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!
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