the way out to the villages Sewage Lagoon - I'm assuming you can figure out what this is. On the way back from the lagoon, I even found $10 on the ground. That was a pleasant surprise.
The District Wide Inservice was pretty good. A lot of information. But I got a water bottle & a USB drive, along w/ some mechanical pencils. I learned a lot about what I have to teach, so that was very nice. I would have liked to have had some more time to learn about my Social Studies Curriculum (I learned only about my 7th/8th grade reading classes), and my other Writing/Reading classes, but so it goes. I also learned a little bit about my SMART Board, so I hope to be putting that to use this school year. I got to meet some other teachers in the district, and re-connected with the new teachers I met at the New Teacher Orientation, so that was really nice. We stayed in a dorm again, and it was a lot of fun. We had a pool tournament (it was pretty pathetic), and stayed up later than we should have hanging out. The second night was a lot of fun because I started playing all of my 80s/90s music, which everyone seemed to get a kick out of. Some of the other new teachers probably would have liked us to go to bed a little sooner, because we did get a little loud from time to time, but I don't think there were any hard feelings after the fact. It'll be nice to see those guys/girls again at our various New Teacher events this school year. Some of them live in nearby villages as well, so I hope to get over and see some of them. If our schedules work out, there is a group of us that are hoping to get together at the airport in Anchorage and grab a beer when we head back to our hometowns around Christmas. That should be a lot of fun if it works out. I was able to meet most of the other teachers at my school (Bruce, Mary-Alice, Betsy, & Suzie; I think there are 1 or 2 more that I haven't yet met), and the teacher that I replaced (she moved to another village). She's been pretty helpful this summer giving me an idea of what I'm getting into. So it was nice to finally meet her face-to-face.
Another couple things about the inservice... I had another nice bit of standing around in the rain waiting for an airplane. I'm becoming pretty good at this. Our plane to Bethel was about an hour and a half late. I also picked up my Swan Stamp for hunting while in Bethel, so I now have permission to shoot three of those. Tim says they're fun to hunt, because they're tough to bring down & crash pretty hard when you're able to. And finally, I was able to find some semi-affordable ammo in Bethel. Back home (and even in Anchorage) I can get a box (25 rounds) of shotgun shells for about $12. In the village, the price is around $30. But, I found a place in Bethel that sells 'em for about $22 a box. So that's really nice.
I've also got a classroom now! My original classroom was re-allocated to one of the returning teachers. The funny thing is that she was in that classroom last year, but had to move all of her stuff out of it because it was supposed to be MY room. Today she had the opportunity to move all her junk back into it. Fun! Until last night, my room was the library. I've been waiting a week or so for it to get emptied, staring sadly at the other teachers who have been able to work on their rooms this whole time. But, the room was emptied, and I have all my desks and books, and it's just been a matter of sorting through things and getting everything all situated. I'm hoping that by the end of tonight (I plan on it being a late night) I'll have all my textbooks put away and my desks arranged. Then I should be able to really hit the lesson planning. I'm still waiting on my SMART Board & one of my 2 white-boards, but that's a not a huge deal right. When they're ready they'll just get hung up where I indicate.
Sorry I've been so slow getting photos up, but I've got a bunch of older pictures that I've been putting on facebook, so I'm working my way to the pictures from up here. I'm hoping to have them up by the end of the weekend. Then you'll be able to see my housing, classroom, the village, and some of the area in general. Anyways, time for me to take a little break, grab something to eat, and do a little reading (I've been cruising through Patrick McManus since I've been up here - very funny!) before I come back and get cranking on this classroom. Hope you've all enjoyed this entry and I'll be writing more in the near future. God Bless!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Bethel, and a few other thoughts....
Over the past couple days I have remember a thing or two that I forgot to mention in my last blog, and have had a few cool experiences here in Bethel, so I thought I'd share.
In Anchorage, about the only pretty neat thing that happened that I thought might be worth mentioning. I saw a moose cow and her calf. It was funny because I had just hopped on one of the bike trails in Anchorage on my way back to Melissa's, and she gave a buzz seeing what was going on. I told her that I was biking back to her house, that I should be there soon, and that I hoped to see something worth seeing while on my little bike ride. A few minutes after I hung up and continued my ride, I came around a bend and there, along with several other bikers/runners/walkers standing around, was mama moose and her calf a few feet off the trail munching on some leaves. While this was pretty neat, and though I took the opportunity to snap a few photos, I began to get a little concerned. The moose seemed to be in no hurry to move along, and to get past one would have to walk/ride/run within 10 ft or so of a pretty big moose and her baby. Eventually I chose the, arguably, poor option of purposely walking almost within arms reach of the moose family (making sure to keep my bike between the animals and myself, of course). As I expected, neither of the two moose really gave a hoot that I was there. Mama kept on munching, and baby did about the same. I did get a little nervous, however, when baby moose looked up at me and took a few steps in my direction (I was in no mood to get trampled by an angry moose that probably wouldn't have known that the baby approached me). However, baby moose halted and then continued munching and I continued on my way, unmolested by the Alaskan wildlife.
I've also gotten my first taste of Alaska weather disrupting every day life. Dorothy (the other new teacher at my school) and I were supposed to fly to Bethel at 12p on Monday. However, I got a call around 10a or so, saying that the flight was pushed back to 1p. No big deal. So 12:45 rolls around and Dorothy and I begin the walk to the airstrip. It's about a mile walk and, aside from the potholes in the dirt road that makes up part of the walk, is pretty darn flat. It's also drizzling (like it does every day). Again, not a huge deal. However, I realize about halfway there that my "waterproof" jacket, really isn't all that waterproof. Kind of annoying, but hey, I'll be on a plane in a few minutes - no damage done. So, we get to airstrip and wait. And wait. And keep on waiting. Hmm...this doesn't seem quite right, but these things happen. After 15-20 min my phone rings. It's Tim, one of the other teachers. He informs me that there are no flights going on from Bethel today because of the weather (I assume it's the fog). Fantastic....so, Dorothy and I walk back to our "houses." I make a nice bowl of Ramen, sit down in my super big, super comfy recliner, munch it down and start reading a book. A few minutes later I get a call from Tim. "Hurry up! Your plane is here! Meet me in front of the school so I can give you a ride on the 4-wheeler." Go figure. I'm curious what winter will bring....
Bethel had some good experiences, too. I've met a handful of really cool people that I hope I can stay in touch with and that we can help support each other through what I expect will be a pretty challenging school year. More interesting, however, is the cultural stuff I experienced today and the boat ride. Today was "Yup'ik culture day" in our New Teacher Orientation. It was pretty interesting. We learned a bit about the culture, what expect from the natives, etc. We also learned some Yup'ik stories, and even a traditional dance. However, the most interesting thing (certainly from all of your perspective) was getting to sample some traditional Yup'ik foods. Mainly it was various types of dried fish and a few other fish items. There were 3 or 4 types of dried salmon (all of which were pretty good), a couple salmon spreads (also pretty good). There was some dried smelt (ok), baked halibut (pretty good), and some dried pike (quite good). There was also pilot bread (basically a big, thick cracker) and some tundra tea (not sure what the ingredients were, but it was pretty mild and not too bad). I also tried some pine medicine (very tea-like, and apparently a good decongestant) and some stinkweed medicine (not as bad as the name suggests, and used to help combat a cold). Then there was the stuff that was a little more bizarre. I had some cranberry aqutaq (Ah-Koo-Tock). That was pretty interesting. Really tart from the cranberries, really creamy, really sweet, but also a big salty. They call it Eskimo ice cream, but it really isn't anything like ice cream, more like frosting, but still not quite. I was also able to try seal oil and whale blubber. Seal oil...not the best thing I've ever had. Really strong, and pretty fishy as well. Almost tasted like concentrated fish. It was suggested that we dip carrots in it, and that did make it a lot more palatable. The whale blubber was actually pretty. Not sure I'd eat a whale blubber steak, but certainly something I could munch on a little bit fairly regularly. I actually went back for seconds, but it was all gone. I really hope to get try some more of it, and different preparations.
Finally, there was the boat ride. It first needs to be mentioned that yesterday was a fabulous day. Very sunny, pretty darn warm (mid 60's probably). Just a really nice day. Today was pretty much the same. Nice and sunny, and all around very inviting. That is, very nice until it was time for the boat the district arranged for any interested new teachers. Once it was time for that, the clouds came, the wind picked up, and it started to rain. Did I mention that the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, and that I didn't pack any rain gear (expect for that not so waterproof jacket)? Well, I went on the trip anywhere. Sure it was cold, wet, and bumpy (I'm pretty sure I bruised my butt), but it was really neat. The Kuskokwim River was interesting to boat up, and we got to stop at a fish camp. While there we got to hear some pretty interesting stories from a long-time member of the district about his experiences in the villages, and in Alaska in general. It didn't hurt that he packed thermoses full of hot water, and hot cocoa mix. The conditions were pretty miserable, but it was a lot of fun. That being said, I'm very happy to drying out, wearing my PJs, and sitting on a comfy couch....inside. Again, I'll toss some pictures up here, and a bunch on facebook, in the next couple of days, so keep checking in :) Take care & God bless!
In Anchorage, about the only pretty neat thing that happened that I thought might be worth mentioning. I saw a moose cow and her calf. It was funny because I had just hopped on one of the bike trails in Anchorage on my way back to Melissa's, and she gave a buzz seeing what was going on. I told her that I was biking back to her house, that I should be there soon, and that I hoped to see something worth seeing while on my little bike ride. A few minutes after I hung up and continued my ride, I came around a bend and there, along with several other bikers/runners/walkers standing around, was mama moose and her calf a few feet off the trail munching on some leaves. While this was pretty neat, and though I took the opportunity to snap a few photos, I began to get a little concerned. The moose seemed to be in no hurry to move along, and to get past one would have to walk/ride/run within 10 ft or so of a pretty big moose and her baby. Eventually I chose the, arguably, poor option of purposely walking almost within arms reach of the moose family (making sure to keep my bike between the animals and myself, of course). As I expected, neither of the two moose really gave a hoot that I was there. Mama kept on munching, and baby did about the same. I did get a little nervous, however, when baby moose looked up at me and took a few steps in my direction (I was in no mood to get trampled by an angry moose that probably wouldn't have known that the baby approached me). However, baby moose halted and then continued munching and I continued on my way, unmolested by the Alaskan wildlife.
I've also gotten my first taste of Alaska weather disrupting every day life. Dorothy (the other new teacher at my school) and I were supposed to fly to Bethel at 12p on Monday. However, I got a call around 10a or so, saying that the flight was pushed back to 1p. No big deal. So 12:45 rolls around and Dorothy and I begin the walk to the airstrip. It's about a mile walk and, aside from the potholes in the dirt road that makes up part of the walk, is pretty darn flat. It's also drizzling (like it does every day). Again, not a huge deal. However, I realize about halfway there that my "waterproof" jacket, really isn't all that waterproof. Kind of annoying, but hey, I'll be on a plane in a few minutes - no damage done. So, we get to airstrip and wait. And wait. And keep on waiting. Hmm...this doesn't seem quite right, but these things happen. After 15-20 min my phone rings. It's Tim, one of the other teachers. He informs me that there are no flights going on from Bethel today because of the weather (I assume it's the fog). Fantastic....so, Dorothy and I walk back to our "houses." I make a nice bowl of Ramen, sit down in my super big, super comfy recliner, munch it down and start reading a book. A few minutes later I get a call from Tim. "Hurry up! Your plane is here! Meet me in front of the school so I can give you a ride on the 4-wheeler." Go figure. I'm curious what winter will bring....
Bethel had some good experiences, too. I've met a handful of really cool people that I hope I can stay in touch with and that we can help support each other through what I expect will be a pretty challenging school year. More interesting, however, is the cultural stuff I experienced today and the boat ride. Today was "Yup'ik culture day" in our New Teacher Orientation. It was pretty interesting. We learned a bit about the culture, what expect from the natives, etc. We also learned some Yup'ik stories, and even a traditional dance. However, the most interesting thing (certainly from all of your perspective) was getting to sample some traditional Yup'ik foods. Mainly it was various types of dried fish and a few other fish items. There were 3 or 4 types of dried salmon (all of which were pretty good), a couple salmon spreads (also pretty good). There was some dried smelt (ok), baked halibut (pretty good), and some dried pike (quite good). There was also pilot bread (basically a big, thick cracker) and some tundra tea (not sure what the ingredients were, but it was pretty mild and not too bad). I also tried some pine medicine (very tea-like, and apparently a good decongestant) and some stinkweed medicine (not as bad as the name suggests, and used to help combat a cold). Then there was the stuff that was a little more bizarre. I had some cranberry aqutaq (Ah-Koo-Tock). That was pretty interesting. Really tart from the cranberries, really creamy, really sweet, but also a big salty. They call it Eskimo ice cream, but it really isn't anything like ice cream, more like frosting, but still not quite. I was also able to try seal oil and whale blubber. Seal oil...not the best thing I've ever had. Really strong, and pretty fishy as well. Almost tasted like concentrated fish. It was suggested that we dip carrots in it, and that did make it a lot more palatable. The whale blubber was actually pretty. Not sure I'd eat a whale blubber steak, but certainly something I could munch on a little bit fairly regularly. I actually went back for seconds, but it was all gone. I really hope to get try some more of it, and different preparations.
Finally, there was the boat ride. It first needs to be mentioned that yesterday was a fabulous day. Very sunny, pretty darn warm (mid 60's probably). Just a really nice day. Today was pretty much the same. Nice and sunny, and all around very inviting. That is, very nice until it was time for the boat the district arranged for any interested new teachers. Once it was time for that, the clouds came, the wind picked up, and it started to rain. Did I mention that the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, and that I didn't pack any rain gear (expect for that not so waterproof jacket)? Well, I went on the trip anywhere. Sure it was cold, wet, and bumpy (I'm pretty sure I bruised my butt), but it was really neat. The Kuskokwim River was interesting to boat up, and we got to stop at a fish camp. While there we got to hear some pretty interesting stories from a long-time member of the district about his experiences in the villages, and in Alaska in general. It didn't hurt that he packed thermoses full of hot water, and hot cocoa mix. The conditions were pretty miserable, but it was a lot of fun. That being said, I'm very happy to drying out, wearing my PJs, and sitting on a comfy couch....inside. Again, I'll toss some pictures up here, and a bunch on facebook, in the next couple of days, so keep checking in :) Take care & God bless!
Monday, August 1, 2011
And so it begins...
So, as many of you know, I am officially in Alaska (and have been for about a week now). I flew into Anchorage on the 25th, and then went to my village, Atmautluak (At-Mouth-Luck), on the 30th. Currently I'm sitting in a dorm in Bethel because I've got a New Teacher Orientation going on for the next 2-3 days. I'm on Alaskan Time, which is 4 hours behind Eastern Time, which it puts it at 7:50pm right......now. But anyways, that's the uninteresting stuff, I suppose. Unfortunately, this first post is going to contain mostly uninteresting stuff (how's that for a hook?).
Anchorage was very nice. I had good weather, and got see some friends (Melissa "Lakes", and Tyler "Cobby"). Didn't get a chance to see Dave Murdoch, mainly because I was dumb and lazy, maybe next time...if I get my crap together. I didn't do a whole lot of exciting stuff in Anchorage, it mostly errands and business. I got a new phone, a hunting license, an Alaska state driver's license, started up my 403(b) (I have an investment portfolio now - very impressive, I know), and bought a bunch of food for life in the village (right now that consists of granola bars, ramen noodles, condensed soup, oatmeal, and some canned corn), most of which will be flown to me sometime in the near (I hope) future. When that comes I'll have a little more variety in my pantry.
It wasn't all business and what-not, however. I did a lot of biking (mostly because Melissa needed her car for work), went on a couple of hikes (one in Chugiak at Ptarmigan Valley, one to the top of Flattop in Anchorage), pictures of which I'll toss up here (a few) and Facebook a little later, drank some beer (the last until around Christmas, awww......), and went to my favorite Anchorage establishment, The Bear's Tooth - a Theater Pub (movie + food + bar = awesome). I also went to a BBQ where I was able to talk hockey for a few hours with a fellow ice lover (sadly, he supports the Flyers). Finally, Saturday rolled around and flew out to my village.
This is where it gets a little more interesting, I suppose. My flight to Bethel was pretty standard. Flew on a major airline, on a big jet (737, I believe), no big deal. However, my flight to Atmau, was a little different. I hauled my 4 bags (2 backpacking backpacks, a normal book bag, and a gun case) down the street to the Yute Air building, where not only did my bags have to be weighed, but I had to stand on the scale as well. That was a first. Then I hopped on a little 4-seater plane (single engine, I assume). This was also a first. The flight to my village was took about 15 min and was quite nice. We were quite close to the ground, which was nice, and I got to really see what the topography is like firsthand (the flight into Bethel was quite foggy, so I couldn't see much). Google Earth, shows the terrain pretty accurately. LOTS of water. Water in ponds, water in rivers, and water pretty much everywhere in between. What really surprised me about the flight, however, was the landing. The airstrip in Atmau isn't paved. This possibility never struck me before. Not until I looked down saw what looked like gravel on the runway did I ever consider such a thing. It really wasn't a big deal, it just surprised me.
When I landed, Tim (my principal's husband) picked me up on his 4-wheeler. We tossed my bags on the smaller trailer he was towing, I hopped on the back, and away we went - down very muddy, uneven roads, then across boardwalks - until we reached my new home. My new home is very interesting, but I quite like it. It doesn't look like much, but it certainly has character...and storage. I've got 2 full sized freezer, plus a refrigerator/freezer combo. About 15 cupboards/drawers in every room, several dressers, a few bookshelves, an entire room of floor-to-ceiling shelves, and then a breezeway with about 6 shelving units. It's quite nice.
Aside from superior storage facilities, it kind of a homely looking place, to be completely honest. The paints, white-ish/yellow-ish/cream-ish color. Everything is quite obviously 30+ years old (it's very reminiscent of the first "Place" for those of you who understand that reference). The ground actually got so soggy this summer, that the front corner of my house sank into muck half a foot so. It obviously needed to be re-leveled, but it jacked up my front door, so the school maintenance people had to kick it in. They say that I'll be getting a new lock soon.
The house itself is on "stilts." The "stilts" are really just a bunch of stuff that has been stacked up, and then house has been placed on top of that stack. I can't help feeling as though I could have a sturdier foundation. The walkway up to my house is a boardwalk. Most of the boardwalk is in good shape, but there are a few "soft spots." I suppose when it rains as much as it does (it drizzles all day, every day from what I've seen) that's bound to happen.
I really like my bathroom, though. It really isn't much to look at, but it has one awesome feature (beyond the aforementioned myriad drawers and cupboards): My toilet is on an elevated platform about 2 ft off the ground. There are 2 steps leading up to it, and I certainly do feel very impressive when sitting on my throne (it was pretty moldy in the bowl, at first, but oh well...). The bathtub was pretty sketchy though. Most bathtubs that I have seen come in white. This one was that color, I'm sure, at one point in it's life. However, water with an apparent 50% iron content had turned this particular tub to a rich, rust color. An hour of elbow grease, metal scrubbie, and some comet toned it down to more of a dull rust, but it was quite vibrant at first. All of it's...uniqueness....aside, however, I really do like my new home.
The village is really neat, too. You certainly would never mistake it for Beverly Hills, or call it beautiful, or really even ever go there, but it has a really cool atmosphere. As I said, it rains always, and there's unlimited water around (but don't drink it). The ground, at any given place, has a consistency somewhere between a mud puddle and a bog. The buildings are more like shacks than anything else, you get around on boardwalks of varying structural integrity, and I have a large pond of raw sewage 50 ft beyond my back door (fenced off, topped with barbed-wire, and posted, of course). But I feel like a pioneer. It feels like the edge of civilization. It has the feel of a temporary settlement, like I'm a part of something fleeting. A mining town, or railroad town is what comes most to mind. It really adds to this sense of adventure, and I like that.
I guess that's about it for right now. Like I said, over the next few days I'll put up some pictures both here and on facebook, disseminate some other general information, and maybe write some more...we'll see. I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope your lives are enriched at least a little bit through my attempts to keep you all updated on this experience and to describe what it's like up here. So, take care down in the Lower 48 (as I can now refer to the contiguous US), and God Bless.
Anchorage was very nice. I had good weather, and got see some friends (Melissa "Lakes", and Tyler "Cobby"). Didn't get a chance to see Dave Murdoch, mainly because I was dumb and lazy, maybe next time...if I get my crap together. I didn't do a whole lot of exciting stuff in Anchorage, it mostly errands and business. I got a new phone, a hunting license, an Alaska state driver's license, started up my 403(b) (I have an investment portfolio now - very impressive, I know), and bought a bunch of food for life in the village (right now that consists of granola bars, ramen noodles, condensed soup, oatmeal, and some canned corn), most of which will be flown to me sometime in the near (I hope) future. When that comes I'll have a little more variety in my pantry.
It wasn't all business and what-not, however. I did a lot of biking (mostly because Melissa needed her car for work), went on a couple of hikes (one in Chugiak at Ptarmigan Valley, one to the top of Flattop in Anchorage), pictures of which I'll toss up here (a few) and Facebook a little later, drank some beer (the last until around Christmas, awww......), and went to my favorite Anchorage establishment, The Bear's Tooth - a Theater Pub (movie + food + bar = awesome). I also went to a BBQ where I was able to talk hockey for a few hours with a fellow ice lover (sadly, he supports the Flyers). Finally, Saturday rolled around and flew out to my village.
This is where it gets a little more interesting, I suppose. My flight to Bethel was pretty standard. Flew on a major airline, on a big jet (737, I believe), no big deal. However, my flight to Atmau, was a little different. I hauled my 4 bags (2 backpacking backpacks, a normal book bag, and a gun case) down the street to the Yute Air building, where not only did my bags have to be weighed, but I had to stand on the scale as well. That was a first. Then I hopped on a little 4-seater plane (single engine, I assume). This was also a first. The flight to my village was took about 15 min and was quite nice. We were quite close to the ground, which was nice, and I got to really see what the topography is like firsthand (the flight into Bethel was quite foggy, so I couldn't see much). Google Earth, shows the terrain pretty accurately. LOTS of water. Water in ponds, water in rivers, and water pretty much everywhere in between. What really surprised me about the flight, however, was the landing. The airstrip in Atmau isn't paved. This possibility never struck me before. Not until I looked down saw what looked like gravel on the runway did I ever consider such a thing. It really wasn't a big deal, it just surprised me.
When I landed, Tim (my principal's husband) picked me up on his 4-wheeler. We tossed my bags on the smaller trailer he was towing, I hopped on the back, and away we went - down very muddy, uneven roads, then across boardwalks - until we reached my new home. My new home is very interesting, but I quite like it. It doesn't look like much, but it certainly has character...and storage. I've got 2 full sized freezer, plus a refrigerator/freezer combo. About 15 cupboards/drawers in every room, several dressers, a few bookshelves, an entire room of floor-to-ceiling shelves, and then a breezeway with about 6 shelving units. It's quite nice.
Aside from superior storage facilities, it kind of a homely looking place, to be completely honest. The paints, white-ish/yellow-ish/cream-ish color. Everything is quite obviously 30+ years old (it's very reminiscent of the first "Place" for those of you who understand that reference). The ground actually got so soggy this summer, that the front corner of my house sank into muck half a foot so. It obviously needed to be re-leveled, but it jacked up my front door, so the school maintenance people had to kick it in. They say that I'll be getting a new lock soon.
The house itself is on "stilts." The "stilts" are really just a bunch of stuff that has been stacked up, and then house has been placed on top of that stack. I can't help feeling as though I could have a sturdier foundation. The walkway up to my house is a boardwalk. Most of the boardwalk is in good shape, but there are a few "soft spots." I suppose when it rains as much as it does (it drizzles all day, every day from what I've seen) that's bound to happen.
I really like my bathroom, though. It really isn't much to look at, but it has one awesome feature (beyond the aforementioned myriad drawers and cupboards): My toilet is on an elevated platform about 2 ft off the ground. There are 2 steps leading up to it, and I certainly do feel very impressive when sitting on my throne (it was pretty moldy in the bowl, at first, but oh well...). The bathtub was pretty sketchy though. Most bathtubs that I have seen come in white. This one was that color, I'm sure, at one point in it's life. However, water with an apparent 50% iron content had turned this particular tub to a rich, rust color. An hour of elbow grease, metal scrubbie, and some comet toned it down to more of a dull rust, but it was quite vibrant at first. All of it's...uniqueness....aside, however, I really do like my new home.
The village is really neat, too. You certainly would never mistake it for Beverly Hills, or call it beautiful, or really even ever go there, but it has a really cool atmosphere. As I said, it rains always, and there's unlimited water around (but don't drink it). The ground, at any given place, has a consistency somewhere between a mud puddle and a bog. The buildings are more like shacks than anything else, you get around on boardwalks of varying structural integrity, and I have a large pond of raw sewage 50 ft beyond my back door (fenced off, topped with barbed-wire, and posted, of course). But I feel like a pioneer. It feels like the edge of civilization. It has the feel of a temporary settlement, like I'm a part of something fleeting. A mining town, or railroad town is what comes most to mind. It really adds to this sense of adventure, and I like that.
I guess that's about it for right now. Like I said, over the next few days I'll put up some pictures both here and on facebook, disseminate some other general information, and maybe write some more...we'll see. I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope your lives are enriched at least a little bit through my attempts to keep you all updated on this experience and to describe what it's like up here. So, take care down in the Lower 48 (as I can now refer to the contiguous US), and God Bless.
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