So, traveled to Bethel last night for a Cross Country meet today. It was nice. Got to see Matt (new teacher at Nunap), and it was a nice chance to be w/ some students outside of the school, and the classroom. There were six students, 5 of which I have in at least one of my classes. It was a lot of fun. A couple of the kids did really well. The course is just a big sand pit. I think it was a 5K for the High Schoolers. It was actually pretty interesting to look at. One of the weirdest things is that there were a bunch of random cars (all rusted to heck and not worth the metal they're made of) strewn about the pit. I'm curious as to why they're there. One of the boys ran today for his first time as a Varsity runner (they run double the distance of the Junior High kids) and placed 12th, out of 40-60 runners. One of the junior high boys placed 15th in his first Cross Country meet ever. Last night we played some basketball, "Not It" (tag), and watched most of the new Tron Movie (it started to get too late, so we ended the movie a little early).
It's turning out to be beautiful day. Sitting here at the airport in Bethel I can see the Kilbuck Mountains pretty clearly. It's nice to be reminded that there are places in the world with topography. Another bit of good news is that it sounds like I'm going to get a kitten! One of my cross country boys has some kittens and he says that he's going to give me one. I really hope he follows through because I just bought food, litter, a pet carrier, a litter box, and a litter scoop in preparation for this kitty. It will be very nice to have a little cat around :) Mom already doesn't want me to get one, but oh well. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with it over Christmas, but I'll figure something out. The other thing is that I'll probably have to get it into Bethel sometime to get it fixed, and maybe even declawed or get some shots or something. We'll see. I'm not even sure Bethel has a vet, but with as many dogs as there are out here, I have to believe there's a vet in Bethel.
Anyways...I can't think of anything else to share right now. Things are generally going the same. Still a lot of work that I have to do, but I'm getting better w/ the planning, and there's a still a lot of work to be done w/ the students, but things will get better. I got a shipment of food in yesterday, I had a fun couple of days in Bethel, there's no school on Monday, and I think I'm getting a pet :) Life doesn't sound so bad at all, now does it. I hope everything back home (and elsewhere) is doing great. Thanks for tuning in once again, and God Bless!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Just Some Thoughts and Happenings
So....thank God for Fridays...although not all Fridays are created equal. Take this one for instance....kind of a pain. We had a short week this. Students had Monday & Tuesday off because of Labor Day, and we teachers had Monday off, w/ an inservice on Tuesday. The long weekend was great for me (did some duck hunting - got 6, got a lot of work done, and we even able to relax! That, my friends, is a rare & precious commodity). It was not, however, good for my students. They were a little out of sorts (or more so than usual) this week, and I am very happy that I get a break. I love these half day Fridays. We get the whole afternoon off, I can actually run to post office and check my mail (usually none, but it's something to do). It's nice.
On an even more exciting note, I get to see some of the other new teachers tonight & tomorrow. There's a day of New Teacher Inservice tomorrow, so Dorothy, Cindy, and I are flying into Bethel this afternoon. Tonight, some of the New Teachers have organized a little get together, so that will be really nice to re-connect w/ them and see how things are going in the other villages. It will also be a chance to do a little shopping (I feel kinda lame for getting excited about this...like maybe I need to turn in my Man Card...). I'm also curious about what we're going to learn about at the inservice tomorrow.
So, between now and 5 (assuming the plane is on time...HA!), I've gotta get all packed up, finish my shopping list, and eat some food. I think I'm going to cook up some of those ducks I shot this weekend and put them over some pasta. Probably invite Cindy & Dorothy over as well. Which reminds me....
I decided to be a nice guy this past Monday, and cook up some of my whitefish for Cindy and Dorothy. It was a very nice meal - pan fried whitefish w/ mashed potatoes...yummmm! However, I had a little hiccup at the beginning of the meal prep. While chopping up some potatoes (so they'd soften up more quickly in the boil), my subconscious mind thought it would be a great idea to curl my thumb underneath the potato I was chopping with a rather sharp knife (courtesy of my father). Well... in case any of you are not yet aware, when I sharp knife blade forced downward comes in to contact w/ your soft fleshy thumb, your soft fleshy thumb has an uncanny ability to become a little bit smaller than it was previously. In simpler terms, I cut off the tip of my thumb while cutting potatoes this pas Monday. My left thumb now has a flat spot. So, I had to prepare most of the meal w/ one hand (not the easiest thing in the world), and try not to bleed all over the food (once I wrapped the thumb in some paper towels, that was pretty easy). Now it's the waiting game. Gotta wait for my stupid thumb to heal over a little bit so it doesn't sting all the time, and I can take the bandages off, and have a fully functioning left hand once more. I do have some pictures of the wound which I'll put on facebook and up here (I have quite a few pictures I have to get up here, don't i?). It really isn't that big of a deal. It was a relatively small piece that I lopped off, and I don't see my thumb becoming hideously deformed from this incident (maybe a little weird looking on close inspection), I'd be very surprised indeed if the injury has any lasting effects.
Anyhow, I supposed it's time I make some food and get ready for Bethel. Thanks for tuning in, and God Bless!
On an even more exciting note, I get to see some of the other new teachers tonight & tomorrow. There's a day of New Teacher Inservice tomorrow, so Dorothy, Cindy, and I are flying into Bethel this afternoon. Tonight, some of the New Teachers have organized a little get together, so that will be really nice to re-connect w/ them and see how things are going in the other villages. It will also be a chance to do a little shopping (I feel kinda lame for getting excited about this...like maybe I need to turn in my Man Card...). I'm also curious about what we're going to learn about at the inservice tomorrow.
So, between now and 5 (assuming the plane is on time...HA!), I've gotta get all packed up, finish my shopping list, and eat some food. I think I'm going to cook up some of those ducks I shot this weekend and put them over some pasta. Probably invite Cindy & Dorothy over as well. Which reminds me....
I decided to be a nice guy this past Monday, and cook up some of my whitefish for Cindy and Dorothy. It was a very nice meal - pan fried whitefish w/ mashed potatoes...yummmm! However, I had a little hiccup at the beginning of the meal prep. While chopping up some potatoes (so they'd soften up more quickly in the boil), my subconscious mind thought it would be a great idea to curl my thumb underneath the potato I was chopping with a rather sharp knife (courtesy of my father). Well... in case any of you are not yet aware, when I sharp knife blade forced downward comes in to contact w/ your soft fleshy thumb, your soft fleshy thumb has an uncanny ability to become a little bit smaller than it was previously. In simpler terms, I cut off the tip of my thumb while cutting potatoes this pas Monday. My left thumb now has a flat spot. So, I had to prepare most of the meal w/ one hand (not the easiest thing in the world), and try not to bleed all over the food (once I wrapped the thumb in some paper towels, that was pretty easy). Now it's the waiting game. Gotta wait for my stupid thumb to heal over a little bit so it doesn't sting all the time, and I can take the bandages off, and have a fully functioning left hand once more. I do have some pictures of the wound which I'll put on facebook and up here (I have quite a few pictures I have to get up here, don't i?). It really isn't that big of a deal. It was a relatively small piece that I lopped off, and I don't see my thumb becoming hideously deformed from this incident (maybe a little weird looking on close inspection), I'd be very surprised indeed if the injury has any lasting effects.
Anyhow, I supposed it's time I make some food and get ready for Bethel. Thanks for tuning in, and God Bless!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
A Few Firsts, and Some Other Stuff...
So...It's been a while, eh? Sorry about that. I haven't really been super busy, just not very productive. I think my brain has been recovering from over-exertion from the first 2 weeks. I'm happy to say, however, that I do believe I am getting better. I'm figuring out what makes my students tick a little bit. Teaching is still a huge challenge, but it's getting better. I'm beginning to accept some things that "just are" and am figuring out how to work within the constraints that I have. But I'm getting more time for myself. I still often stay up late doing work (not as late), but it's been because I haven't been as productive. And am multi-tasking while doing work, so I haven't been as effective in my planning. But the planning has been a lot less stressful. Which is good. Dorothy and I are still having our daily "homework parties" but they're getting more enjoyable, and shorter. And I'm getting a handle on my curriculum materials. I don't think I'm going to be able to teach quite the way I'd like, but I think the students up here need a different style of teaching that how I would prefer to. At least for right now. There are a lot of behavioral/social learning that they need to do before the academic stuff can be very valuable.
Anyways....I met state mentor this past week. She was super friendly and nice and supportive. She's going to be at the school once a month, and we're supposed to talk every week. We'll see how that talking thing goes. I've already got a handful of people that I'm supposed to talk to regularly, and that's too much right now. So, we'll see. I had her come into my "bad" class to offer some support, and of course they have the best day so far. The one time I want them to be a pain so that I can get some advice on how to deal w/ it, and they decide to be quiet, calm, mellow, and generally well-behaved. Go figure...
On that note, it was a pretty good week this week. Monday was a little rough, but after that things went pretty smoothly. Far from ideal or perfect, but if every week goes like this one, things will be OK.
So, let's get on with some firsts...I had my first "F***k You" from a student in my second week. I held him after school for being "naughty" (as they say) and called his parents, and he got a little upset. It was only going to be for 10 minutes, but turned into 25 or so because of that little comment, mainly because he didn't want to apologize. Students get angry quite easily up here, and don't handle it the best. The odd thing was that it didn't ruin my day. It was actually a decent day and I was happy to have one at that point. I don't think it's happened since. I've had students express their displeasure with me (I think I've been called "stupid" and have had them say they don't like me), but I don't think they've sworn at me since (not in English, anyway. Who knows what they've said in Yup'ik...). So that was interesting. Like I said, there are a lot of behavioral/social issues to iron out...
Another first was trying some moose meat. At least the kind I tried. I think I had a moose burger in Canada this spring, courtesy of Johnny, but I had forgotten that when I tried the moose this time around. One of my students had been gone a few days during the week for moose hunting, and Dorothy and I ran into him when we were going to one of the little stores in the village. I asked if he got a moose, he said yes. I asked if we could see it and he said yes again. So we went over to his house (actually his grandmother's house). On a tarp in the middle of the kitchen there was a skinned moose head. The skin was in a pile next to it, and all the meat from the head was in a big bowl, also on the floor. It was pretty interesting. So, Dorothy and I snapped a few photos (on facebook - I'll try to get some pictures on here) of it, and his family invited us to try some it. They were boiling some of the bones and it would only be a few more minutes. So, we hung around. When they pulled the bones out of the pot (they boiled it w/ onions and rice, I do believe), I learned exactly what we were going to be eating: Marrow & Joint Cartilage (and a little of the meat that was left on the bones). I was a little nervous about how the marrow and cartilage would taste. However, it was all pretty good. It actually reminded me of dumplings (both the marrow and cartilage). The cartilage was a bit chewy, but it didn't have a terrible texture. The marrow was really smooth and creamy. It was actually quite pleasant feeling. As far as the actual meat went, it tasted a lot like pot roast. So that was a good little experience. We even got invited to party the next day, but we couldn't make it. And they said they'd send a chunk of the meat over our way, but that hasn't showed up yet. I'm hoping it does.
I also got to skin my first beaver (no giggling in the back, there!). For whatever reason, one of the guys from the village brought Tim a beaver (he uses them as bait on his rather extensive trap line). He doesn't particularly like skinning them, and I wanted to learn, so I volunteered. He happily accepted to teach me. So, in my Arctic Entryway we laid down some cardboard, plopped the beaver on it, and he walked me through the process of skinning a beaver. It really wasn't too difficult (I would have totally botched it w/o his guidance, and still need A LOT of practice), but I didn't put any holes in the hide, and learned a little something new (it was also a lot better than my attempts at filleting fish - I'm terrible at it...). There were a couple girls that hung around and watched and offered some advice. And Cindy came to check it out and take some pictures (again, there are some pictures on facebook, and I'll try to get some up here). So, once it was all skinned, I cut off a couple chunks of meat (Tim doesn't like it much, but I want to give it a try) to eat. And Tim is letting me keep the pelt. He's got to get all of his equipment for stretching it and fleshing it out, but once he does he's going to show me how to do all that. Then I'll send it off to get tanned, and have myself a beaver pelt! It'll be nice when I'm able to get the pelt off an animal I actually killed, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right? Right now the hide is just sitting in my freezer.
And Cindy bought a boat. There were a few issues w/ it, but those got fixed yesterday, and she, Dorothy, and I went out for a very brief little boat ride. Our first "adventure" w/o the guidance of someone who actually knows what they're doing! It was really nice. I got to do a little bit of driving (it has tiller-steering, which I haven't done since sailing school about 10 years) which took a little getting used to. But the boat is gonna be fun. Give us newbs a chance to get out a little on our own (it also give us plenty of opportunity to get lost, break down, and just generally run into back luck).
What else.........oh yes. I do believe that I'm going to do my first ever hunting this weekend (possibly even today!). Bird season just opened up this weekend, and Tim has been itching to go get some birds, and we decided that this weekend we're definitely going this weekend. So, hopefully by the end of the day (and certainly by the end of the weekend), I'll be a bona fide killer! And I'll have some more food in the freezer (to go w/ my fish). So that's pretty exciting, I think. This all assuming that I can actually hit anything...which might be assuming a lot.
I looked up some fish recipes last night. So I can experiment w/ some ways to cook up some tasty salmon and whitefish :)
I also bought an X-Box controller to so I can play games w/ Tim and his kids. That should be fun. Anyways...I think it's time to (try) shoot some birds. Wish me luck! Have a good day, thanks for tuning in, and God Bless!
P.S. Hunting was a lot of fun. I was able to shoot 5 ducks (3 wigeons, 1 mallard, and 1 pocket duck). Tim and son picked up another 5. I don't know about them so much, but I certainly shot at a lot more than 5, but I'm pretty happy with how everything went. I missed a couple of really easy shots, which I would like to use a mulligan on, but whatever. Spent a handful of hours walking on the tundra, trying not to get stuck in mud, wading across rivers/streams/sloughs/creeks, and looking for birds to shoot. I actually got pretty soaked. I shot the mallard and it fell right in the middle of the river and just kept floating there, not getting any closer to the bank (more specifically, MY bank). So I walked along the river bank for a while hoping it would start drifting toward me. It didn't. So I waded in. The river was a little deep and I took about 1 too many steps toward the middle and got my chest waders flooded. But, I was able to use a stick to pull my duck to me. So it was all good. Anyways, just thought I'd give that little update, although I don't think any of you have even read this yet, since I haven't made an announcement on facebook. But I'm doing it right now. Take care!
Anyways....I met state mentor this past week. She was super friendly and nice and supportive. She's going to be at the school once a month, and we're supposed to talk every week. We'll see how that talking thing goes. I've already got a handful of people that I'm supposed to talk to regularly, and that's too much right now. So, we'll see. I had her come into my "bad" class to offer some support, and of course they have the best day so far. The one time I want them to be a pain so that I can get some advice on how to deal w/ it, and they decide to be quiet, calm, mellow, and generally well-behaved. Go figure...
On that note, it was a pretty good week this week. Monday was a little rough, but after that things went pretty smoothly. Far from ideal or perfect, but if every week goes like this one, things will be OK.
So, let's get on with some firsts...I had my first "F***k You" from a student in my second week. I held him after school for being "naughty" (as they say) and called his parents, and he got a little upset. It was only going to be for 10 minutes, but turned into 25 or so because of that little comment, mainly because he didn't want to apologize. Students get angry quite easily up here, and don't handle it the best. The odd thing was that it didn't ruin my day. It was actually a decent day and I was happy to have one at that point. I don't think it's happened since. I've had students express their displeasure with me (I think I've been called "stupid" and have had them say they don't like me), but I don't think they've sworn at me since (not in English, anyway. Who knows what they've said in Yup'ik...). So that was interesting. Like I said, there are a lot of behavioral/social issues to iron out...
Another first was trying some moose meat. At least the kind I tried. I think I had a moose burger in Canada this spring, courtesy of Johnny, but I had forgotten that when I tried the moose this time around. One of my students had been gone a few days during the week for moose hunting, and Dorothy and I ran into him when we were going to one of the little stores in the village. I asked if he got a moose, he said yes. I asked if we could see it and he said yes again. So we went over to his house (actually his grandmother's house). On a tarp in the middle of the kitchen there was a skinned moose head. The skin was in a pile next to it, and all the meat from the head was in a big bowl, also on the floor. It was pretty interesting. So, Dorothy and I snapped a few photos (on facebook - I'll try to get some pictures on here) of it, and his family invited us to try some it. They were boiling some of the bones and it would only be a few more minutes. So, we hung around. When they pulled the bones out of the pot (they boiled it w/ onions and rice, I do believe), I learned exactly what we were going to be eating: Marrow & Joint Cartilage (and a little of the meat that was left on the bones). I was a little nervous about how the marrow and cartilage would taste. However, it was all pretty good. It actually reminded me of dumplings (both the marrow and cartilage). The cartilage was a bit chewy, but it didn't have a terrible texture. The marrow was really smooth and creamy. It was actually quite pleasant feeling. As far as the actual meat went, it tasted a lot like pot roast. So that was a good little experience. We even got invited to party the next day, but we couldn't make it. And they said they'd send a chunk of the meat over our way, but that hasn't showed up yet. I'm hoping it does.
I also got to skin my first beaver (no giggling in the back, there!). For whatever reason, one of the guys from the village brought Tim a beaver (he uses them as bait on his rather extensive trap line). He doesn't particularly like skinning them, and I wanted to learn, so I volunteered. He happily accepted to teach me. So, in my Arctic Entryway we laid down some cardboard, plopped the beaver on it, and he walked me through the process of skinning a beaver. It really wasn't too difficult (I would have totally botched it w/o his guidance, and still need A LOT of practice), but I didn't put any holes in the hide, and learned a little something new (it was also a lot better than my attempts at filleting fish - I'm terrible at it...). There were a couple girls that hung around and watched and offered some advice. And Cindy came to check it out and take some pictures (again, there are some pictures on facebook, and I'll try to get some up here). So, once it was all skinned, I cut off a couple chunks of meat (Tim doesn't like it much, but I want to give it a try) to eat. And Tim is letting me keep the pelt. He's got to get all of his equipment for stretching it and fleshing it out, but once he does he's going to show me how to do all that. Then I'll send it off to get tanned, and have myself a beaver pelt! It'll be nice when I'm able to get the pelt off an animal I actually killed, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right? Right now the hide is just sitting in my freezer.
And Cindy bought a boat. There were a few issues w/ it, but those got fixed yesterday, and she, Dorothy, and I went out for a very brief little boat ride. Our first "adventure" w/o the guidance of someone who actually knows what they're doing! It was really nice. I got to do a little bit of driving (it has tiller-steering, which I haven't done since sailing school about 10 years) which took a little getting used to. But the boat is gonna be fun. Give us newbs a chance to get out a little on our own (it also give us plenty of opportunity to get lost, break down, and just generally run into back luck).
What else.........oh yes. I do believe that I'm going to do my first ever hunting this weekend (possibly even today!). Bird season just opened up this weekend, and Tim has been itching to go get some birds, and we decided that this weekend we're definitely going this weekend. So, hopefully by the end of the day (and certainly by the end of the weekend), I'll be a bona fide killer! And I'll have some more food in the freezer (to go w/ my fish). So that's pretty exciting, I think. This all assuming that I can actually hit anything...which might be assuming a lot.
I looked up some fish recipes last night. So I can experiment w/ some ways to cook up some tasty salmon and whitefish :)
I also bought an X-Box controller to so I can play games w/ Tim and his kids. That should be fun. Anyways...I think it's time to (try) shoot some birds. Wish me luck! Have a good day, thanks for tuning in, and God Bless!
P.S. Hunting was a lot of fun. I was able to shoot 5 ducks (3 wigeons, 1 mallard, and 1 pocket duck). Tim and son picked up another 5. I don't know about them so much, but I certainly shot at a lot more than 5, but I'm pretty happy with how everything went. I missed a couple of really easy shots, which I would like to use a mulligan on, but whatever. Spent a handful of hours walking on the tundra, trying not to get stuck in mud, wading across rivers/streams/sloughs/creeks, and looking for birds to shoot. I actually got pretty soaked. I shot the mallard and it fell right in the middle of the river and just kept floating there, not getting any closer to the bank (more specifically, MY bank). So I walked along the river bank for a while hoping it would start drifting toward me. It didn't. So I waded in. The river was a little deep and I took about 1 too many steps toward the middle and got my chest waders flooded. But, I was able to use a stick to pull my duck to me. So it was all good. Anyways, just thought I'd give that little update, although I don't think any of you have even read this yet, since I haven't made an announcement on facebook. But I'm doing it right now. Take care!
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